Deuteronomy 24
OGCSUMMARY OF CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The case of a divorced wife, 1-4. No man shall be obliged to undertake any public service for the first year of his marriage, 5. The mill-stones shall not be taken as a pledge, 6. The man-stealer shall be put to death, 7. Concerning cases of leprosy, 8, 9. Of receiving pledges, and returning those of the poor before bed-time, 10-13. Of servants and their hire, 14, 15. Parents and children shall not be put to death for each other, 16. Of humanity to the stranger, fatherless, widow, and bondman, 17, 18. Gleanings of the harvest, &c., to be left for the poor, stranger, widow, fatherless, &c., 19-22.
QUESTIONS, LESSON EIGHTEEN (Deuteronomy 23:15 to Deuteronomy 24:22)
CHAPTER 23
Note Deuteronomy 23:15-16. We have said this escaped slave was not an Israelite. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
It is a fact that prostitution and sodomy were frequently connected with heathen religious rites in ancient times. Do you know of modern examples of religion upholding or encouraging immoral practices?
Why not bring the wages of a harlot into the house of God? Isn-’t money all the same? Do you think the church of the Lord should be supported by solicitations from non-Christians?
When loaning, whom could an Israelite charge interest? Whom could he not?
What was the rule concerning making and breaking vows?
If you ate grapes or plucked grain as you passed through your neighbor’s field, what one cardinal rule was to be observed?
CHAPTER 24 7.
Upon what grounds could a man obtain a divorce under the Old Covenant?
Why did Jesus say this law was given?
Do you think it was practiced by Israelites before Deuteronomy was written?
What prohibition is laid down here for divorced persons?
How long was a newly married man exempt from military service? What reason is given for this?
How did the millstones involved in grinding grain represent a man’s life?
What happened to an Israelite who kidnapped an Israelite?
Specifically, whose instructions were to be heeded by the leper?
Why should the leper remember Miriam?
How long could a creditor keep a poor man’s pledged garment? Why?
When was a poor laborer to be paid? Why?
Note Deuteronomy 24:16. This statement deals with Israel’s judgment toward transgressors. How do you reconcile it with the judgment of God in Deuteronomy 5:8-10?
Do you think Deuteronomy 25:16 would aptly describe God’s judgment in the final day? Scripture(s) please!
How would the poor be provided for as a generous Israelite harvested his crops?
Deuteronomy 24:1-4
(6) DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE (Deuteronomy 24:1-4)
When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. 3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, who took her to be his wife; 4 her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before Jehovah: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:1-4
Since this text has been variously used and abused, it should merit our most careful reading and thought.
Read through the fourth verse for the complete thought, What is it?
In this passage, as in many others, certain wrong practices of the people are assumed. Moses (and God) deal with life as is. What is assumed in this passage?
Read Matthew 19:3-9. Does our Lord approve of the prevalence and purposes for divorce as given in Deuternonmy? Cf. Matthew 5:31-32.
How would the violations of the regulations specified here cause the land to sin? Cf. Deuteronomy 24:4.
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:1-4
When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a bill of divorce, puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, 2 And when she departs out of his house, she goes and marries another man, 3 And if the latter husband dislikes her and writes her a bill of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house; or if the last husband dies, who took her as his wife, 4 Then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she is defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord; and you shall not bring guilt upon the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.
COMMENT 24:1-4
See also Deuteronomy 22:13-21, Deuteronomy 21:10-14, Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:3-9. The law of Jealousy (Num. ch. 5) should also be kept in mind.
A great deal of discussion she been occasioned by the phrase some unseemly thing in her (Deuteronomy 24:1). Some critics insist that the phrase has a moral connotation: Some indecency in her (R.S.V., Amplified O.T., Smith.) … he has found her immodest in some way (Moffatt). But although the phrase is literally rendered a thing or matter of nakedness, the reference is more general. i.e. some shameful thing, something disgraceful (Pulpit). Indeed, we have already seen that adultery was punishable by death under the Mosaic law (Deuteronomy 22:22, Leviticus 20:10). The Pharisees substituted the phrase for every cause (Matthew 19:3) in their questioning of Jesus. And it does appear that this law, given by Moses because of the hardness of their hearts, enabled a man to divorce his wife on sometimes very flimsy grounds. But, as the Pulpit Commentary remarks, This is not a law sanctioning or regulating divorce; that is simply assumed as what might occur and what is here regulated is the treatment by the first husband of a woman who has been divorced a second time.
Edwin C. Bissell, in Bible-Work, states, This regulation is remarkable alike for its concessive and its restrictive character, It assumes the prevalence of divorcea fact also recognized in a number of other laws of this and the Levitical code (Leviticus 21:7 [13, 14] Deuteronomy 22:19; Deuteronomy 22:29). It assumes that it was carried on with some degree of formality. And such a custom, with the form it took of giving a -bill of divorcement,-’ this law does not forbid; neither does it command it, Herein our Lord corrected the Pharisees-’ false quotation of the Pentateuch, changing their -Why did Moses command?-’ into -Moses suffered.-’ In its restrictions, on the other hand, the law assumes the sacredness of the marital tie and provides against an obvious tendency to break and renew it at will. Its sole prohibition, however, is of the remarriage of divorced persons after a second marriage had been entered upon by the former wife.
Behrends continues in the same book, The Mosaic legislation permitted a certain liberty of divorce; but our Lord only brought into clear relief, and made emphatic for all time, its determining ethical principle, when he declared that the Mosaic permission was an unwilling concession to the -hardness-’ of the people’s heart; that from the beginning-’ marriage was not so contemplated and constituted, that man may not -put asunder what God hath joined together;-’ that divorce is permissible only -for the cause of fornication;-’ that [permanent or prolonged] separation for any other cause is an incentive to adultery, and that whoever contracts marriage with the guilty party commits adultery.
Deuteronomy 24:5
(7) BRIDEGROOM EXEMPT FROM WARFARE (Deuteronomy 24:5)
5 When a man taketh a new wife, he shall not go out in the host, neither shall he be charged with any business: he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he hath taken.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:5
Was there any advantage for the government in the above regulation?
How shall we compare this rule with the provision for divorce?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:5
5 When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife who he has taken.
COMMENT 24:5
See also Deuteronomy 20:7, notes. As Matthew Henry remarks, this law would promote love and tend to establish the bond between this couple, and stands somewhat in contrast to the former law allowing divorce. He was neither to go to war, or be charged with business (Heb. dabar), literally word, thing; here, business, affair, or restricting labor of any kind. All this enabled him to cheer his wifeEnjoy the wife he has married, (Benton), to give happiness to the woman he has married (Torah). As we are repeatedly seeing in this book, the feminine half of the marriage had privileges and blessings which represent only a foretaste of what was to come under Christ.
Deuteronomy 24:6
(8) MILLSTONES NOT TO BE TAKEN IN PLEDGE (Deuteronomy 24:6)
6 No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he taketh a man’S life to pledge.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:6
What would be a synonym for the word pledge?
Why would anyone be willing to give a millstone as a pledge? Approximate a circumstance (imaginary) where this would be true.
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:6
6 No man shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for he would be taking a life in pledge.
COMMENT 24:6
The A.V. has the nether or the upper millstone. J.F.B. remarks, The -upper-’ stone being concave, covers the -nether-’ like a lid; and it has a small aperture, through which the corn [grain] is poured, as well as a handle by which it is turned. The propriety of the law was founded on the custom of grinding corn [grain] every morning for daily consumption. If either of the stones, therefore, which composed the hand-mill was wanting, a person would be deprived of his necessary provision.
Deuteronomy 24:7
(9) KIDNAPPING A FELLOW-ISRAELITE (Deuteronomy 24:7)
7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, or sell him; then that thief shall die: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:7
What is the Lindberg law on kidnapping? How does it relate here?
Cf. Exodus 21:16 and notice how all encompassing was this law.
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:7
7 If a man be found kidnapping any of his brethren of the Israelites, and treats him as a slave or a servant, or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall put evil from among you.
COMMENT 24:7
Compare Exodus 21:16 The thief was to die regardless as to what he had done with his lootwhether he had made him a slave, sold him, or whatever.
Deuteronomy 24:8-9
(10) LAWS OF LEPROSY TO BE OBSERVED (Deuteronomy 24:8-9)
8 Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. 9 Remember what Jehovah thy God did unto Miriam, by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:8, 9
Read Leviticus Chapter s 13 and 14 to understand what the priests and Levites would teach concerning leprosy.
What possible two-fold reason could there be in mentioning Miriam in these verses?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:8, 9
8 Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that you watch diligently, and do according to all that the Levitical priests shall teach you, As I commanded them, so you shall be watchful and do. [Leviticus 13:14-15.]
9 Remember [earnestly] what the Lord your God did to Miriam by the way, after you had come out of Egypt. [Numbers 12:10.]
COMMENT 24:8, 9
Laws concerning leprosy are found in Leviticus 13, 14. Note there that the priests are again and again involved in testing for leprosy and the cleansing process. Cf. Matthew 8:4, Moses here simply exhorts them to heed the priests instructionsinstructions which God had given them.
The case of Miriam is probably cited not only because Miriam became leprous (Num. ch. 12), but because she became such as a result of her disobedience and disrespect for Moses-’ authority. As disobedience had caused her leprosy, disobedience could prevent the heating of leprosy. And as God, being merciful, healed Miriam, so could he heal them if they would do according to all that the Levites shall teach you.
Deuteronomy 24:10-13
(11) PLEDGE FOR A LOAN (Deuteronomy 24:10-13)
10 When thou dost lend thy neighbor any manner of loan, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 11 Thou shalt stand without, and the man to whom thou does lend shall bring forth the pledge without unto thee. 12 And if he be a poor man, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge; 13 thou shalt surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before Jehovah thy God.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:10-13
Please read the following references for a complete understanding of this circumstance: Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Deuteronomy 23:19-20; Exodus 22:25-27.
List the qualities of character necessary to fulfill this injunction; such as: (1) compassion, (2) patience, (3) kindness.
What type of righteousness is involved in Deuteronomy 24:13?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:10-13
10 When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge.
11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge over night. 13 You shall surely restore to him the pledge at sunset that he may sleep in his garment and bless you; and it shall be credited to you as righteousness (rightness and justice) before the Lord your God.
COMMENT 24:10-13
See also Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Deuteronomy 23:19-20, and especially Exodus 22:25-27. The creditor was to be considerate of the comfort and warmth of the borrower, and he was not to invade the personal property rights of this poor man, It is proverbial that The rich ruleth over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7) but such despotism was not to chaacterize Israelites-’ financial dealings with one another.
A poor man might only have one or two items of clothinghe very often slept in the same clothes he wore, The normal garments for the poor were long, loose garments. still used among the Arabs, and called hykes, which is a kind of blanket, something resembling a highland plaid, in which they often carry their provision, wrap themselves by day and sleep at night. (Clarke, writing about 1830). Thus the holder of this pledge was to return it by nightfall.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15
(12) PAYING THE POOR HIRED SERVANT (Deuteronomy 24:14-15)
14 Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy sojourners that are in thy land within thy gates: 15 in his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:14, 15
If Jehovah loved all His children with an equal love, why are some poor and others rich?
What is suggested in the word oppress as here used?
Nothing is said of the pay scale, Why not? Are all servants to be paid every day? Discuss.
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:14, 15
14 You shall not oppress or extort from a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is of your brethren, or of your strangers and sojourners who are in your land inside your towns. 15 You shall give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the sun goes down; for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it; lest he cry against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.
COMMENT 24:14, 15
See also Leviticus 19:13. As in the previous case the pledged garment was to be returned on the same day before the sun set, so here he was to be paid the same day and for the same reasonhe needed it! And when a man is truly down and out he naturally setteth his heart upon it.
In James 5:1-6 the wicked and oppressive rich are described as holding back the needed wages of the poor. Their wages were kept back by fraud and therefore crieth out against the hoarding masters. Jesus taught the laborer is worthy of his hire, Luke 10:7. See also Matthew 10:10, 1 Timothy 5:18.
The righteous taketh knowledge of the cause of the poor (Proverbs 29:7 a).
Deuteronomy 24:16
(13) TRANSGRESSORS TO BEAR OWN GUILT (Deuteronomy 24:16)
16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:16
Is the case of Achan a violation of this law?
What about Korah and his company or the wholesale slaughter of the Canaanite tribes?
Read 2 Kings 14:1-6; Jeremiah 31:27-30 for a fulfillment of this law.
How does Deuteronomy 5:8-10 relate?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:16
16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; only for his own sin shall anyone be put to death.
COMMENT 24:16
God’s law laid the punishment of death only upon the person or persons who had committed crimes worthy of death. The fathers, judges, or congregation had no right to punish any member of the family but the guilty party.
The case of Achan and his family (see especially Joshua 7:20-25)[42] is sometimes cited as a violation of this law by God himselfas is also the punishment of Korah, his comany, and their families (Numbers 16:31-35) and the wholesale slaughter of the Canaanite tribes (Deuteronomy 7:1-5; Deuteronomy 20:16).
[42] But were the other members of his family accomplices in the crimes? His loot was hidden in the family tentit was not concealed from the eyes of wife and children!
But our present passage is not primarily a law regulating the dealings of God, Further, the cases cited above do not deal with God’s final or eternal judgment (as administered by the Son, John 5:22). Here, we have the judgments Israel was to make as a congregationparticularly through the priests and judges (Deuteronomy 13:6-11, Deuteronomy 17:2-7, etc.) God did sometimes punish groups with death, whether directly or through human instrumentality. His reasons (as in the case of the Canaanites, above) are discussed elsewhere in this volume.
When Israel was a happy, prosperous, and obedient nation, this law was observed. Note 2 Kings 14:1-6, Jeremiah 31:27-30. Jeremiah 31:31-34 have special reference to the situation under the New Covenant of Christ, Hebrews 8:6-13.
But the principle of the passage before us also shall characterize God’s final dealings with man, and the dealings of the righteous with their fellow-man. Note Ezekiel 18 carefully. As in Jeremiah 31:29-30, the proverb then in vogue about children suffering because of the parent’s sin is not upheld by the prophet of God. Rather, the soul that sinneth, it shall die, and the righteous shall surely live. the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. A careful study of Ezekiel 18 and Jeremiah 31 will cause one to see the present passage in a larger context.
Israel knew the justice of this verse. That is why, under the yoke of Babylonian captivity, the cry is heard.
Our fathers sinned, and we are not; And we have borne their iniquities
Note also Deuteronomy 5:8-10. The children would suffer punishment as a result of their parent’s sin. But their personal guilt and destination is reckoned only from their own lives.
In the final day of reckoning, we have been assured of impartial and individual judgment, Matthew 16:27, Romans 15:10-12, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Ephesians 5:7-8, Colossians 3:22 to Colossians 4:1, 1 Peter 1:17.
Deuteronomy 24:17-18
(14) JUSTICE TO THE INDIGENT (Deuteronomy 24:17-18)
17 Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to the sojourner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow’s raiment to pledge; 18 but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:17, 18
Who was to enforce these various laws? Cf. Deuteronomy 1:16-17; Deuteronomy 16:18-20.
Who would be classified as a sojourner? What justice was due him?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:17, 18
17 You shall not pervert justice due to the stranger or the sojourner or the fatherless, or take a widow’s garments in pledge; 18 But you shall [earnestly] remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this:
COMMENT 24:17, 18
The principles were to be observed by all, and enforced by the judges (Deuteronomy 1:16-17; Deuteronomy 16:18-20). As we saw above (Deuteronomy 24:10-13) a poor person often had only one or two garmentsand the same garment often served as a nightgown and blanket. Thus the widow’s was not to be taken as a pledge.
On Deuteronomy 24:18, see also Deuteronomy 10:17-19, Leviticus 19:33-34.
Deuteronomy 24:19-22
(15) NEEDY TO BE CONSIDERED AT HARVEST TIME (Deuteronomy 24:19-22)
19 When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands. 20 When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the sojourners, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it after thee: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22 And thou shalt remember that thou was a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:19-22
Are some people naturally more generous than others? Is generosity a quality controlled by law?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:19-22
19 When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands 20 When you beat your olive tree, do not go over the boughs again; the leavings shall be for the stranger and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
22 You shall [earnestly] remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
COMMENT 24:19-22
Compare Deuteronomy 23:24-25, Leviticus 19:9-10; Leviticus 23:22. The poor and the sojourner were to be considered whether grain, olives, or grapes were being harvested, It is not difficult to see how the basic quality of generosity would be developed in the faithful Israelite who kept these laws.