Deuteronomy 24 – The Law of Divorce and Other Various Laws
A. Divorce, remarriage, and marriage.
1. (1) The law of divorce in ancient Israel.
“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,
a. A certificate of divorce: According to these laws, divorce was allowed in Israel, but carefully regulated. Under God’s law, the marriage agreement could not be simply dissolved as soon as one partner wanted it to end. There had to be a cause for a certificate of divorce.
i. “The legislation here neither commands nor condones divorce in general but only regulates its practice for ancient Israel.” (Merrill)
ii. Even with cause, divorce was never to be seen as a preferred or easy option. The Hebrew word translated divorce has as its root the idea of “a hewing off, a cutting apart” – it is the amputation of that which is intended to be one.
iii. “[Christians] all regard divorce as something like cutting up a living body, as a kind of surgical operation. Some think that the operation is so violent that it cannot be done at all; others admit that it is a desperate remedy in extreme cases. They are all agreed that it is more like having your legs cut off than it is like dissolving a business partnership or even deserting a regiment.” (C.S. Lewis, Christian Behaviour)
b. He writes her a certificate of divorce: God commanded through Moses that any divorce be sealed with a certificate of divorce. In other words, it was not enough for a man to just declare, “we’re divorced” to his wife. The divorce had to be recognized legally just as the marriage had been, so a certificate of divorce – a legal document – must be issued, and properly served (puts it in her hand).
c. She finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her: This describes the grounds of divorce and indicates that a certificate of divorce could not be written for just any reason. It had to be founded on these two important clauses.
i. There must be some uncleanness in the spouse. Some later Rabbis defined uncleanness as anything in the wife which might displease the husband. At the time of Jesus, some Rabbis taught that if a wife burned her husband’s breakfast, of if he found a more attractive woman to marry, he could then divorce her.
ii. But Matthew 19:3-10 is the record of Jesus carefully and properly defining what uncleanness meant in Deuteronomy 24:1. He said, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery (Matthew 19:9). Jesus explained that uncleanness referred to sexual immorality, using a broad term referring to sexual sin, which includes, but is not restricted to, sexual intercourse with a person not your spouse. The Hebrew word translated uncleanness implies the meaning of sexual immorality; it is literally, “nakedness of a thing.”
iii. So, if a husband found some uncleanness in his spouse, he had the right to give his wife a certificate of divorce. But he was not obligated to do so. It also had to be true that the loss of favor was because of the discovery of some uncleanness in the spouse. In other words, it must be that the husband was so troubled at his wife’s sexual immorality that he simply could not look on her with favor in his eyes anymore. The lack of favor in his eyes had to be prompted by her uncleanness.
iv. This helps us understand what Jesus explained in Matthew 19:8: Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
· If a woman did not have a hard heart, she would never commit sexual immorality against her husband, and there would be no need for divorce.
· If a husband did not have any hardness in his heart, he could forgive and still look upon his repentant wife with favor in his eyes, even though she was guilty of sexual immorality.
Yet because God knows there is hardness in our hearts – both in the offending and offended parties – He grants permission for divorce.
v. In the days of Jesus, some Rabbis taught that it was the duty of a godly man to divorce his wife if she displeased him. Both Moses and Jesus clearly said that God permits divorce in certain circumstances, but never commands it.
vi. Yet, if someone has biblical grounds of divorce (which, according to 1 Corinthians 7:15, also includes abandonment by an unbelieving spouse), they certainly do have permission to divorce, and God does not charge them with wrong. An exception to this would be if the testimony of the Holy Spirit to the individual believer would be to remain in the marriage, and that believer was disobedient to the specific guidance of the Spirit.
d. He writes her a certificate of divorce: Because this passage only speaks of husbands divorcing their wives, some people think that wives had no right to divorce their husbands on the grounds of sexual immorality (uncleanness). However, Deuteronomy and the Law of Moses in general deal with case law, giving principles with specific examples, with the understanding that Israel’s judges would apply the same principle to similar situations. The same principle applies for the wife regarding the husband.
i. In addition, when Jesus referred to this passage in Mark 10:12, He explained that the principle applies in the case when a woman divorces her husband and marries another. This statement of Jesus applied the principle to the wife regarding the husband.
2. (2-4) The law of remarriage in ancient Israel.
When she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
a. Her former husband who divorced her must not take her back: This is a strong law, saying that if a divorced woman marries again, she could not return to her first husband, should her second marriage end through divorce or death. To break this law was an abomination before the LORD.
i. “The story of Hosea (Hosea 1–3) is the story of a man who refused to divorce his wife, despite her unfaithfulness. He was thus in a position to take her back when he had found her. So God was faithful to Israel despite her unfaithfulness and did not put her away irrevocably (cf. Jeremiah 3:1–8).” (Thompson)
b. An abomination before the LORD: It seems that it might be a good thing for the first husband and wife to get back together. But this command was made because God wanted both marriage and divorce to be seen as serious, lasting things. One couldn’t be married or divorced casually; it had to be carefully thought out because it was intended to last.
i. “The present law would have had the effect of making divorce a more serious affair…. it would discourage the easy transfer of a woman from one man to another which resulted in the defilement of the woman. The net result would be the elevation of the status of women.” (Thompson)
ii. This law would also strengthen the second marriage. In this example, it would discourage a spouse from thinking that they might as well just leave their second marriage and go back to their first partner. Usually, the preferred option was to remain in the marriage and work things out.
iii. Bring sin on the land: “The idea that unchastity defiled the land is found in several other passages in the Old Testament (e.g. Leviticus 18:25, 28; 19:29; Numbers 5:3; Jeremiah 3:2, 9; Hosea 4:3).” (Thompson)
3. (5) The law honoring marriage.
“When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.
a. He shall be free at home one year: A similar principle was previously stated in Deuteronomy 20:7. This was one way that God honored and blessed the marriage covenant. The law of Israel allowed men who were newly married to be exempt from military or other state service for one year. This was not only to enjoy the bond of marriage, but also to begin a family and establish descendants.
b. Bring happiness to his wife: This is an important job for every husband. The disciples of Jesus Christ find their lives by losing them (Matthew 10:39), so a husband will find happiness if he purposes to bring happiness to his wife.
i. This doesn’t mean that the husband should focus on pleasing the wife’s opinion or preference on every occasion. That can be a profound abandonment of the husband’s leadership, allowing the wife’s every whim to guide the direction of the home. It means for the husband to take leadership in the home that constantly takes account of what is best for the entire family, giving the home the stability and security that brings happiness.
ii. As the role of the husband in Ephesians 5 is described, God emphasizes the essential oneness between husband and wife. On this principle, the husband cannot make his wife happy without also bringing happiness into his own life. Conversely, he cannot bring misery into the life of his spouse without also bringing misery into his own life.
iii. A wife made happy through the godly leadership of the husband is one part of the foundation for a happy home. A bitter or contentious wife makes for a miserable home (Proverbs 27:15, 21:9, 21:19).
B. Other various laws.
1. (6) Do not take someone’s livelihood as a pledge.
“No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone in pledge, for he takes one’s living in pledge.
a. No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone in pledge: A millstone was something essential to a family’s livelihood, their ability to provide regular food for the family. Therefore, it was forbidden to take a millstone as a guarantee for a loan.
i. This warns God’s people against taking advantage of each other in times of great need. Believers must take care that they never unfairly profit from the poverty or difficulty of others.
b. For he takes one’s living in pledge: Non-essential items could be taken as a pledge, to guarantee the repayment of a loan. Although interest could not be charged on a loan to an Israelite in need, a pledge could be taken – collateral to guarantee the repayment of the loan. This command forbids the taking of collateral that would take away a man’s ability to provide for his family and get himself out of debt.
2. (7) The punishment for kidnapping.
“If a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; and you shall put away the evil from among you.
a. If a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel: Kidnapping was usually done in the ancient world not so much for return and ransom, but so that one could sell the one abducted to slavery, just as was done to Joseph by his brothers (Genesis 37:28).
b. That kidnapper shall die: This crime was serious enough before God to command the death penalty. The same principle is stated in Exodus 21:16. As Israel carried out this command, it would help to put away the evil among Israel.
i. “The offense must have been common in the ancient Near East, to judge from other law codes which legislate against the practice…. whether the kidnapper possessed his fellow or sold him abroad, he was to be put to death.” (Thompson)
3. (8-9) The command to act swiftly when leprosy breaks out.
“Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy, that you carefully observe and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you; just as I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way when you came out of Egypt!
a. Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy: Leviticus 13-14 describes in detail how God wanted lepers examined and quarantined. Because leprosy was such a dreaded disease, God commanded that they take heed in an outbreak of leprosy, so it would not become a plague among the people.
i. “The term for leprosy (ṣara’at) is a wide one and covers a variety of skin diseases. Indeed, the term is also applied to clothes and houses (Leviticus 14:55).” (Thompson)
b. Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam: In Numbers 12, Miriam led her brother Aaron in a rebellion against Moses, and for it, God struck her with leprosy. Though Moses prayed for her to be healed, God let her be a leper for seven days before healing her, and she was shut out of the camp seven days (Numbers 12:14). If someone as prominent as Miriam was quarantined as a leper, it showed that every other leper in Israel should also be quarantined according to God’s instructions in Leviticus 13-14.
4. (10-13) Handling a pledge for a loan rightly.
“When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight. You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God.
a. You shall not go into his house to get his pledge: When a pledge was taken for a loan, it had to be received in a way that guarded the poor man’s dignity. The lender couldn’t burst into the home of the borrower and seize the pledge. The borrower delivered it to the lender.
i. “What courtesy and respect for the feelings of another prompted this injunction!…. If the poor man asked a loan, he must choose his own pledge, and fetch it from his house with his own hand; it must be his act.” (Meyer)
ii. God did not condemn the principle of taking a pledge, only commanding that it be received humanely. The idea of taking collateral for a loan is valid because it encourages personal responsibility in the one receiving the loan.
b. You shall not keep his pledge overnight: Assuming the pledge was something to keep the man warm (such as a garment or a blanket, which would often be the only pledge a poor man could make), the pledge had to be returned so the man could use it to keep warm overnight.
i. “Instructions were given concerning loans and pledges which were full of mercy to the poor, and provided that nothing really necessary for the well-being of anyone should be withheld from him after sundown. Those who were in need were not to be oppressed.” (Morgan)
ii. It shall be righteousness to you before the LORD: “God will reckon it for a good work, and graciously reward it, he will turn paymaster to thee; thy righteousness, and thy riches too, shall endure for ever (Psalm 112:3).” (Trapp)
iii. “The Jews in several cases did act contrary to this rule, and we find them cuttingly reproved for it by the Prophet Amos, Amos 2:8.” (Clarke)
5. (14-15) The command to pay your workers.
“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the LORD, and it be sin to you.
a. You shall not oppress a hired servant: A servant might be oppressed by not being paid, by brutal or unsafe working conditions, or in other ways. God commanded employers to treat their workers fairly and kindly.
b. Lest he cry out against you to the LORD: The LORD hears the cry of the oppressed, and this should be a warning to the one who would oppress others (James 5:4).
i. “The fact that he was ‘only a hireling’ (Heb. sakir), a person of a lower socioeconomic status, was no excuse to deny him his rights. In fact, he enjoyed such status with God that he could and might cry out to the Lord against the stingy, dishonest employer and thus invoke God’s verdict of guilt.” (Merrill)
6. (16) Each shall bear his own sin.
“Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.
a. A person shall be put to death for his own sin: God commanded that everyone be responsible for his or her own sin. A father cannot be blamed and responsible for the sin of their (grown) children, and the children cannot be blamed and responsible for the sin of their parents.
i. By this same principle, it is often wrong for a parent to automatically blame themselves for their wayward children; though they may have a part in the problem, it isn’t always the case.
ii. “Though shame and other consequences of crime fall naturally on one’s family and descendants according to the governance of God, the punishment to be exacted for a crime falls on the perpetrator alone.” (Kalland)
b. For his own sin: There are instances when God commands that a whole family be punished for sin, such as with the family of Achan in Joshua 7:16-26. When God deals with a whole family, it usually shows that there must have been some conspiracy between family members, for each is responsible for his own sin.
i. “This law is explained and illustrated in sufficient detail, Ezekiel 18.” (Clarke)
7. (17-18) A command to be compassionate and fair.
“You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge. But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing.
a. You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherlessness: The foreigner (stranger) or the orphan (fatherless) where among those who were often denied justice in the ancient world, because they normally had no one to advocate for them or support their cause.
i. Nor take a widow’s garment: “The widow’s cloak must not be taken in pledge (though taking a cloak in pledge, temporarily, was allowed for others, Deuteronomy 24:12–13).” (Kalland)
b. You shall remember: As Israel remember how much God had done for them, it should make them more compassionate to the disadvantaged. It is good for God’s people to deal with others remembering how much God has blessed and forgiven them.
8. (19-22) Leave behind some of the harvest for the poor.
“When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing.
a. It shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow: This was one of God’s support programs for the poor in Israel, giving them the right of the gleaner. Farmers were instructed to not completely harvest their fields, so that some would be left behind for the hard-working poor to gather for themselves. Dropped or forgotten bundles of grain were to be left behind in the field. This was what Boaz did for Ruth (Ruth 2:2-3, 2:16).
i. This was not the only care given to the poor in Israel. Deuteronomy 14:28-29 and Deuteronomy 26:12-15 also command that every three years the poor were to be supported by Israel’s tithe.
b. Therefore I command you to do this thing: This was a wonderful way of helping the poor. It commanded farmers to have generous hearts, and it encouraged the poor to be active and work for their food. It made a way for Israel’s poor to provide for their own needs with dignity.
i. “This permitted the recipient to salvage his own honor while at the same time delivering the landowner from any sense of arrogant control over the lives of those dependent on him.” (Merrill)
© 2017-2024 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com