Being kind to your enemy seems to be a problem these days. Typically, when we go to battle with someone, we don’t think about long-term effects. Considering a relationship with our enemy seems even more peculiar. Often, we are anxious to destroy or plunder our enemy, so we never have to deal with them again. But yet, in this week’s study of Ki Tetse, we get to see a different kind of picture.
We begin in Devarim 21:10, which states, “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and Elohim (the Lord your God) delivers them into your hands, and you take them captive and see among them a beautiful woman. . .”
A what? How is it possible to see something beautiful in the midst of a battle? Can a person actually consider taking in a wife while they destroy the very family and town that she lives in? This seems to be a twisted picture. What can we possibly learn here?
If we consider a few verses back, we might see an explanation. Notice Israel asks for YHWH’s forgiveness when taking innocent blood. Being a soldier for Yah’s Kingdom required them to do what was “right” in the eyes of Yah and not necessarily what was “right in their own eye.” Soldiers were asked to do the bidding of Yah and then to trust that He would handle the issues of life, death, and salvation.
In the New Testament, we read that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the principalities of darkness. Looking back, historically, Israel fought these kinds of battles. The cities they conquered were fortresses worshipping the evil ones—the gods who sought the destruction of Yah’s Kingdom. At times, Yah told Israel to destroy everything within them. And at other times, Yah allowed them to take people and property into the Kingdom of Israel. Why?
I think “when we go out,” there might be a mission. We are asked to fight against evil or to redeem and restore those that once belonged to evil. Notice that when a man saw a woman of beauty (a person he connected to), he was allowed to take her into his home as a possible wife. According to the aleph-bet, a home is a place of covering and a source of protection. Also, if a man were to take a wife, he would be required to cover and protect her. Both the husband and the home are to help restore.
The pictures of a mourning woman in Ki Tetse are amazing. She is allowed to mourn. She is allowed to grieve. She can show her frailness with a shaved head and cut nails. Once she has completed her mourning, the man can take her as his wife or let her go wherever she wishes. He cannot sell her. He cannot mistreat her.
When you look at these pictures this week, I want to encourage you to look beyond the surface. Is Yah giving these commands to appease basic human needs, or is Yah giving us some insight into how we are to treat others when we go out into a world of battle? What is our real purpose in this life? What are we being asked to do, and can we handle His request to treat others with dignity?
If we are a holy priesthood and we bring someone into the Kingdom, what will they see from us that will make them desire the holy fruit of that kingdom? Will we allow them to mourn over their past life to live a new life? Will we be the “husband” of restoration or the “husband” of death?
Be blessed,
Rollyn