The hidden love of God

The original korean text: http://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025356988

 

(donga.com's netizen forum, Dec. 8, 2004)

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There was a farmer who had three sons and a daughter in a village. on a holiday the family were supposed to work in the field. By the way, the father thought the youngest daughter seemed to have a menstrual period. ‘I must not have my daughter work outside. What should I do? I can't tell my sons about this problem. ... Yes! I've got a good idea!’ The father yelled at his daughter in front of his sons, “How can you marry into a distinguished family with such a low school record? You stay indoors and only study!” Then the daughter wept that her father hated only her. The other three sons thought that they were really clever and good at studying. They worked hard all day long in the field, with a feeling of pride.

 

This kind of incident was also happening in the Old Testament. God declares that women who gave birth to a baby and women who are in the period of menstruation are unclean. In Old Testament, when a woman is declared unclean, she was forbidden to enter the temple of God. In other words, she was exempt from religious duties (because of her uncleanness). In the situation of today it can be said like this: women in the period of menstruation are not religiously condemned at all even if they do not attend church services. Also, the woman who gave birth to a son does not have to go to church for a month, and the woman who gave birth to a daughter, for two months. And in Old Testament, if a man is declared unclean, no one is allowed to touch him. If anyone touches him, he also becomes unclean and is not allowed go to the temple for a while.

 

The reason why the God declares a woman delivered of a child and a woman on her period to be unclean is that he wants to excuse them from religious duties and to prohibit people from approaching them so that they can take a rest alone. Medically, a woman who gave birth to a child should not have sex for a while since there is a risk of infection. Therefore, the law of the Old Testament that a certain woman is unclean stems from God's careful consideration of women's health. Then why did the mother of a daughter spends her vacation a month longer than the mother of a son by way of excuse that the former is more unclean than the latter? I think that the mother of a daughter got stressed(!) because she hadn't given birth to a son. (So she must rest longer!)

 

God the Father lets a woman make a comfortable break by declaring (unfairly) a woman needing careful protection to be unclean. God hereby lets men have a sense of privilege so that they will do women's quota (the religious duty) as well. Daughters of God, are there parents who think that their daughter is unclean just because she is delivered of a child or is on her period? You must love and thank more the God who declares you unclean if you realize his hidden love. If you become aware of his deep love, love him more deeply than before!

 

>> These days, there are a lot of good physiological items and menstrual medicines, so you should not be absent from church services because of monthly illness. It's a kind of bad conscience! <<