The proper response, ordained by God for his people so that they might be blessed while living in the promised land, was corporal punishment. It was not the type of issue one settled with one’s neighbor, such as making restitution for the loss of a donkey or ox (Exodus 21:33-36). For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor…”įrom this passage we see that the rape, according to God’s law in the Old Testament was a crime on par with homicide. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman she has committed no offense punishable by death. With that in mind, Deuteronomy 22:25-27 could either be describing sexual assault or sexual abuse by today’s standards, depending on the age of the “young woman.”Ģ5 “But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. “Sexual assault” refers to such behavior when both the abuser and the victim are adults. The term “sexual abuse” is used to indicate when a minor is tricked, forced, or coerced into sexual activity for the pleasure of the abuser. Scripture takes sexual abuse and sexual assault seriously The scriptures commonly used to keep sexual abuse and assault from being reported by keeping it “in house” are not used carefully and in no way refute or nullify these mandates and principles. We should report it (1) because it is the law (in the case of minors) and we must submit to the government God has placed over us to execute his justice, (2) because as God’s people we are charged to stand up for the oppressed and vulnerable, (3) because doing so discourages other would-be offenders, and (4) because reporting the offender provides them with a chance to see their sin for what it is and repent.
David Sanchez serves as Director of Ethics & Justice in the Christian Life Commission.
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