Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.
Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a man's livelihood as security.
If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.
In cases of leprous diseases be very careful to do exactly as the priests, who are Levites, instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.
When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.
Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
Deuteronomy 24
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Chapter 24 of Deuteronomy is a continuation of various rules that began in Chapter 23. Let’s take a look at them:
- Interestingly enough, divorce existed even back in Old Testament days. And as the first law suggests, people could even experience multiple divorces in a lifetime. In these instances, a woman wasn’t permitted to marry her first husband if she ended up divorced twice in her life. (Of course, it doesn’t say that she couldn’t marry a third time!).
- The next rule shows that there was an emphasis placed on marital relationships in Israel, so much so that a man was not to be “sent to war or have any other duty laid on him” for one year after getting married. This was so the man could be “free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married”. A solid relationship foundation could be established before the newlyweds would have to face any separation.
- Millstones were critical to a family’s agricultural livelihood because they were used to ground up the grain. Given this, millstones were not to be used as security for a debt.
- We have already seen where God expected Israelites to treat their own with respect and honor. You’ll recall from Chapter 23 that no interest was to be charged to an Israelite. In Chapter 24, the matter regarded kidnapping a brother Israelite and taking away their freedom in exchange for slavery or sale. This was strictly prohibited and carried the death penalty because the life of the victim was being taken away through enslavement and oppression. Under the “eye-for-an-eye” laws of the day, the offender would pay with his own life.
- God had given lots of instruction regarding clean and unclean matters. The Israelites had been given specific guidance to leave determination of these matters to the priests, who were to evaluate whether a person was clean or unclean. Special attention was to be given to “cases of leprous diseases” and the Israelites were to “be very careful to do exactly as the priests” instructed. Although minimally contagious, leprosy was an ailment that could afflict others if not diagnosed, quarantined and monitored properly. Keep in mind that there were minimal medical facilities or treatment means back in the days of the Old Testament. And breakout of a disease could potentially disable or wipe out an entire nation if not kept in check thus the necessity for rules on it.
- Fathers were not to die for the actions of their children. Conversely, children were not to die for the actions of their fathers. No…if one was to die, it was to be for their own sin, not the sin of another. Interestingly enough, this command, like others, would change completely with Jesus who we knew died for the sins of all mankind, not his own because He was sin-free.
There are four specific commands in Chapter 24 that involve caring for the underprivileged:
1. When we get financing today, we are often required to leave a down payment or security deposit. Back in Israel, it was the same only other items could be given as security and for the poor, sometimes they could only give what they had…the cloak off their back. Well, on cold evenings, that cloak would be the only thing that would keep the poor person warm. So the person receiving the cloak was to return it to the poor person at sunset…and act that would be “regarded as…righteous…in the sight of the Lord”.
2. Others in society who were often slighted were the aliens (those not of Israel), the fatherless and the widows. The Lord was concerned that they would be taken advantage of whether it might be by being deprived justice or taking something of value (a cloak in the passage) from a poor person as a pledge. As we have seen in prior scriptures, the Lord reminds Israel that they were “were slaves in Egypt” where “the Lord…redeemed (them). He didn’t want to see Israel oppress others as they had been oppressed and this why He commanded them to do this.
3. Many people today live paycheck to paycheck. They rely on their wages being paid on time so they can pay their bills and put food on the table. The poorer a person is, the more critical getting paid is. Given this, Israel was to “pay him (the poor person) his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it”. Not doing this might lead to the poor person crying “to the Lord against (the employer)” making him “guilty of sin”.
4. The final command deals with the matter of gleaning. After harvesting, anything left (i.e. sheaves, olives or grapes) was to be left for the “alien, the fatherless and the widow”. Everyone was to be able to partake of the bounty of God’s creation and the blessing of the harvest.
We see through these last four commands that God clearly had a heart for those who are disadvantaged and He expected His people to ensure they were cared for. As I pondered this, I wondered how well we really do this today? How well do we take are of those who are less fortunate? Are we concerned about them or are we solely focused on ourselves?
My concern is that we have become too much of a self-centered society. Too often, it’s all about me and not all about us. This is completely counter to how God expects us to behave as Christians. For remember that Jesus…God’s only Son sent to live and die for us…lived a life that was all about self-sacrifice. He wasn’t about Himself…He was about doing whatever He could to teach, preach, heal, and love others. If we’re going to truly consider ourselves Christians, then we are to live likewise.
The final words on this today should come from Jesus Himself…lest you think I am solely writing on my own authority. For remember He told us that:
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:35-40
Indeed…when we do for the least, it is as if we are doing it for Jesus Himself. He did so much for us. The least we can do is follow His command to help others…and adopt His attitude of self-sacrifice in our own lives. In the end, we will find that the true jot and happiness in life comes from not what we do for ourselves but what we do for others…especially the less fortunate. We find that joy because it is in those moments when we are most closely communing with our Savior, Christ Jesus. May He ever receive all our honor, glory, thanks and praise. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment