The next part of our study through Deuteronomy, Chapter 22, covers a scripture passage that isn’t quite as black and white as our last lesson; especially if you are dealing with a 2021 culture and/or today’s society. Let’s look at the passage for verse 5 of Deuteronomy Chapter 22:
Deuteronomy 22:5; A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.
This subject is definitely a hotly debated topic of our modern-day culture.
Every day a new law is being proposed as to how we are to recognize and treat transgender personalities.
For just a little while, let’s forget about our governing bodies and ask another question.
What does God say about this subject?
How would this scripture from Deuteronomy 22 apply to today’s world, especially a Christian culture wanting to follow God’s will?
Is this just another old worn out case law that passed away with ancient times; or does it still have meaning for a modern-day culture and society?
LOOKING BEYOND AND PAST THE OUTWARD APPEARANCES
Can you understand how confusing these words might be at first glance when we stop long enough to consider that today’s women wear pants, but pants are mostly regarded as clothing for males in this society; yet in the ancient times both men and women wore robes only (similar to long dresses) with certain distinguishing differences.
Where are we supposed to go with these strange and often conflicting facts?
Actually; we must also consider that the pants that women wear today are made different with certain distinguishing differences than today’s men’s clothing. Most tailors have certain guidelines for making men’s clothing and others for creating women’s clothing.
Distinguishing characteristics were there in ancient times too. Dressing properly for your own sex had to do with the type of sash or cloak that you added to a garment. The main garments were shaped different. Women wore their over garments one way and men wore them another way. The designs and features were all different and distinguished between men and women. In those days when everyone seemed to be wearing some type of robe; it was also true that anyone could know by looking at the clothing whether the person wearing them was a man or a woman.
In today’s culture the distinguishing differences have to do with what side the buttons are on, and which way the zippers flap folds over the zipper, either to the left or to the right. There are very distinguishing differences that are made when these clothes are prepared by sewing and offered to the marketplace either as “men’s wear” or “women’s wear” items.
Even the subject of skirts can be pondered here. A man may wear a kilt, and it would still be considered as a man’s clothes; but a man would not typically wear another type of skirt that is designed specifically for a woman to wear.
Both men and women wear hosiery or some type of stockings. They are very different and distinguished from one another in appearances though.
In presenting the face and presenting the hair; men and women of ancient times and modern times have followed different and distinguishable styles and used different and distinguishable accessories with their clothes.
Also; many priest and deacons wear robes over their pants. This would be considered different than if they wore a robe for every-day clothing. To wear the robe as a masculine priest is acceptable. To wear the robe as a common everyday piece of clothing (except for a bathrobe) would not be acceptable.
WHEN BLACK AND WHITE HAVE BLENDED INTO GRAY
However; all of the modern day rules appear to be changing faster than anyone can keep up!
In 2021 we have transgender people who participate in cross-dressing. Physically born men want and desire to look like and sometimes be treated as physically born women whenever they feel that urge; and some physically born women wish to look like and sometimes be treated as a physically born man whenever they “feel” the need to do so. This cross-dressing is based on feelings and emotions that the dresser experiences as he does this in an open and public society.
The end of this scripture passage clearly and plainly says that God detests such a thing. If we bring this up; transgender people are going to get their feelings hurt and the public is going to accuse us (and God) of hating.
We do not hate. The main goal of a Christian lifestyle is to love.
Christians actually do love our transgender neighbors just the same as our other neighbors; but we simply believe that they are ignoring the fact that God doesn’t approve of their lifestyle; so, we love the person but do not promote their lifestyle.
Now our laws would love to keep us from being able to continue doing this. They want to be able to say that we should love the person AND accept their lifestyle.
We can argue that point in this discussion by saying; okay does that mean that all the murderers out there (murder is another thing that God detests) which we have loved and desired to help; should now be applauded for their murderous lifestyle?
If a Christian was approached by a murderer and asked for spiritual help, typically they would pray with the person and encourage them to sincerely repent of the murders that they had committed. They would point out the scriptures in God’s Word that would be helpful to the person the next time they considered murder. They would advise the murderer to CHANGE and TURN AROUND and live a different lifestyle; because the murderous lifestyle is sinful before God. If that person was sincerely desirous of living in God’s Kingdom they would begin to change their lifestyle.
That murderer; if sincere about becoming a Christian and following God, would change. He/she would be thankful for the truth that had led him/her to repent and hopefully he/she would be able to find a new unending joy in knowing that they are a child of God and they would have eternity to look forward to.
If the same type of actions were presented to a transvestite though; the society of today’s world would call it hate; not love. Society in general, is not concerned with anyone knowing God or confessing their sins; they don’t even want to recognize sin for what it is. Laws are being formulated right now that forbid anyone from offering this type of everlasting love to a person who is gender confused.
The logic is terribly off with this way of thinking; but it is constantly being used by society at large to get their way; usually because someone out there behind the scenes will eventually profit from the changes that are going to be made because of lack of knowledge and truth in the community.
The true, Christian-type of pure love isn’t at all about making a profit. It is all about helping people, especially people who are confused or people who struggle with mental stress and anxiety or abuse from their past. (Some will see this sentence as hate; but it is not intended to be that way. )
So; with our conversations so limited in nature; how do we begin to discuss this today?
WHEN THE TRUTH HURTS
Many people in our society are so upset about wanting their freedom to do whatever they please concerning this issue, that they wish to establish governmental laws that would punish people who even speak against such a thing.
But that would mean that the above scripture passage could not ever be spoken out loud; the very scriptures that God was giving to His people that he loved in order to help them start good and healthy lives in the land of their inheritance. The question also arises as to; what to do if some people still BELIEVE this scripture but find it hard to change.
Most Christians believe that God has the best interest of everyone in mind here; including many people with transgender tendencies.
The other alternative would be to ignore the words that God allowed to be put into the scriptures.
Can a Christian who doesn’t believe or observe the scriptures written in the bible still be a Christian?
Isn’t all of Christianity based around the authority of THE WORD of God?
Wouldn’t it be wrong to speak against God’s instructions in such a bold and careless way?
It is being done though by people who either do not believe in God, or do not want to let God’s ways interfere with the ways that they have chosen to follow on their own accord.
I know of another fallen angel who had the same thoughts. His name now is Satan. He thought he could be smarter and higher than God.
God kicked him out of heaven and changed his name.
He now roams the earth putting such strange thoughts into people’s minds so that he can have some more company in his quest to try to out-think God. The same battle has been in force since the day that he fell from heaven and it will probably continue until Jesus returns to earth and sets everyone straight.
THE OLDEST BATTLE ON EARTH
Do you have trouble accepting this?
Do you want to believe that this particular passage is just one of the old case laws that has now changed and no longer applies to today’s society?
That would make a lot of people happy; so let’s see if we can find evidence for doing it.
In this passage we see the word describing God’s feeling as “detesting.” This same word has more often been translated as “abomination.” The word “abomination” has been used also to describe God’s view of homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13.) The wording here though seems to refer to transvestites.
IT ISN’T JUST “ALL ABOUT YOU”
Why would God be against transvestites?
Please understand this; God ISN’T against the people who call themselves transvestites; he is against the activities that they do that are contrary to His order. God actually created the person. He loves that person so much that He gave His only begotten son’s life so that they could enjoy eternal life. He loves the person; but the activities that the transvestite operates within are contrary to God’s order and God detests that action.
Why?
God hates this detested activity because God has declared in many times and places that the order which He created (with obvious physical distinctions between male and female) should be maintained without exception. (Genesis 1:27.)
In other words; When God looks at the man He created; He wants to see a man; and when God looks at the woman He created; He wants to see a woman.
The man and the woman fall into place within the order that God set into motion at the beginning of time. That clock has been ticking for a long, long time. You can’t reset it. When you do; other things go wrong. Anything else but God’s original concepts would create chaos and confusion within the gift of time that He has given to each of us.
Chaos and confusion were originally there (long before mankind was created); but God came and changed that state of being, because He did not consider it good for mankind. Perhaps He knows what caused it in the first place? Whatever that was; God didn’t like it and He set about to make some needed changes in the order of everything. At the end of the change from chaos to order; God announced that these changes were “good.”
EVERYTHING EFFECTS THE ORDER OF EVERYTHING ELSE
All of the universe works together because God created it to do so.
Anyone who has studied science can clearly see evidence of this fact. When you start changing the order of the universe and rearranging what God originally did with the creation; the other things fall out of order too. They were not made to exist around something new, or something different; they only respond and thrive and flourish around what God originally set into motion. You can’t add or subtract to that order without causing a disturbance in the whole rest of the universe.
It always amazes me that the very same people who can very easily see that a change of the order in the earth’s environment causes a ripple effect which can destroy or change the whole environment; yet they can’t see that this is also true with human beings.
If too much sun is blocked from the atmosphere; we see and encounter the effects that are caused from this unnatural action; the ice begins to melt; which causes other problems in other areas of the environment; then the story goes on and on and in the end, there is catastrophic change that is bad for the whole universe and it can’t be changed back.
Messing with the weather is no different from messing with gender arrangements. Unintended things are going to happen eventually that change the world in a way that wasn’t ever meant to be. When the chaos is totally allowed without interruption of any type; we will never be able to go back to what we had before.
Guess what people?
It isn’t all about you and your desires to change the world. There are those who love and accept God’s order and want to keep it. God loves both parties; but He will not accept people trying to change His created order. God has seen the end from the beginning. We have not. Wouldn’t it be smarter to understand that He might be on to something that we don’t know?
IT IS NOT GOOD TO CHANGE GOD’S ORDER
When God created the world; He created the order that kept it all in motion. If you start tampering with and changing the order that God established; you are going to disrupt the order of the world and the things that were all considered “good” will turn to “bad.”
The pagan gods and religions have always wanted to destroy the order of God. Many of the pagan rituals for their pagan gods in the ancient days perverted things into their polar opposites as a common ritual. For instance; what was bad was often called good, or what was right was often called wrong. These perversions were the ways that the pagan spirits (the demons of Satan) used and operated and their operations were almost always aimed at upsetting the proper order of God’s world. Satan knew, if he could change the order of God’s world, it might then bow down to him instead of God. That has always been the goal of Satan. That one thing always seems to lie behind every pagan religion or practice. Now people in our nation want to make this happen too. Who do you think is really behind it?
Can no one see what is REALLY going on here?
The same word translated as “abomination” was used to describe God’s view of homosexuality (Lev. 18:22; 20:13). This scripture we are looking at today specifically outlawed transvestites. The creation order distinctions between male and female were to be maintained without exception (compare Gen. 1:27).
When God looked at the man He had created; He wanted to see a man.
When God looked at the woman He created; He wanted to see a woman.
WOULD YOU LET SOMEONE DESTROY YOUR WORK?
Think about your own work.
Aren’t you proud of what you do?
What if someone came along and decided they wanted to change your work into something totally different than what you originally made happen. How would you then feel about all of your time, energy, expertise, carefully considered knowledge and long-attended efforts being overturned by someone who knew a lot less than you about your project? Then what if you later found out that your own government and/or family had decided to back their efforts instead of yours? There would then be nothing you could say or do about these changes; except to sit by quietly and let them happen. In the end; the whole project would fail. It could never be the higher project that God had originally intended; but it would forever become the lower project that mankind had made.
The end is too late.
Wouldn’t it make you sad.
Would it even make you mad?
How would you react?
Would you begin to remind others of the reasons that you did what you did, and how dangerous it was to undo them?
Perhaps you might even invest all of your energy into motions that supported ways which would bring things back to the way you had originally designed your project.
ALL OF CREATION IS THE WORK OF GOD
We are the creation of God.
He had many good reasons for making us the very way He made us. The whole rest of the creation works off of our existence.
The human race has been God’s greatest project.
God wants us to maintain a proper distinction between the sexes. Men and women were commanded NOT to “wear items which pertain to the opposite sex. A man should not try to appear as a woman and a woman should not try to appear as a man. God detests this.
God made us just the way he intended for us to be.
Those who have other ideas have not listened to the voice of God, but they have listened to other voices that have told them it is okay to change God’s plan, and that these lifestyles will over time be acceptable and workable.
GOD’S PEOPLE KNOW HIS VOICE
They know it is not good to listen to those other voices that might steer them to the wrong places.
There was a time when the church and Christians could speak openly about these beliefs. For those who had ears to hear, and those who wanted to please God more than conform to the ways of mankind; there was help offered from many congregations in the form of prayer and counseling. These “good” things too are being taken and silenced by the cancel culture. It isn’t right; and who knows where it will lead us?
So what are we all to do?
What is a good response to all of this?
TURNING TO GOD’S WORD FOR GUIDANCE
In the bible God gave instructions as to how Christians should respond. He never leaves us or forsakes us; and His way is always the right way. Read the following scripture passage and let the words sink in. Think of where today’s culture is at, and consider how you will follow the word of God as we move forward in these confusing times:
(Jude 1:18-23) In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear.
WHEN YOU REJECT GOD’S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE; YOU REJECT HIM AS CREATOR
There is a scripture found in Daniel, Chapter 11 that speaks of the Antichrist in such a way that many believe he will be homosexual. The verse is worded; “Neither shall he regard the desire of women.” It appears that there is no better way to reject the Creator than to reject His design for your life. Perhaps this makes sense when you consider that the Antichrist will rebel against anything that God has ever done or created. He will oppose it and chose the opposite.
Revelation, Chapter 13 also contains a very interesting New Testament prophecy about the Antichrist. Read it here in Revelation 13:6-9: And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Listen to the news and know that the time is now ripe for such a man.
THE EVIDENCE IS AGAINST CASE LAW
To summarize all of the above; the words given in Deuteronomy 22 that speak of the fact that men should not dress as women and women should not dress as men was not an old case law.
This is proven out by the fact that the same issues were being discussed in the times after the Resurrection and even long after Jesus had ascended back into heaven.
Here are some of those New Testament scriptures to be considered:
“Men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” (Romans 1:27)
“You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22)
Though we may be silenced against our will; many Christians still believe that all of these perverted forms of sexuality which are now rearing their heads up in society are evil and against God’s ways. This is not to say the person that the devil has deceived into the trap is evil; it is his or her actions that God detests.
WHAT IF YOU HAVE ALREADY FALLEN?
There is forgiveness freely offered to everyone who repents of their sins. Do not be discouraged if you fall into this group. God is simply waiting on you to come to Him, and when you repent and turn; He will bring unimaginable blessings your way.
How do it know this?
I too am a terrible sinner.
Perhaps I have not participated in these specific sins; but a sin is a sin is a sin. God may consider many of my sins to be even worse than yours. Yes; over my lifetime, I have committed many sins that God detests. I had to repent to God and turn from those sins.
Today I can testify of the joy that comes from obedience and faith in our Mighty Creator. Nothing is impossible for God. He will help you through even the darkest hours.
You have to be strong enough to make the stand though.
TRUE CHRISTIANITY ISN’T VERY POPULAR
Your friends are not going to rally around and help you change. It will be a long journey; but if you stick it out; it will be a wonderful trip.
My dear friend; God created you to be exactly what He created you to be. You can’t change it; but when you decide to accept it and live within it; the sky is the limit as to what God will then begin to show you about your true destiny and purpose. There will be surprises around every bend and they will turn out to be delightful and unexpected.
AN OFFERING OF LOVE AND CONCERN
I sincerely pray that anyone reading this lesson will accept that it is only offered in love and godly concern for all of mankind.
God has given each of a choice and we all must choose this day what path we will take.
It will make all the difference to our time on the earth and later in eternity.