God's Second Best Options
Drash on Parashah 49; Ki Tetze
MMin Kevin “Oriyan” Phipps
August 2009

 When our country was founded, our forefathers wrote laws which would forever govern the way we conduct our lives as Americans. Certain rights were laid out and dictated in the U.S.Constitution. Today, over 200 years later, these laws or amendments, as we call them, are unbreakable laws that are meant to protect American citizens from unreasonable harm from the government. The amendments were written at a particular time in American history, and written for particular purposes. Today, with circumstances beyond what the writers could have imagined, there are situations in which the strict application of Constitutional rights ends up perverting justice and protects the guilty, while the innocent victims of violent crime suffer.

 As we consider the laws of God, we think of a system of right and wrong, just as rigid as the U.S.Constitution. We see a God who was known to incinerate certain people for seemingly minor offenses to His instructions. Many prefer what they consider to be a gentler, kinder God of the New Testament. Of course, those who do so fail to read the bloodshed in Revelation at the hand of Messiah Yeshua Himself. “Buddy Jesus” is definitely a thing of the past at that point.

 The truth is, there is actually more grace built into Torah than I think most people realize. It is because of such grace, and the laws that result that we have some confusion amongst some, because of laws and allowances that we see in God’s commands. Here is an example of what I am talking about as it is discussed in the New Covenant.

 Some P'rushim came and tried to trap him [Yeshua] by asking, "Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife on any ground whatever?" He replied, "Haven't you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and that he said, 'For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh'? Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together." They said to him, "Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a get and divorce her?" He answered, "Moshe allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are so hardened. But this is not how it was at the beginning. Now what I say to you is that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery!" [Mattityahu/Matthew 19:3-9]

 Torah allows for divorce under certain circumstances and there are regulations concerning not only divorce, but remarriage for men and women after divorce. However, as we see from Yeshua’s response, divorce is not God’s ideal. In fact, take a look at this verse from the prophets.

Here is something else you do: you cover Adonai's altar with tears, with weeping and with sighing, because he no longer looks at the offering or receives your gift with favor. Nevertheless, you ask, "Why is this?" Because Adonai is witness between you and the wife of your youth that you have broken faith with her, though she is your companion, your wife by covenant. And hasn't he made [them] one [flesh] in order to have spiritual blood-relatives? For what the one [flesh] seeks is a seed from God. Therefore, take heed to your spirit, and don't break faith with the wife of your youth. "For I hate divorce," says Adonai the God of Isra'el, "and him who covers his clothing with violence," says Adonai-Tzva'ot. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and don't break faith. [Malakhi/Malachi 2:13-16]

 If God hates divorce, then why does He allow it in Torah? Wouldn’t it be easier just to forbid it under any circumstance, rather than allowing it and then regulating it? It think this is God’s grace at work. His Torah is not as rigid as we may think. Built in to it is a great deal of flexibility. Why? God does not want to produce the same kind of problems that our Constitution causes, when certain circumstances make it worse to keep a law than to bend a law a little to bring about a greater good. A perfect law will at time create big problems when it exists within an imperfect society that does not even know God. The result is allowances in Torah by God to bend the rules that God would normally expect of His people, if they lived under different circumstances. These allowances that we find in Scripture are what I call “second best options”.

 Second best options are exception to the rule. Unfortunately, those who do not recognize that these are exceptions make the exception the rule and use these exceptions to justify all kinds of sinful behavior and false doctrine.

 We see above one example of a second best option. Under certain circumstances, such as infidelity, it seems that God allows for divorce. Apparently, those questioning Yeshua had taken the exception and made it the rule, thinking that because divorce was allowed under those circumstances, it was good. Yeshua made it clear what God’s ideal is. It is marriage. He references Adam and Eve, where a man and a woman become one through marriage. This is the ideal for all human beings. He adds that no man should break apart what God has put together. Divorce is not God’s plan. He hates divorce, and never considers it a good thing. He allows it under certain extreme situations as a last resort, when to keep a man and woman married would cause more harm than good. Aside from this, it is the responsibility for all married people to do everything possible to avoid divorce, as it is a covenant not only between themselves, but also of God. For those who have experienced divorce, there is healing and restoration with God, but no matter what the circumstances, in God’s eye it is never a good thing. It is a second best option.

 There are other second best options in Scripture. For example, God regulates slavery in Israel. Even into the New Covenant, masters are told to take care of their slaves and slaves are told to obey their masters. Based on the value God places on all human beings, we cannot assume from this, as some have, that God approves of slavery. No man or woman should be owned by another person as property. Why then does God sanction slavery rather than outlaw it? It suspect it is because slavery was an integral part of the economical system of the day. To outlaw it in Israeli society would put them at a severe disadvantage to other nations. As such, God allowed for it, but under certain regulations to avoid slaves from being mistreated. Remember, Israel was slaves in Egypt themselves.

 Obviously, slavery in Israel was different from that of other nations. It was possible for a slave, after seven years to choose to be a slave for life of his master. If this was the case, the situation must not have been that bad. If someone was poor or owed a debt, he could become a slave to work off his debt or until he could get back on his feet again. There was good that could come of slavery if done according to God’s laws. Should we then assume that if it was good for Israel, it is good for us? No, we live in an entirely different society, of which slavery is not acceptable and unnecessary.

 Another issue that has caused confusion and doctrinal error for some, even in the Messianic community is polygamy. We see God allowing men to take multiple wives in several instances with well known patriarchs of the Bible. Again, some assume that if it was good for Ya’akov, it’s good for me. Not so. This is another second best option that God allowed within a culture in which polygamy was relatively normal. Concepts of love and marriage were different as they are today. In our culture today, polygamy is illegal and goes against the social norms concerning love and marriage that we have. Today, despite some practical benefits, overall it would cause more harm than good in most circumstances. Also, more often than not polygamy is simply an excuse to allow men to get away with living in infidelity.

 On the other end of the marriage spectrum, we see Sha’ul/Paul seeming to promote celibacy for those involved in ministry. Here again, we see a second best option, which may even be considered a gift God gives some people to better perform His will. Apparently Sha’ul was one of these people. Obviously this is not God’s ideal. Again, we have to go back to Adam and Eve. Under normal circumstances, unless God specifically allows it, marriage is His ideal.

 There are other second best options, but the last one I want to talk about is reconciling God’s character with laws concerning capital punishment and war. This is a difficult thing for many people, but here again, we see God not only allowing, but at times commanding bloodshed, and at times causing death personally in order to deal with sin in the community of His people. God is holy and His people are called to be holy. As such, sin must be removed however it needs to be done. God’s people had to learn of His sovereignty and obedience was demanded for their success. God hates bloodshed, whether at war or in the Temple.

"Why are all those sacrifices offered to me?" asks Adonai. "I'm fed up with burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened animals! I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls, lambs and goats! [Yesha’yahu/Isaiah 1:11]

 Bloodshed was however, a necessary part of redemption. Life is in the blood and the penalty for sin is death. God does not delight in death, but at times it is necessary to eradicate sin from the midst of His people and from the earth. There were entire civilizations obliterated by Israel as the result of their sin and rebellion against God. I believe no nation was destroyed without sufficient opportunity to know the God of Israel and repent of their sin, as exampled by Yericho.

The two men had not yet lain down when she returned to the roof and said to them, "I know that Adonai has given you the land. Fear of you has fallen on us; everyone in the land is terrified at the thought of you. We've heard how Adonai dried up the water in the Sea of Suf ahead of you, when you left Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Emori on the other side of the Yarden, Sichon and `Og, that you completely destroyed them. As soon as we heard it, our hearts failed us. Because of you, everyone is in a state of depression. For Adonai your God — he is God in heaven above and on the earth below. So, please, swear to me by Adonai that, since I have been kind to you, you will also be kind to my father's family. Give me some evidence of your good faith, that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers and sisters and all who are theirs, so that we won't be killed." [Y’hoshua/Joshua 2:8-13]

 God’s ideal is obedience. When that fails, sacrifice or punishment becomes God’s second best option. God allowed His own Son to die on a cross at the hand of sinners to provide a way of redemption for mankind. Even this was a second best option. It was done so that all those who would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life. Even Yeshua asked that the cup would pass from Him, but nevertheless He did what was the will of the Father. Here is an important thing for us to consider. As important as grace and mercy are to our faith, for without it we would all be lost, it is God’s second best option. His ideal is our obedience. Grace and mercy become necessary to bring about the greater good of our redemption, but the exception should never become the rule. For God to be King of our lives, we need to obey Him and not use grace as a license for debauchery. Even Sha’ul says this about grace.

So then, are we to say, "Let's keep on sinning, so that there can be more grace"?
Heaven forbid! How can we, who have died to sin, still live in it? [Romans 6:1-2]

 This is not situation ethics I am teaching here. These are laws dictated by God to allow for a greater good within a sinful world. At times God has to fight fire with fire, but this is not our prerogative. God alone has the authority to bend the rules, because He is the one who made them. It is not up to us to weigh the benefits of bending a law with the inconvenience of following it and decide to bend the law if the result of this contradicts God’s Word. There may be some instances today where God can bend the rules and make this clear to those who are earnestly serving Him, but we have to be careful to make sure that there is proven evidence that such direction is from God, and not from human imagination.

 One example of this is women in pastoral leadership. There may be specific situations where a woman may be appointed to pastoral leadership with proven direction and blessing from God. We do, however, have to recognize that according to God’s Word, this would be a second best option, and most likely a temporary situation until adequate male leadership can be found and appointed for the position. We cannot assume cultural differences and automatically make something prohibited in Scripture to be allowed in our culture today without clear direction from God.

 God can bend the rules because He is God, but we are not at liberty to do that for Him, simply to do what is convenient or logical to us. We also have to study Scripture to understand what God’s ideal is and understand when God is using a second best option. We ought to always be striving toward the ideal as we strive to serve our King with the best of our devotion and not our second best.