Mere Exposure Effect Quote on Purple Tessellated Background by Crystal A Murray
Click the image to visit my album of kaleidoscopes and tessellations at Flickr.
P.S. I wonder if I like tiled & mirrored images because they are multiple exposures of beauty.
Okay, so I’m gonna get a little psychological tonight. I found the definition and explanation about the above-titled effect while I was looking up the definition of the word “exposure,” and I just have to share it. Basically, the more familiar something or someone becomes, the more we begin to accept, and even like, that something or someone. If we are exposed to good somethings and positive someones, that can be a good thing, but if the opposite, not a good outcome. I can see how the effect might even be what causes the “stress bonding” of Stockholm Syndrome. More importantly, what I see in Mere-Exposure Effect is an explanation as to why sin will never be allowed to dwell in the holy presence of Yahveh.
In tonight’s reading from Deuteronomy 23:8 through Deuteronomy 23:24 (verses 7-23 in versions other than the Complete Jewish Bible), Moses will instruct Israel about the things God does not want to be exposed to. He begins, though, with a reminder for them not to hate the Edomites (they are descended from Esau), or the Egyptians because Israel stayed for a time as strangers in their land. The third generations from both of these are even allowed to join the assembly of The Lord, unlike the Ammonites and Moabites who are forbidden forever.
Moses now reminds Israel that when they are at war with an enemy, it is more important than ever to keep the camp clean. If a man becomes unclean because of a nighttime emission, he must leave the camp, bathe, and return at sunset. There should be a latrine area outside the camp, and the tools there should include a shovel to dig a hole and bury any excrement. The necessity for cleanliness is because Yahveh Almighty walks through the community to help defeat the enemies, and they do not want to expose Him to anything disgusting that would drive Him away when they need Him.
I like the next instruction where Moses tells the people that if a slave runs away from his master, they should take him in and treat him kindly, and they should not send him back to his master or mistreat him. I’m always thought that if I were alive during slavery, I would have been part of the Underground Railroad in helping people get away from abusive slave owners. We read all through the Torah about Israel owning slaves, but this tells me that God did not expect them to put up with abuse just because they were slaves.
The passage then goes back to the cleanliness issue, only this time it is about moral cleanliness. God says there must not be prostitution, either heterosexual or homosexual, in Israel or in the house of The Lord. God detests these things.
Moses repeats a previous command, reminding Israel to never charge interest on loans they make to their brothers, and it doesn’t matter if the loan is on money, food, or something else. They can charge interest to strangers, but never the family of Israel. Instead, they should trust that all their increase will come through The Lord, and that He will provide all they need. The act of not charging interest to a brother comes with a promise that God will prosper Israel in all they set out to do in the new land.
Our reading closes with a reminder that promises are not made to be broken, and that it is better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. If any kind of vow crosses the lips of one who has the ear of The Lord, He says the person who made the promise must take care to perform whatever they have spoken aloud. Trying to take something back once it goes into the atmosphere is more impossible than putting toothpaste back in the tube. God doesn’t want the atmosphere filled with broken vows.
For those who regularly stop by to read this blog, I am happy to be exposing you to words that will hopefully cause you to love God and His word even more. I encourage you to read more for yourself, so you will be drawn to His desires. I also encourage you to spend as much time with Him as possible, so you will be drawn to His presence. And, from the bottom of my heart, I urge you to pray for discernment of all things and people in your life. This goes for me also, and it includes our friendships, our entertainment, what we watch and read and listen to, and those we bring into our lives to teach us. May God open our eyes and help us to discern what should and should not be regular parts of our lives, and may He prevent us from accepting those things He does not want in our lives simply because we’ve become comfortable with them as an effect of mere exposure.
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August 26, 2014
Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) |
Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Bible Commentary, Bible study, cleanliness, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, familiarity, God's presence, Israel, Mere Exposure Effect, Moses, Scripture, Torah commentary, Torah Portions |
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Crystal Writes A Blog 
The Mere Exposure Effect
Mere Exposure Effect Quote on Purple Tessellated Background by Crystal A Murray
Click the image to visit my album of kaleidoscopes and tessellations at Flickr.
P.S. I wonder if I like tiled & mirrored images because they are multiple exposures of beauty.
Okay, so I’m gonna get a little psychological tonight. I found the definition and explanation about the above-titled effect while I was looking up the definition of the word “exposure,” and I just have to share it. Basically, the more familiar something or someone becomes, the more we begin to accept, and even like, that something or someone. If we are exposed to good somethings and positive someones, that can be a good thing, but if the opposite, not a good outcome. I can see how the effect might even be what causes the “stress bonding” of Stockholm Syndrome. More importantly, what I see in Mere-Exposure Effect is an explanation as to why sin will never be allowed to dwell in the holy presence of Yahveh.
In tonight’s reading from Deuteronomy 23:8 through Deuteronomy 23:24 (verses 7-23 in versions other than the Complete Jewish Bible), Moses will instruct Israel about the things God does not want to be exposed to. He begins, though, with a reminder for them not to hate the Edomites (they are descended from Esau), or the Egyptians because Israel stayed for a time as strangers in their land. The third generations from both of these are even allowed to join the assembly of The Lord, unlike the Ammonites and Moabites who are forbidden forever.
Moses now reminds Israel that when they are at war with an enemy, it is more important than ever to keep the camp clean. If a man becomes unclean because of a nighttime emission, he must leave the camp, bathe, and return at sunset. There should be a latrine area outside the camp, and the tools there should include a shovel to dig a hole and bury any excrement. The necessity for cleanliness is because Yahveh Almighty walks through the community to help defeat the enemies, and they do not want to expose Him to anything disgusting that would drive Him away when they need Him.
I like the next instruction where Moses tells the people that if a slave runs away from his master, they should take him in and treat him kindly, and they should not send him back to his master or mistreat him. I’m always thought that if I were alive during slavery, I would have been part of the Underground Railroad in helping people get away from abusive slave owners. We read all through the Torah about Israel owning slaves, but this tells me that God did not expect them to put up with abuse just because they were slaves.
The passage then goes back to the cleanliness issue, only this time it is about moral cleanliness. God says there must not be prostitution, either heterosexual or homosexual, in Israel or in the house of The Lord. God detests these things.
Moses repeats a previous command, reminding Israel to never charge interest on loans they make to their brothers, and it doesn’t matter if the loan is on money, food, or something else. They can charge interest to strangers, but never the family of Israel. Instead, they should trust that all their increase will come through The Lord, and that He will provide all they need. The act of not charging interest to a brother comes with a promise that God will prosper Israel in all they set out to do in the new land.
Our reading closes with a reminder that promises are not made to be broken, and that it is better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. If any kind of vow crosses the lips of one who has the ear of The Lord, He says the person who made the promise must take care to perform whatever they have spoken aloud. Trying to take something back once it goes into the atmosphere is more impossible than putting toothpaste back in the tube. God doesn’t want the atmosphere filled with broken vows.
For those who regularly stop by to read this blog, I am happy to be exposing you to words that will hopefully cause you to love God and His word even more. I encourage you to read more for yourself, so you will be drawn to His desires. I also encourage you to spend as much time with Him as possible, so you will be drawn to His presence. And, from the bottom of my heart, I urge you to pray for discernment of all things and people in your life. This goes for me also, and it includes our friendships, our entertainment, what we watch and read and listen to, and those we bring into our lives to teach us. May God open our eyes and help us to discern what should and should not be regular parts of our lives, and may He prevent us from accepting those things He does not want in our lives simply because we’ve become comfortable with them as an effect of mere exposure.
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August 26, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Bible Commentary, Bible study, cleanliness, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, familiarity, God's presence, Israel, Mere Exposure Effect, Moses, Scripture, Torah commentary, Torah Portions | Leave a comment