Deu. 21 : 18 – 21 "The stubborn and rebellious son

[Mark]

Probably one of the more famous commands evidencing the harshness of is the command that the parents of the rebellious son must have him stoned to death. I have to admit that I’ve shared this with my children on more than one occasion. But it isn’t to be intended as a threat, nor even in any way directed at the children, rather as an admonition to the parents.

Proverbs 22:8 encourages us alternately, "train up a child in the way that he is to go and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Understanding these two together, the commandment in Deuteronomy 21 admonishes the parents to train their children well: such a strong emphasis is here placed that to not be diligent in child-rearing is the same as signing your child’s death warrant.

Yet the command is uniquely structured so as to minimize abuse. Both the father and the mother are to agree that the adult son in question has become an unrestrained burden upon society. Nowhere else is Mom and Dad both required to agree in complete unanimity with no other influence allowed from society. Knowing maternal love, particularly as described from a Hebraic culture, such circumstances are nigh impossible.

[yeshuafreak]

i would like to add here that capital punishment is a limit being put on how you can punish this child. it is written as a command, but historically it was a limit and Yeshua understood it as a limit.

"you have heard an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but i tell you that if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the left one."

now, when says an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth it does not mean that if you blind me eye that i can spoon your eye out. what is being said is that if someone takes your eye, the most you can do back is take their eyel. Yeshua is saying that whatever punishment you choose, forgive the person (turn the other cheek). do not try to punish the person in revenge.

now, in ancient times, if someone would have blinded me, even if by accident, i could take his property, his life, rape his wife and chilren, and have his family killed too! Moses was giving a law that was a great advancement to mankind, just as much an advancement as the code of hummarabi!.

so here, he is limiting the punishment of an unruly son to death, although less can be done. since we live in a modern society, we need not take the maximum penalty that is allowed. however, seeingas how allows this, it shows the utter atrocity of what disrespect of parents is.

i am 14 and i know that if i disresprected my parents that they wouldnt have me killed (as mark said lol), but i know that they would definitely punish me to the greattest extant that is not considered hild abuse!

but it brings us back to when god said "honor your father and mother" and then he jokingly adds "so that your days will be long upon the earth." he is reminding us that if we dont honor our parents theyll go smackdown on us, and we may not live very long :-)

i can just imagine hearing "junior! whered you put that board?" :-)

shalom- john