Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid. [Deuteronomy 21.18-21]
Harsh? Yes, but it serves a great purpose.
Human nature is to always take a little more than is given.
In the case of a wayward son, if discipline at home does not work (indicating that sometimes it doesn't) then the son was to be turned over to the elders of the city. And, on the word of the parents, the son was to be stoned to death.
The key to understanding the reason for this scenario is found in the last part of the discussion: "In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid."
In other words, if you do this right, it will deter future instances of the same thing. If you fail to do this right, you can count on increasingly more instances of this type of rebellion.
It is indeed harsh according to modern society, but, what does modern society know? Our punishments are so light today that no one is afraid of them.
The fact that overcrowding is a problem in our prisons (I speak for the USA), confirms that we are all too lenient when it comes to punishment for crimes. This is a self-perpetuating problem - the more a person is 'let go' regarding his crimes, the more crimes he will commit.
Oh, and by the way, incarceration in the USA is no meaningful punishment. No one is made to work, and nearly every comfort of regular life is provided at no cost to the criminal while society foots the bill. What is to fear about that? It is a problem with a 'snowballing' effect.
Then there is Jesus...
Where does grace come into the picture? The thing is, grace is for the repentant and the repentant (truly repentant) are not apt to repeat their crime. So, if one is ineligible for grace because of unrepentance, then there must be a default solution. The solution must be one that deters future occurrences - either by the offender or by potential future offenders.
It all sounds easy and logical written here.
Father, I know our modern society is so far from Your Word that solutions today appear much more complicated than what adherence to Your Word can solve. But if Your Word can't fix us, then nothing can. God help us.
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