Deuteronomy 24

Moses gives a string of practical laws that protect people who could easily be pushed aside: a wife in a failed marriage, a newly married husband, a poor borrower, a day laborer, a widow, an orphan, a foreigner. Again and again the reason is the same. Israel was once a slave in Egypt and was rescued by God, so Israel must show mercy.

Deuteronomy 24:1

This verse sets out a situation. It does not recommend divorce. A husband finds something shameful in his wife and ends the marriage. Moses requires a written certificate, which protects the woman. She is not simply thrown out, and she has proof she is free to remarry.

BSA: indecency (“nakedness, something improper”): The phrase is deliberately general. It points to some serious shameful matter, not a trivial annoyance. certificate (“bill, document”): A written document gave the wife legal standing and slowed down hasty, angry decisions.

Hebrew: כְּרִיתֻת (keritut, H3748) — “a cutting off.” The Hebrew name for the certificate means a document of cutting off. It shows how serious it was to break what God had joined.

See also: Matthew 19:7-9.

Deuteronomy 24:2-3

The case continues. The divorced woman marries another man, and that marriage also ends, either by a second divorce or by his death. These verses are still part of one long “if” sentence. The point of the law comes in verse 4.

BSA: hates (“feels intense dislike or hostility towards”): The second husband’s rejection shows the woman’s life has become painful and unstable.

Deuteronomy 24:4

In this case the first husband may not take her back. Treating a wife like something to be passed around and reclaimed makes a mockery of marriage, and it stains the land God is giving. The law guards the seriousness of marriage vows.

BSA: defiled (“made unclean, shamed”): The woman has been through a broken relationship, and a return to the first husband would only deepen the stain. abomination (“a disgusting thing, an offense”): God treats the cheapening of marriage as something deeply offensive to him.

Hebrew: תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, H8441) — “abomination, something detestable.” This strong word is used for things that God finds revolting. Here it shows how seriously he takes marriage and the land he gives.

Deuteronomy 24:5

A new husband is excused from war and public duty for a full year. This gives the marriage a firm start. God cares about the happiness of a home, and he puts that before the demands of the state.

BSA: bring joy (“happiness, cheer”): The husband’s task for the year is to make his wife glad, which is a holy duty and not a mere pastime.

Hebrew: וְשִׂמַּח (vesimmach, H8055) — “and he shall gladden.” The verb means to make someone happy. God sets a whole year aside so a husband can learn to delight his wife.

Deuteronomy 24:6

A lender may not take the tools a family uses to make its daily bread. Millstones ground the grain for each day’s food. Taking them would take away the means of survival, so a debt must never become a way to starve someone.

BSA: livelihood (“life, soul”): The Hebrew word here is “life”, which means taking the millstones is like taking the person’s very life.

Hebrew: נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, H5315) — “life, soul, person.” The verse says the lender takes a nefesh as security. To take what keeps a man alive is to take his life in pledge.

Deuteronomy 24:7

Kidnapping a fellow Israelite to enslave or sell him is a capital crime. A person made in God’s image cannot be treated as property. Putting the kidnapper to death clears the evil from the community.

BSA: kidnapping (“stealing, taking by force”): The Hebrew simply calls this theft, but it is the theft of a human being.

See also: Exodus 21:16.

Deuteronomy 24:8-9

When someone had a serious skin disease, the priests were to decide what to do, and the people were to follow their instructions carefully. Miriam is the reminder. She was struck for speaking against Moses, and she was shut outside the camp until she was healed. The example shows how seriously God takes both disease and pride.

See also: Numbers 12:10-15; Leviticus 13:1-3.

Deuteronomy 24:10-11

A lender may not walk into a borrower’s home and pick out something as a pledge. The borrower brings it out himself. This protects the man’s privacy and dignity, since being in debt does not take away his right to a home.

BSA: outside (“in the street, beyond the wall”): The lender waits in the street, which pictures the respect the borrower’s house is owed.

Deuteronomy 24:12-13

A poor man’s cloak was also his blanket at night. If it is taken in pledge, the lender must return it before dark. The man will then sleep warm and thank him, and God counts such kindness as righteousness.

BSA: credited (“counted, reckoned”): God keeps account of mercy shown to the poor and counts it in a person’s favor. righteousness (“justice, virtue”): Righteousness here means a life that does right by others in everyday dealings.

Hebrew: צְדָקָה (tsedaqah, H6666) — “righteousness, rightness.” The word is about being in the right, both before God and in how you treat people. Mercy to a poor man is counted as real righteousness.

See also: Exodus 22:26-27.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15

A day laborer lives from hand to mouth, so his pay must be handed over on the same day. Holding it back may mean his family goes hungry that night. If he cries out to God, God hears, and the employer is guilty of sin.

BSA: cry out (“call out in distress”): The poor man’s cry reaches God directly, even if no earthly court will hear it. oppress (“refuse the hire of”): Oppression here includes simply refusing or delaying what the worker has earned.

Hebrew: יִקְרָא (yiqra, H7121) — “he calls out.” The verb is plain. A poor man’s call becomes a case brought before God, and God listens to it.

See also: Leviticus 19:13; James 5:4.

Deuteronomy 24:16

Guilt is personal. A court may not execute a father for his son’s crime or a son for his father’s. Each person answers for his own sin. This is a principle of fairness for human courts.

See also: Ezekiel 18:20.

Deuteronomy 24:17-18

Justice must reach those with no power: foreigners and orphans. A widow’s cloak must not be held as a pledge. The motive is memory. Israel was once a slave in Egypt and God bought her out, so she should treat the weak as God treated her.

BSA: redeemed (“ransomed, set free”): God paid the price of freedom for Israel, and that freedom sets the pattern for how Israel treats others.

Hebrew: פָּדָה (padah, H6299) — “redeemed, ransomed.” The word is used for buying someone out of bondage. Israel is told to remember that it was set free at God’s cost.

See also: Exodus 22:21-22.

Deuteronomy 24:19

A forgotten bundle of grain is to stay in the field. It belongs to the foreigner, orphan and widow, who can gather it with dignity and not as beggars. God promises to bless the farmer’s work when he lets go of a little.

BSA: sheaf (“bundle of grain, omer”): The bundle is a small thing, and yet leaving it behind is an act of obedience and trust. bless (“praise, honor”): God’s blessing follows the farmer who is generous with what he might have kept.

See also: Leviticus 19:9-10; Ruth 2:2-3.

Deuteronomy 24:20-21

The same kindness is commanded for olive trees and vineyards. The owner should not strip them twice. What remains is for those who have no fields of their own. Generosity is built into the way the harvest is gathered.

BSA: remains (“is left, not harvested”): The leftovers are meant to be left for the poor on purpose and are not a mere accident of harvesting.

Deuteronomy 24:22

The chapter ends as it began its themes of mercy, with a call to remember Egypt. Israel’s own slavery and rescue are the reason for these laws. Those who have been shown mercy are called to show it.

BSA: slaves (“servants, bondmen”): Israel’s past as slaves is the very reason it must care for the weak.

See also: Deuteronomy 15:15.