SCRIPTURE: DEUTERONOMY 24
IMPORTANT VERSES:
“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.” (Deuteronomy 24:5)
“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.” (Deuteronomy 24:14-15)
“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.” (Deuteronomy 24:16)
“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.” (Deuteronomy 24:19)
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 the 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 yes 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 di 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 form 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.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
Divorce was a permanent and final act for the couple. Once divorced and remarried to others, they could never be remarried to each other. This restriction was to prevent casual remarriage after a frivolous separation. The intention was to make people think twice before divorcing.
Newly married coupes were to remain together their first year. This was to avoid placing an excessive burden upon a new unproven relationship and to give it a chance to mature and strengthen before confronting it with numerous responsibilities. Let your marriage grow strong by protecting your relationship from too many outside pressures and distractions – especially in the beginning. And don’t expect or demand so much from newlyweds that they have inadequate time or energy to establish their marriage.
The poweless and poverty-stricken are often looked upon as incompetent or lazy when they may be victims of oppression and circumstance. God told us to do all we can to help these needy ones. His justice did not permit the Israelites to insist on profits or quick payment form those who were less fortunate. Instead, his laws gave the poor every opportunity to better their situation while providing humane options for those who could not. None of us is completely isolated from the poor. God wants us to treat them fairly and do our part to see that their needs are met.
God’s people were instructed to leave some of their harvest in the fields so travelers and the poor could gather it. This second gathering, called gleaning, was a way for them to provide food for themselves. A woman in the Bible named Ruth was able to obtain food for herself and Naomi by gleaning behind the reapers in Boaz’s field.
THOUGHTS: (By Warren Wiersbe)
This chapter deals with the relationship of 3 classes of people:
- Husbands and wives – God allowed divorced people to remarry; but this was a concession, not a commandment. The divorced wife, protected by this law, could establish a new home, and she did not become a castaway. God wants happiness and holiness in our homes.
- Masters and servants – God sees how we treat those who depend on us for their living. We must never humiliate others because they have less money or authority than we do., When we start to become proud and insensitive, we should remember what we were before the Lord saved us.
- Rich and poor -God had special concern for the poor and He depended on the generosity of His people to meet their needs. He promised to bless all who shoed compassion to aliens widows and orphans. We should ask ourselves where we would be if others helped us to the same degree that we help others.