Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

“Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house. ² When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man. ³ But if the second husband also turns against her, writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away, or if he dies, ⁴ the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession.

⁵ “A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married.

⁶ “It is wrong to take a set of millstones, or even just the upper millstone, as security for a loan, for the owner uses it to make a living.

⁷ “If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.

⁸ “In all cases involving serious skin diseases, be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them. ⁹ Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt.

¹⁰ “If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security. ¹¹ You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you. ¹² If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight. ¹³ Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the Lord your God will count you as righteous.

¹⁴ “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. ¹⁵ You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.

¹⁶ “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.

¹⁷ “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. ¹⁸ Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.

¹⁹ “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do. ²⁰ When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. ²¹ When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. ²² Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Deuteronomy 24: 

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.  

1. “[T]he overarching theme of this chapter is the dignity of the individual, which [the LORD through] the Torah seeks to safeguard through its laws governing divorce, marriage, financial transactions, and treatment of workers and society’s most vulnerable, among other matters.”*

2. People–following their sinful nature and their own desires: would dismiss their wives on a whim and seek to take them back at will; would run off quickly to war leaving the woman to fend for herself or seek other men for support and comfort; would be more concerned about loan repayment than the dignity or needs of the borrower; kidnap people to “turn a buck” by selling them as slaves or for ransom; would forget that God (through Christ’s death) freed us from slavery to sin, self, and Satan; would cheat workers of their wages (by delay or otherwise); kill, ostracize, or punish family members or friends for the crimes of others; would not hold individuals alone responsible for their actions; would treat strangers, the fatherless, widows, and the otherwise vulnerable with cruelty instead of acting out of empathy; would look out only for themselves rather than seeing to the interests of the needy and vulnerable.  

*The Rational Bible: Deuteronomy by Dennis Prager p. 390

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Deuteronomy 24?  

Dear sovereign God who saves, thank You that You care about the daily issues of life and how people treat each other whether that is husbands/wives, creditors/debtors, criminals/victims, landowners/field workers, innocent/guilty, or the well-off/vulnerable.  Thank You for Your wisdom in giving sinful human beings—us–directions and laws so that we can know how to relate to each other with dignity and respect. Thank You that these laws are still relevant three thousand years after You directed Moses to teach them to the Israelites. Please by the power of Your Holy Spirit help us (me in particular) to put them into practice in this day and time. May increasing numbers of people turn from their wicked ways and demonstrate their love for You by how they treat each other. For Your glory, LORD. AMEN 

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Deuteronomy 24?

• I will do what I can to encourage a couple who is struggling to strengthen their marriage. 
• I will pay any “employee” fairly and in a timely manner.
• I will contribute to my local food bank or bring food to a family in need.
• I will look for ways to show empathy to _____ (someone specific) who is needy or vulnerable.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.