Close Topic Options

You Must Give Seed

You Must Give Seed

In the Old Testament, the brother in law may marry the wife of his brother, if that brother is deceased. All the children that comes from the union belong to the name of his brother. Would you be able to do such a thing?

As a woman would you agree to such a thing? Consider the following case where this brother in law took his brother's wife for gratification, but not to give children.

"And Er, Judah's first born, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also" (Genesis 38:7-10).

"If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger; her husband's brother shall go in unto her . . . And if the man like not to take his brother's wife . . . then his brother's wife shall come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot and spit in his face . . . And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed" (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).

Seed Give You

The question is asked as though the people in question had any choice. In Genesis Juda ordered Onan to take care of his brothers wife, but God must have condoned the idea because Onan died when he didn't follow his fathers orders and displeased God.

In Deuteronomy the situation is quite different.

God was handing down a long list of laws on the Sanctuary, idolatry, tithes, debts, etc. Deuteronomy 25:5-10 was a law on Levirate Marriage. Again, these people had no choice. Follow the law, or die.