Newlyweds and treatment of the poor

Deuteronomy Chapter 24

Moses continued to give rules to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land. Suppose, he said, a man married a woman but later discovers something shameful about her and sends her away. If she leaves and married another man and the second husband also divorces her or dies, the former husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled.

A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or given any other special responsibilities. He must be free to be at home for one year, bringing happiness to his wife.

It is wrong to take a pair of millstones, or even just the upper millstone as a pledge, for the owner uses it to make a living.

If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must cleanse all evil among you.

Watch contagious diseases carefully and follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey the commandments. Remember what the Lord did to Miriam as the Israelites were coming from Egypt.

If you lend to your neighbor, do not enter your neighbor's house to claim the security. Stand outside and the owner will bring it to you.If your neighbor is poor and has only a cloak to give as security, do not keep it overnight. Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can sleep in it and bless you and the Lord will count it as a righteous act.

Never take advantage of poor laborers, whether fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. Pay them wages each day because they count on it. Otherwise they might cry out to the Lord and it would be counted as a sin against you.

Parents must not be put to death for the sins of the children, nor the children for the sins of their parents.

True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans and never accept a widow's garment as a pledge of her debt.

When harvesting your crops and forget to bring a bundle of grain from the field, don't go back for it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans and widows. Then the Lord will bless you in all you do. This applies to olives, grapes as in verses 20-22.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW that God wanted the people to think twice before divorcing as in verses 1-4. In verse 5 he wanted newly married couples to be together for a year to avoid putting a burden on their relationship and give it a chance to mature and strengthen.

Throughout the Old Testament God told his people to treat the poor with justice. Sometimes the poverty-stricken are not incompetent or lazy, but may be victims of oppression and circumstance. None of us is completely isolated from the poor. God wants us to treat them fairly and to do our part to see their needs are met.

Gleaning behind the reapers was a way the poor could gather grain for themselves. In the story of Ruth, she obtained her food this way in Boaz's field. So a woman of Christ's lineage was able to find food.

How does this chapter relate to us today. I like the idea that a newly married man could not be drafted. How wonderful that the Lord would help the newlyweds to strengthen their marriage. Even today those who have been married a long time should take the time to bring happiness to each other by remembering what it was like to be a newlywed.

The Lord was always on the watch to see that the poor and downtrodden were cared for at all times. We do not leave grain to be gleaned, but we take food to the food drives, we take clothes to the clothing drives, we work in the food pantries, we take holiday baskets to the poor and we contribute money to these many causes. It is so important to note that God did not want these people to be treated like second class citizens. At our local food panty, where I volunteer, we are told not to pay attention to the large SUV's that people drive to pick up food. In other words, we are told not to be judgmental. Often as not, the large SUV is all the person has left to get from job search to job search. Often the SUV is being slept in. Often the SUV is about to be repossessed. When you see these things, bow your head, be humbled and thank God for all that he gives to you and ask him to please bless those less fortunate.

Yours in Christ,
Mary