Deuteronomy 24 Study Notes

24:10-13 Taking something as security for a loan has already appeared in v. 6; Ex 22:26-27. Added here is the instruction to treat the debtor with respect. Counted as righteousness means that such behavior conforms to the stipulations of the covenant. See 2Co 9:10-15.

24:14-15 An employer must pay wages to the poor and needy every day. Otherwise, he would be answerable not to a mere human higher power but to the Lord himself.

24:16 Though Israelite families were tight knit (Jos 7:24-26), each family member must be put to death for his own sin. Jeremiah expanded on this principle when he observed that “In those days, it will never again be said, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ Rather, each will die for his own iniquity” (Jr 31:29-30; cp. Ezk 18).

24:17-22 The law was designed not just to punish the wicked but also to protect the helpless, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow. In the absence of governmental welfare programs in ancient Israel, the wealthy took responsibility for the less fortunate. As an example, if a farmer should forget a sheaf in the field he must leave it for the poor and landless to gather (cp. vv. 20-21). A famous illustration of this occurred in the story of Boaz and Ruth. Boaz, realizing he was next of kin to the unsuspecting Ruth, purposefully left scatterings of grain in his fields for her (Ru 2:15-18).