Good evening brethren and Happy Sabbath!

Do you ever wonder...

...why certain rules exist?  You've probably seen crazy ones out there like, 'No walking your elephant after dark East of the Mississippi River."  A rather oddly specific rule. Why is it in place? Surely there must be a reason. Kind of like those little silica gel packets that come in the box of new electronics.  Why on Earth do they print 'Do Not Eat' on them? No doubt, they had to put this warning in place after someone came home from the store and decided, 'Oh look! They've included a tasty snack in this little white packet in the bottom of the box of my new TV!'

The ongoing effects

We fell 'victim' to a rule like this earlier this week.  With baseball season in full swing (pun!), we've been spending a lot of time at the local ballpark.  It's a beautiful facility and in an effort to make the most of our time, we thought we could take the dog to the park for a walk and some 'play time' while my son was at practice.  Alas, we discovered the dreaded 'No Pets Allowed' rule applied at the baseball park.

Now, I understand why this rule is in place.  More than likely, some irresponsible pet owners did not pick up after their dogs, leaving the grounds a mess for others to navigate.  It's just annoying for responsible pet owners who'd like to take their dog to the baseball park.

This did remind me of a related scripture, Deuteronomy 23:12-14 (NLT), "You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. The camp must be holy, for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you."  

You read that right.  God has the same rule as the baseball park!  God didn't want to step in human waste, so He made a rule telling Israel how to clean up after themselves. While that might seem like an antiquated and useless rule today with our modern convenience of indoor plumbing, it certainly made sense for a nation that lived in the wilderness.

Still a purpose today

Just like the rule at the ballpark still serves a purpose today - to help keep the park clean - God's rule on covering human waste has purpose.  While we don't live in the wilderness, digging holes to use the bathroom, the principle is there - be clean and sanitary.  Whether we're using indoor plumbing or not, God wants us to be clean and not live among filth!

As we come across life's rules as they are laid out in the Bible, we should never take them for granted.  God records these for our good (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Deuteronomy 30:15-16) and He expects us to obey them. Whether that be keeping the weekly Sabbath or cleaning up after ourselves, God's laws have purpose!