“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Can the Torah help us understand what it means to take a thought captive?
Yes. Deuteronomy 21 details the procedure as to how to take one captive. It goes as follows:
When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, and you see among the captives a woman of beautiful form, and you desire to take her to be your wife, and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and cut her nails. And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her. (Deuteronomy 21:10-14)
Reading this, we must first understand that, in the ancient world, often women taken captive after battle would succumb to the evils of sex slavery. The Torah, however, prohibits such evil. Speaking to the men of Israel, the Torah is emphatic: after a month of caring for her in your house, you either marry her (thereby endowing her with full marital rights), or you let her go free wherever she wants. You can’t sell her for money, and you can’t treat her as a slave. Regarding the phrase “you have humiliated her...” this is humiliation in the sense that you’ve shaved her head and diminished her beauty. This is not humiliation in the sense that you’ve raped her. Read verse 13: it is only after a month of caring for her––and at the point you will marry her––that you are permitted to sleep with her. Although this may still sound harsh, consider, if you will, the alternative: men from Torahless nations would rape this woman right away and then sell her into slavery. What the Torah prescribes is a process which gives this woman a month of mourning for her family, a time of protection and adjustment, and then brings her into a relationship where she receives full marital rights.
Reading this, we must first understand that, in the ancient world, often women taken captive after battle would succumb to the evils of sex slavery. The Torah, however, prohibits such evil. Speaking to the men of Israel, the Torah is emphatic: after a month of caring for her in your house, you either marry her (thereby endowing her with full marital rights), or you let her go free wherever she wants. You can’t sell her for money, and you can’t treat her as a slave. Regarding the phrase “you have humiliated her...” this is humiliation in the sense that you’ve shaved her head and diminished her beauty. This is not humiliation in the sense that you’ve raped her. Read verse 13: it is only after a month of caring for her––and at the point you will marry her––that you are permitted to sleep with her. Although this may still sound harsh, consider, if you will, the alternative: men from Torahless nations would rape this woman right away and then sell her into slavery. What the Torah prescribes is a process which gives this woman a month of mourning for her family, a time of protection and adjustment, and then brings her into a relationship where she receives full marital rights.
But as Paul says, “ALL Scripture is God-breathed, and profitable for our teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteous.” How is this passage from Deuteronomy good for our teaching and instruction in righteous? Well, to answer this question, we have to return to the original language. And by doing so, we’ll also answer our original question.
In Hebrew, the word for “thought” is a feminine noun. At some level, what applies to taking a woman captive applies equally to taking a thought captive.
For a moment pretend you’re a bachelor in the ancient Israeli army. God has given you victory over an enemy territory. As you go along taking them captive, a woman of beautiful form unexpectedly catches your eye. You think to yourself, “Is this woman sent by God as a gift for me? If I ignore this, am I missing something God wants for my life? OR––is she a plant by the enemy? If I embrace her, will she be destructive in my life?” As beautiful as she is, you genuinely don’t know if she is from God or from the enemy. So how do you decide?
Before you make any final decisions, God’s law prescribes a preliminary process. First, her head must be shaved (Paul refers to a woman’s hair as her glory). Next, she has to cut her fingernails (ie. remove what makes her dangerous to others). She must put on different clothes than those she was wearing when you first saw her. You must keep her in your house for a full month while she laments her father and mother.
As you can imagine, after some time it’s no longer a fleeting moment of attraction. In your house is a sad, hairless woman with puffy eyes and red cheeks that you have to care for all month long. You are beginning to rethink your decision. You are considering seriously your decision. Finally, a full month passes. You find yourself in a better position to decide if she is right for you and if you are right for her. If yes, then you can marry her and become one with her. Otherwise, you are to release her.
As you can imagine, after some time it’s no longer a fleeting moment of attraction. In your house is a sad, hairless woman with puffy eyes and red cheeks that you have to care for all month long. You are beginning to rethink your decision. You are considering seriously your decision. Finally, a full month passes. You find yourself in a better position to decide if she is right for you and if you are right for her. If yes, then you can marry her and become one with her. Otherwise, you are to release her.
Keep this in mind as you picture yourself in today’s world. You’re going along and the thought occurs to you: “I want to quit my job and work elsewhere.” Or maybe the thought is, “I want to commit to a leadership position at church.” Any meaningful thought is applicable. Whatever your thought may be, you find it very attractive as you initially consider it. But you ask yourself, “Is this thought sent by God as a gift for me? If I ignore this, am I missing something God wants for my life? On the other hand, has this thought been planted by the enemy? And if I embrace it, will it be destructive in my life?"
Before you wed this idea, you know the process:
• stay with it––live with it––for one full month. During this time...
• remove its glory and see it for what it really is
• ask yourself, could this be harmful to me or to those around me in any way?
• examine the idea in its least attractive form
• view it in a different context than when it first occurred to you
• clue yourself into its true origin; what fostered this idea?
• ensure that it is right for you and you are right for it
• ensure that it is right for you and you are right for it
If, in the end, you have moved through the process with prayerful consideration, you may embrace it.
Inspired by a teaching by Grant Luton, Beth Tikkun Messianic Fellowship
