Deuteronomy 24

CHAPTER 24

Further Laws (24:1–22)

1–4 In ancient times, husbands could send their wives away without any valid reason, leaving the woman an outcast without means of support. Old Testament law forbade that kind of behavior on the part of husbands; Moses said that a man could divorce his wife only if he found something indecent about her, and then he was required to give her a certificate of divorce (verse 1). This certificate showed that the wife had not run away or committed adultery and thus provided her with legal protection against those who might defame her further. So, even though the divorce laws were heavily weighted in the husband’s favor—a wife, for example, could not divorce her husband—still they did protect the divorced woman’s status in the community and even allowed her to marry again⁶³ (verse 2).

Moses said that a man could divorce his wife if there was something indecent about her (verse 1), but it is not certain what Moses meant by the term “indecent.” Surely it referred to an offense less serious than adultery, and most likely it was less serious than the offense Jesus described as marital unfaithfulness (Matthew 5:3132). Some believe the “indecency” could have been a failure to bear children, or some form of ritual impurity, or any number of other significant offenses. We can guess that the definition of “indecency” was rather broad, since divorce appears to have been common in ancient Israel.

The specific point of verses 1–4, however, was to prohibit a man from remarrying his divorced wife if in the meantime she had married someone else. Even if the woman’s second husband had died (verse 3), the first husband could not remarry her because she had been defiled (verse 4) by having had sexual intercourse with a man who was not her original husband. The use of the word “defiled” here implies that in God’s sight there was something “defiling” about divorce and remarriage—at least as far as the first husband was concerned.⁶⁴

5 A newly married man was to be given no military or civil duties during the first year of his marriage. If he were sent to war, he might die without having had the chance to produce offspring. Also the marital happiness of a couple was important to God—and still is.⁶⁵ This law is an extension of the teaching given in Deuteronomy 20:7.

6 This verse deals with the taking of security for a debt; nothing that was vital to a person’s well-being was to be taken as security by the lender (see Exodus 22:25–27 and comment). In this case, a person’s millstones were not to be taken—even the top stone alone, for how could one grind grain with only the bottom stone! Most modern societies have similar laws that protect debtors from undue hardship.

7 Kidnapping a fellow Israelite was similar to murder: it was the taking of a person’s freedom—which is almost as precious as life itself. The principle of “life for life” applied: the kidnapper was to die (see Exodus 21:22–25 and comment).

8–9 Here Moses reminds the people to follow all the laws concerning leprous diseases. Ordinarily the Hebrew word for “leprosy” applied to any infectious skin disease; the laws for leprosy were the same as those for other infectious skin conditions (see Leviticus 13:1–46; 14:1–32). But leprosy was surely the most feared. Let the Israelites remember what happened to Moses’ sister Miriam, who was struck with leprosy when she rebelled against God (Numbers 12:1–10).

10–13 See Exodus 22:25–27 and comment.

14–15 Here once again Moses defends those who are poor. A poor man needs to get his wages the same day or he won’t have money to eat that night (see Leviticus 19:13; 25:35). He will cry out to the Lord, and the Lord will take his side (James 5:4). Most modern laws concerning fair employment have their origin in these Old Testament laws.

16 A person is punished only for his or her own sin, not for the sin of anyone else. However, our sins (and our virtues) affect others—especially if we are a king or a leader or a parent. Then the effects of our sin (or virtue) will be felt for generations (see Exodus 20:4–6 and comment).

17–18 See Exodus 22:21–27 and comment.

19–22 See Leviticus 19:9–10 and comment.