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In Christ, Mark
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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 our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we turn to the 24th chapter of Deuteronomy, we find a continuation of various rules that began in chapter 23. Let’s take a look at them now:
1. “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.”
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!).
2. “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.”
The next rule shows 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”. This allowed a solid marital foundation to be laid before the newlyweds would have to face any separation.
3. “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.”
Millstones were critical to a family’s agricultural livelihood because they were used to ground up the grain. Given this, they weren’t to be used as security for a debt.
4. “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.”
We have already seen where God expected the Israelites to treat their own with respect and honor. You’ll recall in chapter 23 that no interest was to be charged to an Israelite. Here in chapter 24, the subject was the kidnapping of a brother Israelite and taking away their freedom by exchanging them through 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.
5. “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.”
Up to this point, God had given His people lots of direction regarding clean and unclean matters. The Israelites had been given specific guidance to leave these determinations up 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.
With this, we need to keep in mind that there were minimal medical facilities or treatment methodologies back in Old Testament times and so there was deep concern over any potential breakout of a disease that could potentially disable or wipe out an entire nation if not kept in check. This is why God established rules for the Israelites to follow.
6. “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.”
Here we find God making it clear that fathers were not to die for the actions of their children. Conversely, children were not to die for the actions of their fathers. The bottom line was that if a father or child dies, it wouldn’t be due to the sin of the other. Interestingly enough this command, like many others, would change completely when Jesus came because although He was sinless, He bore the weight of mankind’s sins and died so to give them the opportunity to be saved.
In addition to these laws, we find four specific commands in chapter 24 that involve caring for the underprivileged:
1. “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.”
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 a security and for the poor, sometimes they could only give what they had, which could literally be the cloak off their back.
This was a real loss because on cold evenings, that cloak would double as a blanket that would keep the poor person warm. With this, the person who received the cloak as security was required by the Lord to return it to the poor person at sunset, an act that would be “regarded as…righteous…in the sight of the Lord”.
2. “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.”
Aliens, those who didn’t have bloodlines to the Israelites, were often slighted and marginalized along with the fatherless and the widows. In regard to the aliens, we see where the Lord was concerned that they would be taken advantage and this could happen by depriving them justice or taking something of value (a cloak in the passage) from a poor person as a pledge.
As we have seen in other instances in the Old Testament, God reminded the Israelites that they were once “slaves in Egypt” before they were redeemed. Because of this, the Lord didn’t want His people oppressing others as they had been oppressed and therefore issued His command.
3. “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.”
Today, there are many people who live paycheck to paycheck. Given this, they rely on their wages being provided to them on time so they can pay their bills and put food on the table. The poorer a person is, the more critical it is that they get paid.
This is why God ordered the people of Israel to “pay him (the poor person) his wages each day before sunset, because he (was) poor and (was) counting on it”. Not doing this might lead to the poor person crying out “to the Lord against: the employer making him “guilty of sin”.
4. “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.”
This final command deals with the matter of gleaning which essentially meant that after a harvest, anything remaining (i.e. sheaves, olives or grapes) was to be left behind for the “alien, the fatherless, and the widow”. This would ensure that everyone would be able to partake from the bounty of God’s creation and the blessing of the harvest.
Through these last four laws, we see clearly how God had a heart for those who were disadvantaged. He expected His people to make sure they were cared for then and He expects us to do the same in present times. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that we have become too much of a self-centered society. Too often, people are more focused on themselves and their wants with no real concern for the needs of others.
This selfish attitude is completely counter to how God expects us to behave as Christians and it certainly wasn’t how Jesus lived. His life was defined by self sacrifice, no more evident than at the cross where He laid down His life so to save anyone who would simply believe in His name. These words from Him found in Matthew, chapter 25 underscore His life attitude and how He expects His followers to follow His example:
“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.’” Vv. 35-40
Friends, Jesus leaves no grey area here. For when we help those who are considered the “least” in society, it’s as if we are doing it for Him. And after He did so much for us, the least we can do is follow His command to help others, adopting His selfless attitude in the way we live our own lives. When we do this, I believe we will discover that the true joy and happiness in life comes not from 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 aligned with our Savior Jesus. May He forever receive all our honor, glory, thanks, and praise.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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