Deuteronomy 24
BBCDeuteronomy 24:1
- Divorce and Remarriage (24:1-4) A man could divorce his wife for uncleanness by writing her a certificate of divorce and giving it to her. She was then free to marry someone else. But if her second husband died or divorced her, the first husband was not allowed to marry her again. Jehovah gave Israel a certificate of divorce (Jer_3:1-8); yet in a future day He will take her to Himself again, having purged her of her unfaithfulness. Oh, the depths of the riches of the love of God; how low He stoops to love the unlovable!
Deuteronomy 24:5
- Various Social Laws (24:525:4) 24:5 A man who was newly married was not required to go out to war for the first year. This gave him time to cultivate and strengthen the marriage bond and to start a family. If he had to go to war and was killed, his name would be cut off from Israel unless his redeeming relative raised up descendants for him. This “kinsman redeemer” was the nearest relative who was able and willing to marry the widow. The first male born to such a union became the heir of the former husband. This continued the family name and kept the land in the family. 24:6 Since a millstone was a person’s means of livelihood, it could not be required as a pledge in a business transaction. To take either the lower or the upper millstone would deprive one of the means of grinding grain. 24:7 A kidnapper or a slave trader was to be put to death. 24:8, 9 Special precautions were to be observed in the event of an outbreak of leprosy, following previous instructions given to the Levites. Miriam is cited as a warning. 24:10-13 A man’s house could not be invaded to obtain a pledge from him. If the man was so poor that he gave his clothing as a pledge, it was to be returned to him each night so that he could sleep in it. 24:14, 15 The wages of a hired servant should be paid promptly. 24:16 No man was to be put to death for another person’s sin. 24:17-22 Justice was to be shown to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. A field was not to be completely harvested. Gleanings were to be left for the poor and the helpless. The same applied to the harvesting of olive trees and grapes. Ronald Sider comments: The memory of their own poverty and oppression in Egypt was to prompt them to leave generous gleanings for the poor sojourner, the widow, and the fatherless. When John Newton was born again, he printed verse 22 in large letters and hung it over his mantlepiece, where he would be constantly reminded of it.