The verse that we are looking at today is Deuteronomy 22:5. This verse may not be a big deal where you live, but for some reason in the south it is one of the most abused and misused Bible verses there is. This is a case where Scripture has been twisted to match what people want to believe. What is sad is that people are living their lives based on an inaccurate view of Scripture.
Here is what the verse says:
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
This is the proof verse that is used for saying that women should not wear pants. That is not at all what this verse is teaching…there are so many ways to accurately dispute this interpretation that I’m not even sure where to begin. Let’s start with the historical context. At the time of this writing Israel struggled in two main areas, immorality and idolatry. More specifically, at the time this was written Israel was battling with what to do with pagan temples and false priests. Women were dressing as priests in the pagan temple and men were dressing as female prostitutes outside the temple. They had statues built of pagan gods. The statues were said to be of both sexes. Sacrifices were offered to the statue by women dressed as priests.
God was telling them not to mix the pure with the impure. Don’t mix the moral with the immoral. Moses was combating the sin of transvestitism…cross-dressing and its immoral and impure application within the pagan temples.
We can also see this teaching of not mixing the pure with the impure in the Scriptural context. Look at verses 9-11. Here is what they say:
You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together.
If verse 5 is actually teaching that women should not wear pants and people ‘obey’ that verse, why are verses 9-11 not also obeyed? If you are going to misapply verse 5 you should be consistent and also misapply verses 9-11.
The only teaching we have in Scripture about what clothes women are to wear is found in I Timothy 2:9. Women are to dress modestly. There is no verse that in any way teaches that women should not wear pants. If you want to live by this extra-biblical standard…go for it, but PLEASE don’t try and make it a biblical issue…it simply isn’t one. To make it one is to abuse and misuse Scripture.
READ OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES
Misused and abused Bible verses part 1- Hebrews 10:25
Misused and abused Bible verses part 2- Proverbs 29:18
Misused and abused Bible verses part 3- Proverbs 22:28
Misused and abused Bible verses part 4- II Chronicles 7:14
Misused and abused Bible verses part 5- I Thessalonians 5:22
June 30, 2009
misused bible verses