If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you. – Deuteronomy 22:23-24

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 8, 2015): Deuteronomy 22

Last week a woman snuck into an Omaha Zoo with some friends and was seriously hurt when she tried to pet a Tiger in its cage. The report indicated that she might have been drinking and originally there was no indication as to whether or not the zoo intended to press charges. I have to admit that my first impression to the possible intoxication of the woman was “you think?” She had to be either intoxicated or really stupid. It should almost be a given that reaching into the cage of a wild animal is not the smartest thing to do. Yet stories like this seem to be increasing, from people just trying to pet the animals to those zoo visitors who fall into the animal pits trying to feed them (which, by the way, is expressly forbidden in ever zoo that I have ever visited.) But somehow we seem to believe that the rules simply don’t apply to us – we are created above any foolish rules.

Maybe what we don’t get is the idea of personal responsibility. I am responsible for my actions, and the outcomes that my actions may produce. When I voluntarily stick my hand into the cage of the tiger and I get bit, that is my fault. (My next door neighbor has a couple of big dogs in her yard, and I am on very good terms with the dogs – we like each other – but I am very wary when I stick my hand through a fence to touch them. They are dogs and there are certain things that are dangerous even with a tame animal with which you are on good terms.)

And really that is what this passage speaks of – the idea of personal responsibility. This is actually new material that is not included in the other books of the Law. The example used here is rape. The Mosaic Law includes levels of responsibility. Up until this point, there is the idea of personal responsibility for something that is outside of you. And all of this teaching seems to be brought to one point in this example.

If a man rapes a woman inside the city, both the man and woman are equally responsible for the crime, because the woman could cried out and received help, but chose not to. This is the woman’s responsibility. Not clearly delineated in this passage, but clear from the teaching leading up to the package is the idea that if someone hears the cry of a woman being raped, then they are responsible for coming to her aid. If they do not, then the blame is on them. Later in the passage we are told that if the rape happens in the country, the woman is innocent, because there was no one to whom she could call for help and she was not strong enough to resist his advantages. The man in every one of these cases is held responsible for his own actions.

But all of this speaks to our own personal responsibility – I am responsible for what it is that I do. I know, it is easier to just make an excuse, but we live in community, and for the community to be healthy we all need to understand that we truly are created to be responsible people who know the outcomes of our own actions. And when we violate these responsibilities, it is the whole society that will pay the price.

With regard to the woman injured by the Tiger at the zoo, the report was that her friends took her to the hospital after she received her injury. Maybe it would have been better if they could have stopped her from poking her fingers through the fence.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 23