Deuteronomy Mix

In my younger years our families would refer to a soup that was made as a Deuteronomy soup. My wife Rose also refers to a meal she makes by mixing together foods left from a former supper into a soup. Recently someone asked, “Why do you call it a Deuteronomy meal?” Her response was, “I don’t know why we called it that name.” I looked up the word as to its meaning and find that it comes from two Greek words…“deutero” which means second, and “nomos” which means law. So maybe the soup was called this because it was the second time this food was being prepared for a meal! Here is another possibility. In the book of Deuteronomy, God had commanded the Israelites not to mix certain things. They were instructed not to wear clothes that had a mix of wool and linen. They were also told not to plow with a mix of donkey and ox in the same yoke. Maybe the idea of mixing the items was the origin of calling the dish a Deuteronomy meal.

The New Testament does not teach us that mixing food is wrong, but it does teach us that mixing Christian and non Christian lifestyles are very harmful. If we tried to mix a quart of spoiled milk with a quart of good mile, we would have a half gallon of spoiled milk. It is equivalent to trying to mix truth with some lies…it still ends up being a lie. It pays to have healthy boundaries for ourselves when it comes to relationships.

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
(II Corinthians 6:14)

The spiritual lesson in the book of Deuteronomy seems to be that Moses is going over the law with the people a second time as a way of remembering. He reminded them that as they keep God’s laws, they would prosper. He also warned them that if they neglected those laws, they would be taken over by foreign nations as a discipline for their disobedience. Moses kept repeating, “Don’t forget you used to be slaves in Egypt”. Wise are those of us who have been slaves to alcohol, to not find our fellowship with those who drink alcohol. Moses would say to us, “don’t forget you used to be slaves to alcohol.”

This speaks to me in that since I am a Christian and brought out of spiritual Egypt, I should not allow myself to become “mixed up” with the Canaanite lifestyles that surround me. God's people must be marked by a different kind of lifestyle than others. We must make some clear boundaries for ourselves, or we will soon be assimilated into the culture that surrounds us…acting and talking just like them. God simply says that being Christian means that the Corinthians can no longer take part in worship or ethics that contradict clear teaching in the Bible. In other words, what we do ethically matters a great deal if we are claiming to be Christians. The Israelites found out that Moses had told them the truth, when they allowed themselves to act like the world around them. Foreign nations did drive them out of Canaan, just like God had warned them He would. God always keeps his promises. When they learned the lessons, God restored them into their land again.
Practical Lesson: Food mixed together for a second time can be a pretty tasty meal. In contrast to food, when I allow myself to get mixed up with a sinful lifestyle…my whole life can go sour. No wonder God instructs me to keep healthy boundaries between myself and unbelievers. A friend of ours is sitting in jail on Christmas Day because this principle was violated. It always pays to be yoked together with believers. Jesus said,
“If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest.”
(Matthew 11:28, 29)
Sounds like a good Deuteronomy Mix to me!!!
Selah,
Al Yoder
12/25/2010