Deuteronomy 24-25

Intro:

Read Deut 24:5-9

I. Misc Laws vs 24:5-25:4

vs. 5 Newlyweds

Newlyweds were not allowed to go with the army for the first year

Any able-bodied man could take the new husband’s place in the army but nobody could take his place at home.

His wife would suffer from the pain of separation from her beloved and, if he died in battle, the sorrow of bereavement.

This law shows the high value God puts on human love and the responsibilities of marriage.

vs. 6 Millstones

Millstones, if someone owned them were very valuable

They were heavy stones that were perfectly balanced and hewn into a round circle

The top stone rotated on a bottom one to grind wheat into flour

If a farmer didn’t have the millstone they could provide for their family

If a lender needed collateral for a loan, he wasn’t permitted to take the borrower’s millstones (Deut. 24:6), because the man needed them in order to feed himself and his family.

vs. 7 Kidnapping

Vs. 7 addresses kidnapping

Kidnapping was prohibited (24:7) and was a capital crime

Ex. 21:16 Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death

To kidnap people and sell them is to treat them like merchandise and not like persons created in the image of God.

The Jews were not to enslave one another or sell one another to be enslaved by the Gentiles.

The Lord had delivered His people from Egypt so they could be free, and kidnapping was the reverse of God’s purpose.

vs. 8-9 Leprosy

Vs.8-9 is a warning about cleanliness less leprosy breaks out

vs. 10-13 Debt Collection

Human dignity was supreme for God

Every Jew was to treat other jews and outsiders with dignity

This was especially true in Debt collection

The lender was not to demean the borrower by going into his house to secure a pledge (vv. 10–15), and if that pledge was the man’s cloak, the borrower had to return it by sunset

Ex. 22:25–27 If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Business transactions between Jewish brethren were to be humane and compassionate, to help the needy brother and not to enrich the lender.

vs. 14-15 Oppressing Poor Workers

Once again we see human dignity enter in

Whether your worker was a jew or not they were to be treated with respect

Pay them that day because work was usually temporary

Withholding wages could do harm to them and to you

vs. 16-18 Death Penalty

Next is the punishment for crimes

First, No one could be put to death for another’s sin

Each shall be put to death for his own sin

Dad’s couldn’t die for their children and children couldn’t be put to death for this dads

19-22 Providing for the Poor

The farmer was to leave some “gleanings” for the poor during the time of harvest

Lev. 19:9–10 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

This would give the aliens, orphans, and widows opportunity to gather food in a dignified way and not be forced to beg.

As with the lender, so with the generous farmer: God would bless him in his work and reward him for his kindness to the poor

vs. 1-3 Corporal Punishment

When an offender was found guilty and sentenced to be beaten, he was not to be humiliated but punished justly (Deut. 25:1–3).

To beat him too little would be to minimize the offense, but to beat him too much would be to treat him in an inhuman manner and “degrade him” (niv).

The limit was forty stripes, but the Jews later made it thirty-nine (2 Cor. 11:24) so as not to accidentally go over the legal number.

Whether it’s a judge sentencing a criminal or a father chastening his child, the punishment must fit the offense and not demean the offender.

vs. 4 Muzzling an Ox

Farmers weren’t allowed to muzzle an ox

They usually did so because the ox would stop and eat the grain and stop working

Frugal farmers didn’t want to lose out on the profit that grain would bring so they would muzzle

Muzzling was inhumane to the animal

II. Levite Marriage vs. 5-10

What would a widow do if her husband died and she was childless?

The word “levirate” comes from the Latin and means “a husband’s brother,” i.e., a brother-in-law.

It was this law that the Sadducees used when they tried to trip up Jesus

Matt. 22:23–33

Basically, this law required a deceased man’s brother to marry the widow and have children by her so that the name of the deceased wouldn’t perish from Israel.

However, there were some special conditions to observe.

First, the married brother and single brother had to live together; second, the married couple had to be childless; and, third, the single brother had to be willing to marry the widow and have children by her.

III. Misc Laws vs. 11-19

vs. 11-12 Low Blow

This next law falls into the low blow category

Basically a wife is not supposed to use dirty tactics if her husband gets in a fight

Two men fighting (Deut. 25:11–12) is an invitation for more trouble; better they should seek help and settle their dispute in a more constructive way.

It’s understandable that the wife would want her husband to win, but her method of assistance was shameful, unfair, and grossly offensive.

In describing this scenario, Moses prohibited all indecent methods of combat by either men or women.

The penalty would certainly restrain anybody from doing such a thing.

vs. 13-16 Proper Weights

Honest weights and measures (vv. 13–16) were essential to the public good

Lev. 19:35–37 You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”

The prophets denounced dishonest weights and measures because their use made the poor poorer and the rich richer

Prov. 11:1 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.

Once again, Moses reminded the people that their future security and blessing in the land depended on their obedience to God’s Law.

When they cheated others, they only cheated themselves.

vs. 17-19 Blot out Amalek

The Amalekites (Deut. 25:17–19) were rejected by the Lord and Israel was not to forget their evil deeds.

They attacked Israel after the nation had come out of Egypt (Ex. 17:8–13), starting with the weary and feeble Jews bringing up the rear of the march.

Joshua defeated them and God declared perpetual war on them.

King Saul lost his crown because he failed to exterminate them (1 Sam. 15), and he was slain on the battlefield by an Amalekite (2 Sam. 1:1–16).

It wasn’t until the time of Hezekiah that the Amalekites finally disappeared from the scene