Does God Hate Mixed Fabrics? A Proper Understanding of Deuteronomy 22:11

You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together. (Deuteronomy 22:11)

Does God really hate it when people wear two kinds of fabrics? Aren’t there more important things to worry about in life such as poverty, famine, and injustice?

Critics of the Old Testament often use the verse cited above and others like it to discredit the Bible’s relevance and authority. For example Richard Dawkins, Britain’s prominent evolutionist, scoffs at Deuteronomy 22:11 and refers to the God of the Old Testament as “petty.” One blogger that I consulted believed that the mixed fabric passage demonstrates that “The Bible exists as much, if not more, as an object of opression  [sic] as an object of inspiration.”

One thing to keep in mind is that the Old Testament was not written to twenty-first century English speaking westerners. Rather, Deuteronomy 22:11 was addressed to Hebrew speaking people who lived in an Ancient Near Eastern culture almost 3,500 years ago. In order to understand the verse, one must read it in its proper context.

Object lessons are powerful things that assist us in the learning process. For example, one might say: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” This doesn’t mean that people typically walk around with multiple containers of eggs, but that you should not focus all of your time, resources, or energy into only one area. Another illustration of an object lesson is the phrase: “You can’t unscramble an egg.” In other words, we should be careful about what we do because some things cannot be undone. And then there’s one of my favorites: “You can’t fit a round peg in a square hole.” This short statement means that some things do not go well together.

In much the same way, Deuteronomy 22:11 served as a visible object lesson that taught the Israelites a very important lesson. The statement is listed alongside other objects that should not be grouped together: 1) two kinds of seed (22:9), and 2) plowing with an ox and donkey together (22:10). The point is that some things should never be mixed together.

The key to understanding this section of Scripture is Deuteronomy 22:12: You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself. Numbers 15:39 explains the significance of the tassels that the Israelites were to weave into their garments: It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot.

In other words, the Israelites were to remember that there is only one God. They should worship Him and must not follower the wicked desires of their hearts or adore the gods of the peoples that surrounded them. The God of the Bible and other deities do not mix!

Deuteronomy 22:11, therefore, provides an object lesson that every Hebrew speaking person in the Ancient Near East would understand: And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)