The Strand Study Bible

DEUTERONOMY 24:1

DEUTERONOMY 24:16

379

corn of thy neighbour, 1 then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not 2 move a sickle unto thy neigh- bour’s standing corn. Deuteronomy 24 Civil Laws (Concerning divorce and remarriage) Date Written - Feburary, 1448 BC/AM 2552 1 3 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her , and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some 4 uncleanness in her : then let him 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 5 latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4 Her 6 former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomi- nation before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. (Concerning war) 5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken. (Concerning honesty and integrity) 6 No man shall take the 7 nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.

1. Mt 12:1-2 2. or, “use” 3. Quoted in the NT - Mt 5:31 & Mk 10:4 4. Note - Because the meaning of the word “ uncleanness ” came to mean different things to the Jews, the Jews couldn’t decide what Moses meant, so they ended up divorcing their spouses for any and every cause. Did the word mean inadequacy as in “I don’t like her looks anymore therefore I am going to divorce her” or did it mean shameful, disgraceful, sexual uncleanness (short of adultery, of course, because adultery was pun- ishable by death - Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22-24)? This is the very verse the Pharisees used to try and trap Jesus with in Matthew 19. 5. or, “second” 6. or, “first” 7. or, “lower” 8. Exo 21:16 9. Lev 13,14 10. Num 12:10 11. Exo 22:25-27 & Amos 2:6-8 12. I Tim 5:18 & Lev 19:13 13. II Ki 14:6 & II Chro 25:4 & Jere 31:29-30 & Ezk 18:20

(Concerning kidnapping) 7 8 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and ma- keth merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you. (Concerning disease; leprosy) 8 Take heed in the plague of 9 leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do ac- cording to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. 9 Remember what the LORD thy God did unto 10 Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt. (Concerning the poor, honesty and integrity) 10 When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 11 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. 12 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: 13 In any case thou shalt 11 deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God. 14 Thou shalt not oppress an hired ser- vant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: 15 12 At 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 the LORD, and it be sin unto thee. (Concerning the innocent) 16 13 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children

24:2-4 It’s easy to grasp the reason behind why God endorsed what He never established (divorce). God allowed divorce for the sake of the one who was perpetually unloved within the marriage, which in most cases happens to be the woman (God’s greatest design). Joy Davidman, wife of C.S. Lewis, in Smoke on the Mountain notes: Every statement our Lord made about sexuality works to protect women and to awaken men to their own responsibilities. 1 Notice the number of feminine pronouns ( her , she ) used within these first four verses. Knowing that the woman was His superior design ( Gen 2:18b ) and not deserving of the treatment she so often receives, God allowed divorce, thus allowing the woman: (1) to marry again (vs 2); (and if hated again) to marry again (vs 3); but not to be reunited with her former husband (s). God never designed the woman to be a kind of property that men could dispose and reclaim at will. Women were not created equal to men; women were created better than men –better than a piece of property that can be bought and sold at will. NOTE – There are two reasons why God endorsed what He never established ( a bill of divorcement – vs 3): (1) To show man how hard his heart could become (Mt 19:3-8 and I Sam 1:2 ); and (2) To protect the dignity of His most prized design –woman . No woman, if perpetually unloved by the man, should have to stay in a marriage. This is why Deuteronomy 24:1-4, concerning divorce and remarriage, was written – to protect the one who is unloved within the marriage. Any woman living in a perpetual state of abuse (be it physical, emotional, verbal, etc.) is not being loved and should not have to stay in that marriage. According to the Apostle Paul, she can separate herself from him until he either offers her a divorce or they reconcile (I Cor 7:10-11). 1 Davidman, Joy. Smoke on the Mountain , Philadelphia, PA, The Westminister Press, 1953. Print.