SCRIPTURE: DEUTERONOMY 25
IMPORTANT VERSES:
“Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” (Deuteronomy 25:4)
“Do not have two differing measures in your house – one large, one small. You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 25:14-15)
“For the Lord your God detests anyone who does theses things, anyone who deals dishonestly.” (Deuteronomy 25:16)
When men have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty. If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and have him flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime deserves, but he must not give him more than forty lashes. If he is flogged more than that, your brother will be degrade in your eyes.
Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” That man’s line shall be know in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.
If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.
Do not have two differing weights in your bad – one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house – one large, one small. You must have accurate and honest weights ands measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.
Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had to fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
Three important principles about discipline:
(1)-Let the punishment follow quickly after the offense.
(2)-Let the degree of punishment reflect the seriousness of the offense.
(3)-Don’t overdo the punishment.
Discipline that is swift, just and restrained makes its point while preserving the dignity of the offender.
Oxen were often used to tread out the grain on a threshing floor. The animal was attached by poles to a large millstone. As it walked around the millstone, it hooves trampled the grains, separating the kernels from the chaff. At the same time, the millstone ground the grain into flour. To muzzle the ox would prevent it from eating while it was working. Paul used this illustration in the New Testament to argue that people productive in Christian work should not be denied its benefits – they should receive financial support. The fat that a person is in Christian ministry does not mean he or she should be unfairly paid. There is also a broader application. Don’t be stingy with those who work for you.
The “Levirate” marriage demand the marriage of a widow to the brother of her dead husband. The purpose of such a marriage was to carry on the dead man’s name and inheritance. Family ties were an important aspect of Israelite culture. The best way to be remembered was through your line of descendants. If a widow married someone outside the family, her first husband’s line would come to an end. Tamar fought for this right in Genesis 38.
THOUGHTS: (By Warren Wiersbe)
This chapter emphasize on respecting people and treating them as fellow human beings made in the image of God. It is wrong to humiliate others or take advantage of them.
We also should have respect for animals. It would be frustrating for an ox to be in the midst of plenty and not be able to eat.
Family carries on the life of the nation, so it must be protected.
We must respect for truth and not be devious in our business dealings.