Concerning Rape – The Seventh Commandment

Concerning Rape

The Seventh Commandment

Rape is an especially heinous sin.

Deuteronomy 22:25-27

“But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was none to rescue her.”

Unlike the previous case, this transgression takes place in the open country, where a woman’s cry for help might not be heard. This is rape. A young man, either intending to rape, or to have sex with a betrothed woman, who sought a remote location for his transgression, would fear to be found out because the violated woman’s lack of virginity would become apparent on her wedding night. All she had to do was blame him, and he would be subject to whether or not the rulers of the city chose to believe her word.

Again, this statute was meant to discourage both violence and sexual promiscuity, thus protecting the dignity of sexual relations and the sanctity of marriage.

We are now accepting registrations for the course, Spiritual Maturity 1: Revival. This free, six-session course by T. M. Moore allows you to study by yourself or with a mentor, and includes free resources from Patrick, Columbanus, Luther, and Edwards, among others. Visit The Ailbe Seminary for more information on this training opportunity.

–

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.