Certificate of Divorce

Deuteronomy 24

There are eleven laws given in this passage, the first of which is the law of divorce. If a man decides that he does not like her, after marrying her, and writes her a certificate of divorce, if she marries another man, the first husband is not permitted to take her back. The certificate of divorce was give, so that the woman and her new husband could prove that she was divorced; therefore, not falling under the law for adultery; for the penalty was death for both the man and woman caught in the act of adultery.  Jesus said: 

“It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Mt 5:31) 

So, did Jesus change the law of divorce? I say to you no, Jesus did not change the law, he magnified the law. When answering the question asked:

“Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Mt 19:7-9)

So, when reading the of divorce, it is evident, Moses did not command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away, he permitted it, the command was to not take her again as wife, when she had been married to another man. So, Jesus did not change the law of divorce, he magnified it. You can write a certificate of divorce and send her away as Moses permitted, but you should understand that in doing so, you are forcing her to commit adultery because the only we she can survive is to marry another man and if you marry another woman, you are committing adultery. Understand that the law is about loving God and loving your neighbor. (Mt 22:34-40) The law shows us that we do not love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind; and we do not love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Rom 3:19-20) 

The other ten laws given in this text are about loving your neighbor as yourself. A recently married man needs to stay home with his wife and not forced to leave her. No one should take from a man his livelihood. Be careful of infectious diseases because it can spread to others. If a man pledges his coat in a loan, do not take it from him, and he spend the night cold. Give a poor man his wages before the sun sets, that he may feed his family. A son shall not be put to death for the fathers sins, nor a father for his sons. You shall not pervert justice. When harvesting your fields, leave some grain for the poor, and do the same when harvesting from your fruit trees. The whole law is about loving God and loving ones neighbor. (Mt 22:34-40) 

The People of God Shall Live Holy Lives

Deuteronomy 23

The Lord God is holy; therefore, his people whom he walks among shall be holy. There are eleven commandments given in this chapter: The first commandment specifies whom to exclude from the assembly of the Lord: No emasculated male, no one of illegitimate birth, and no ammonite or Moabite because they did not give them food and water when the sons of Israel came from Egypt. However, they are not to exclude an Edomite because he is a brother, nor an Egyptian because they were aliens in Egypt. The sons of Israel are to keep from every evil thing when camping together. If a man has a nocturnal emission, then he must leave the camp, wash with water, and not return until sundown. There shall be a place outside of camp to dig and cover up their excrement. If a slave escapes from his master and comes to the land of Israel, they are not to hand him over, but he shall live among the sons of Israel. The sons and daughters of Israel shall not be prostitutes, and money received from prostitution shall not be received in the house of the Lord. The sons of Israel are not to charge interest to their countrymen. They are to do whatever comes out of their mouths. They may eat the fruit of there neighbor’s vineyard, but cannot take the fruit.  The same goes for their neighbor’s field of grain.

The Lord God is holy; therefore, the people called by his name shall be holy. It seems harsh that persons should be excluded from the assembly of the Lord God; however, a day and hour is coming in which God will judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:31) All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another; the blessed of the Father will inherit the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world, but the accursed will go into eternal punishment. (Mt 25:31-46) Justification is the legal declaration of God, that a person is righteous in his sight. Sanctification is the process by which a person is actually becoming righteous. These cannot be separated. Focusing on sanctification alone leads to legalism. Focusing on justification alone leads to lawlessness. The elect of the Father will respond to the gospel with repentance and faith.  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (Jn 14:15) Jesus’ commandment is love for the church. (Jn 15:12-17)  

For Our Good

Deuteronomy 22

Fifteen laws are given in this text. The translators divided these into eight sundry laws and seven moral laws. Sundry simply means, various kinds. However, I do not believe that these are various kinds, but are derived from one principle, The law of Christ, (Gal 6:2) “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” (Rom 13:8, NASB)

All the laws in this text are about treating people right and not acting like what you are not. Not only were the sons of Israel to always to do right by their neighbor but they were to do right by the created things as well. When building a house, they were commanded to put a protective wall on the edge of the roof to keep people from falling off. 

Men are not women and women are not men. They were commanded to not sow their vineyards with two kinds of seeds, or plow with two kinds of animals yoked together, or wear a garment of mixed fabrics. 

The Lord God made us different, to complement one another in marriage. Things were to be used for their designed purpose, and should not be merged together. All people, and all things have value, but all do not have the same purpose. Men were created to act like men and women were created to act like women. The only time that two different things were to be yoked together, is a man and women in marriage.

What is sin? Sin is lawlessness. (1 Jn 3:4) “Lawlessness: a state of disorder due to a disregard of the law.” (NOAD) Sin is stepping over the boundaries put in place by the creator. The apostle Paul said, “Where there is no law, there also is no violation.” (Rom 4:15 NASB) The law is good, but it is man who is evil. (Rom 7:12-13) Adam and Eve thought that God was holding something back from them; therefore, they desired the forbidden fruit, and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They sinned, and death resulted, and so spread to all of their children. (Rom 5:12) The law is our boundary, and meant for our good, and the good of our neighbors. 

Expiation and Doing Right

Deuteronomy 21

In this chapter are  five laws: The expiation of murder done in a community without a witness. Taking a daughter of an enemy as wife. The law regarding who the first born is when there is more than one wife. The law regarding a rebellious son. The law regarding a man put to death, by hanging him on a tree. 

Someone would be murdered without witnesses, so how can the community be holy in the sight of the Lord? Men delight in women, so how can a man take an enemies daughter as wife? Men just as quickly become disenchanted, so how should she be released? A man might take more than one wife, so whose son should be given the rights of the first born? A father and mother may have a rebellious son, who left unchecked, may bring condemnation upon them, so how should this be dealt with? Men will be put to death for crimes, but should the body be dishonored? 

All of these laws were given with the expectation of sin. Psalms 14:1-3 says:

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;

There is no one who does good.

The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there are any who understand,

Who seek after God.

They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

The apostle Paul quoted this Psalm when summing up the fact that both Jew and gentile are all under sin. (Rom 3:10-18) 

The community needs to make every effort to find the guilty party and not ignore crimes. Marriage is a sacred institution. Women and children should be treated fairly. Parents should not be held responsible for children who are rebellious and will not obey. Even when a man is put to death, even death by hanging on a tree, a man who is considered accursed of God, his body is to be treated with honor, because he was created in the image of God.

Before nightfall, Joseph of Arimathea and the Pharisee Nicodemus, took the body of Jesus down from the cross, cared for it, and buried his body in a garden tomb. (Jn 19:38-42) The apostle Paul quoted from Deuteronomy 21:23,

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Gal 3:13-14)

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and God has made a way for him to be just and justify us. (Rom 3:21-26) Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father (God) but through faith in Jesus Christ. (Jn 14:6) 

Laws of Warfare

Deuteronomy 20

There are three main laws about warfare, an each law has caveats. The first law is to not be afraid of your enemies. The second law gives stipulations on what to do when besieging a city. The third law commands the sons of Israel to not destroying the fruit trees.

The sons of Israel are about to enter the land of Canaan. The people in the land are in greater number than they; therefore, the natural response is to be afraid. Therefore, the commandment is to not be afraid and trust that the Lord is with you. The Christian is not going into physical war against a physical enemy. Our war is spiritual and we fight spiritual battles, and we use spiritual weapons. (Eph 6:10-17) However, like the Israelites, who were going into battle against the Hittites, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; we are facing an enemy that is more numerous than we are, but we should not be fainthearted, or afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord our God is the one who goes with us, to fight for us , to save us. Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33) 

The sons of Israel were not to have mercy on the inhabitance of the land. They were to have mercy on the cities outside of the land but not on the people who were in the land, they were to utterly destroy them. The Christian is to have mercy on the people of the world. The Christian should preach the law to bring the knowledge of sin, and when the person gives up, we should give them the gospel. This is the concept of law to the proud and grace to the humble. While we should have mercy towards other sinners, we shall have no mercy on the sin within ourselves. The sin that is within us must be utterly destroyed. If you find any sin within yourself, it must utterly destroyed.

Besieging a city, whether it be an outside city (another person), or an inside city (ones own sin), it may take a long time. We must take care, and not to destroy the fruit trees in the process. The sons of Israel were commanded to not destroy the fruit trees, that were outside the city that they were besieging. If they were hungry, they could eat from the trees, but not destroy them. Likewise, the Christian should take care when preaching, to not destroy what is good. 

Witnesses Plural

Deuteronomy 19

There are three laws given in this text: The law regarding the cities of refuge. The law regarding boundary markers. The law regarding witnesses. These three are connected.

Cain was the first man to kill another man and men continued to kill men until God destroyed the earth with a worldwide flood. During the time of Noah, God commanded:

Whoever sheds man’s blood,

By man his blood shall be shed,

For in the image of God

He made man. (Genesis 9:6)

Human life is superior to that of the animals because we were created in the image of God. Murder is defined as malice of forethought. It is an intended act. In our society, some may disagree with the concept of life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot justice until it happens to them or someone that they love. When it does, they want vengeance. 

The law regarding the cities of refuge were put in place to protect the innocent. We live in a dangerous world, were accidents happen and people lose life and limb. So, intention of the heart and mind is the determining factor. We do not take it upon ourselves to avenge blood, this power is given to the state. In the nation of Israel, it was given to the elders, because anger is never just. Witnesses plural were required to convict a person of wrong doing. A single person might attempt to use the elders to do harm to his neighbor, whom he hates. Multiple witnesses are required to lesson the probability of false judgments. 

A Prophet Like Me

Deuteronomy 18

In this chapter, there are three laws: The law concerning the Levites portion, the law forbidding spiritism and the promise of a prophet like Moses. 

The Lord God created a situation in which there was a class of people dependent on the giving of others to live. If the sons of Israel did what they ought, then this class had all that they needed, but if not, this class would suffer or turn from serving the Lord. The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, was to have no portion in Israel; however, they were to eat what was offered to the Lord. They were to be the Lord’s physical representatives in the nation of Israel. They were not the Lord, but were the Lord’s servants, and being the Lord’s servants, they ate from the Lord’s table.

The people in the land of Canaan, before the sons of Israel, practiced divination, witchcraft, sorcery and spiritism. Today, these are thought of as entertainment. Both children and adult television programs and movies are filled with these things. Not only are they filled with these things but are portrayed as good. Yet the Scripture teaches us that the these things are detestable to the Lord.

Deuteronomy is Moses’s last recorded sermon to the sons of Israel. He did not to go into the land of Canaan with the sons of Israel. However, he is giving them a promise that the Lord will raise up among them a prophet like him. There were prophets during the time of the judges and of the kings, but none were like Moses who used to speak face to face with the Lord, just as a man speaks to his friend. (Ex 33:11) During the history of Israel, there were many prophets and leaders, but none were like Moses. The people were waiting for this prophet, and for the Messiah, both of whom came in the person of Jesus Christ. 

He was in the beginning with God and he was God. (Jn 1:1) It is often the case that the Lord’s promises are more than. Jesus was not only a prophet like Moses, who spoke to the Lord face to face, as a man speaks to his friend, Jesus is the word of the Lord become flesh. The Lord said through Moses, “It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.” (Duet 18:19) And John the Baptist said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (Jn 3:36)