More Miscellaneous Regulations

Deuteronomy 24 & 25

The Great Covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Max A Forsythe

Introduction:  Our New King James Version entitles these two chapters as laws relating to family and social responsibility.  Dr Brown observes that chapter twenty- four highlights “the Lord’s concern for every aspect of human life and emphasize[s] that … Everything we do should be glorifying to him.”  Chapter twenty-five  “concerns the continuing harmony of Hebrew society.”  Altogether there are fourteen issues for advice and regulation drawn-out out in the context of these chapters.  While there may not be a great public interest in the details, we may certainly agree with the old proverb “the proof is in the pudding”.  And by that I mean – it is in the working out of the small details that we see the value of the overriding principles.

Humans always appreciate knowing the details in a new job, a new relationship, or any new experience.  Theoretically we can accept all manner of changes in our lives if the principles regarding the change are known and predictable.  I can still remember my first week in the Army’s basic training.  We were all on a fast curve to know what was expected of us and how to stay out of trouble!  Of course that was almost impossible, but I was three weeks into basic before the Sergeant singled me out, saying:  “Forsythe, I don’t think I’ve ever had you drop and do ten pushups for me, so get with it right now!”

Survival of course in any institution is desirable at first; eventually the work ethic of having and being able to contribute something useful becomes more important.  My early retirement from public service was primarily because I could see no way to being allowed or encouraged to do a good job in an impossible situation any longer!  Thirty-some years ago, at the end of my military career, I might just possibly have re-enlisted if the recruiter hadn’t insisted that keeping the war in Southeast Asia going on was good for promotion and careers!  I failed to see any sense, wisdom or goodness in such a terrible proposition and I told him so on the spot.

The goals of an organization, the details of how those goals are reached and the ongoing discipline of the organization all tell you quite a lot about the desirability of being involved.  The Church and/or the Kingdom of God may also be appreciated in the details of how the covenantal system works.  And it is these down to earth details that we will consider today – to see how the perfect wisdom of our Father God would fashion relationships and a society based upon His word and promise.

Old Covenant Milieu:  So let us begin with the legislation concerning Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the first four verses of chapter twenty-four.  Dr Craigie tells us “the first three verses … specify exactly the conditions that must apply for the execution of the legislation in verse four.”

First in this passage, Moses is recognizing that marital breakups are a sinful fact of life.  However, the biblical principle is that: There must be a reasonable cause for a certificate of divorce to be granted!  In America the principle established here was thrown out four decades ago in favor of “no fault divorce.”  Time was, when a divorce could only be granted through a court case and there, only with just cause of infidelity, abandonment or ongoing physical abuse.  This liberal change has made divorce all too easy.  You see, because of human nature many people are willing to put up with minor inconveniences and irritations if the alternative is a public scandal.  By doing away with the scandal, the expense and the examination of motives in a court of law, divorce has become all too popular and easily obtained. 

We may note that in the law as it is revealed, it is presumed that the man usually would take the initiative.  Certainly we may understand that cases are initiated somewhat more equally in our time, but sinful human relationships have remained constant since the beginning of time.  It does indeed take two to tangle and if either the husband or the wife is insistent on breaking the relationship, it can usually be accomplished.  But, as we may understand from the text, it is the man who must decide in the Old Covenant economy to go to court.  We also see in this legislation that remarriage is permissible, but those previously married may never marry again to each other, if one of the two enters into a covenant of companionship with a third party.

Or second item is in verse five we have a regulation to insure mutual bonding during the critical first year of marriage.  There are the usual fears that a young widow may have her relationship cut short because of an untimely death – but the passage also limits other interferences with the honeymoon period of intense purposeful relating to one another’s most personal needs.

A third item concerns three separate passages in this chapter, verses five, ten – thirteen and seventeen.  Dr Brown describes these regulations as related to “the welfare of people in debt.”  No interest loans are presumed in this context, however – even in that economic arrangement pledged property would serve as collateral towards the value of the loan.  The intent of the verses here would limit the kind of article, which can be offered as pledge and the collection of that pledge should the borrower default.  The lender is not allowed to accept an item that could conceivably allow starvation or malnutrition if the family must yield machinery that would be essential for food processing.  Also, two items of clothing were forbidden to be given as a pledge, a poor man’s cloak and the cloak of a widow. 

Finally in this regard, the lender may not enter into the home of the debtor to confiscate the obligated pledge.  “A man’s home is his castle,” we might almost declare from the American experience.  In addition the commentators observe that the loaner is not given a glimpse of what valuables a man may have in his home, so as to pick and choose something more valuable than that item which was legally pledged.  A relative of mine is one of a handful of Oriental rug specialists in the United States.  He is registered with the IRS as knowledgeable on the value of such exotic articles.  The reason for this registry is that the value of such items has been down graded often enough that the government insists that gift, inheritance and debt arrangements in this regard be better regulated.

Fourth, in our list is legislation concerning Kidnapping.  This crime, you may know is a Federal crime, which one of my former students discovered is not consensual running away if the person is tender in years.  This young man had been persuaded by his girlfriend to drive her mother’s car, with the girlfriend and her younger sister across a state border!  Wow, did I mention he slept a lot in government class?  Otherwise he might have known better.  Stolen property and an underage female across a state border.  As soon as he realized the possible charges against him, he turned himself in and was able to turn state’s evidence against the girlfriend who had persuaded him into this temporary life of crime.

Did you know, that in the State of Ohio, if you give your children the right to drive one vehicle and they let any of their friends drive it – you can claim the vehicle was stolen?  The same holds true for under aged children who just think they are running away with the assistance of a friend.

Fifth, is this short passage that “refers to a large section of legislation, already in existence, without specifying at all the substance of that legislation.”  Dr Craigie observes”  “The exhortation at this point thus assumes that the legislation on leprosy is known to the audience, and Moses simply exhorts the people to be diligent in their observation of that legislation.”  Since we are dealing with medical issues beyond my comprehension, I will only observe as the commentators allow – that leprosy today is more narrowly defined than in the time of this instruction.  The underlying purpose here is that trained specialists be given the responsibility for inspection and isolation from the community.  This is an early public health concern given the force of law for the betterment of the Covenant community.

When the all too avoidable AIDs “epidemic” first became known, I was asked twice to recommend people who would be willing to donate blood for a specific person known to our fellowship.  That is an awesome responsibility and I am glad that there are better protective measures in place today than there were fifteen years ago.

The next item, number six in our ordering is the reason why labor unions were really unnecessary before the modern era.  You see Covenant regulations in verses fourteen and fifteen that demand payment to the poor on a daily basis.  Day labor has often been in as well as out of fashion down through the centuries.  Fisherman in New England generally prospered in the non-corporate environment down to the establishment of social security, withholding taxes and the minimum wage – within living memory.  I am still waiting for some severance pay that was diverted through the Federal tax system last fall!  And my mother earned less as a waitress in the thirties after the minimum wage of twenty-five cents an hour was decreed!  I had better stop before I really get wound up on this issue!

Item seven (listed in verse sixteen), much as the cities of refuge allowance – would limit the institution of a blood feud.  Only the guilty party for any crime, was allowed to be punished – and that after a fair trial.  That is why our president and elected officials take the dastardly deeds of 9/11 so seriously.  A Pearl Harbor we can come to understand because the target was primarily military.  Of course, our Western Civilization and its reasonable rules for war were grossly trashed, but military people expect to go in harm’s way at least.

The continuation of terrorist bloodletting around the world only strengthens our resolve to solve this problem all the more.  Yes, our military weapons are not perfect in their targeting, but at least they are aimed at the right people.  There is a world of distance between our continuing acts of war and the random killing practiced by modern terrorist groups and nations who have chosen to be our enemies.

Eighth on our list is six verses long which is aimed at protecting the weak: resident aliens, orphans and widows.  I am reminded of a story I was once told.  She was a petite young lady with an Irish brogue who had none of the usual characteristics of that race.  She claimed that her ancestors were small in stature because of their lifestyle on the edge of society.  Her ancestors lived in the hedgerows, sipped a little milk from the cows at night and nibbled at the crops here and there.  They lived a will-0-the-wisp lifestyle that gave rise to legends regarding these “wee people”. 

We may learn from the encouragement here to not only take care of our own but also the “tired and poor of distant lands whose only real desire is to breath the free air of our fair land.  After all, there is room enough and more for all the world’s population to live east of the Mississippi and we would be nor more populated than little Belgium in the old country.  Certainly, we see in the provision here that those in need will have to glean their living but according to the Lord’s economy – He provides us more than enough and we are to share that as opportunity to do so comes our way.

For our ninth item, we slip over into the first three verses of chapter twenty-five.  All of America was shocked a few years ago when a vandalous teen was to be given a well deserved caning in Singapore.  We have forgotten that corporal punishments are allowed within reasonable guidelines.  And if you dig carefully in these few verses, there are several principles that must be observed.  These issues begin with a proper trial, then go on to include multiple judges, judicial finding to make the punishment fit the crime, a strict limit on the amount of corporal punishment, observance of the penalty and finally public humility must be avoided so that the punishment is not only just but also compassionate.

I can still remember when the speaker system was introduced in public school.  All it took was for the principle to announce that such and such a student should report to the office immediately and all the tongues would wag.  I am not surprised that because of laziness on the part of administrators – the public notoriety of embarrassment did lead to a ban on spanking in public schools.  Before the loudspeaker systems began advertising the administrative intent, the guilty party would be the only source for finding out about such things.

Verse four here, of chapter twenty-five brings back fond memories of watching the horse teams nibble on the corn or hay crop while they stood in the field waiting for the wagon to be loaded.  Some farmers did take exception to this liberty of their animals; those were the overworked underfed ones, whose ribs could be counted.  You never realize how expensive it is to feed a horse until you have two or three teen-age sons with access to your refrigerator!  But the scriptures tell us here that even our livestock should feel blessed to be part of a covenant family.

The community care in the rest of this chapter focuses on four types:  a bereaved wife, a violent brawler, a dishonest tradesman and a cruel opponent.

Now, item eleven is beyond our comprehension in our western culture.  We have to be able to consider an agricultural culture that lived on the edge, where the productivity of the land was limited and family labor was necessary to provide for the older generation.  Family values and a means for stretching a family line into the future also figure in to the formula allowed by our Creator God for the people of Israel in this time and place.  I would hope that there are no Christians who would advocate that this regulation has any place in our present Christian economy?

However, I must admit that my own family heritage was difficult to trace because of confusion regarding the remarriage of a Forsyth widow in colonial times.  One of my direct ancestors had died and a fellow elder in that church lost a wife.  So within the little covenant community – the two were remarried.  And in order to allow the continuance of the Forsyth line, James Leaper did not adopt the Forsyth children.  Otherwise, I would have had a different heritage and no real ability to discern for certain where my family roots truthfully were.

Item twelve goes against the grain of modern protective training for the fair sex.  There is no record that the punishment demanded was ever inflicted in the life of Israel.  May we observe candidly that just as there are realistic rules for war, so may we understand in the context of the value of generational families that some means of fighting were less than kosher?  When I was growing up – it was always made clear that young men never ever hit a young lady.  Also, personal feuds were limited to wrestling and punches in private and the gloves were only put on if the faculty caught you and took you to the gym to settle the problem.  I remember two boys who fought a lot who were kept boxing by the superintendent for a whole hour and a half.  The weighted gloves really wore them out and they had a much better relationship after the administrator took all that orneriness out of them.

Thirteen admonishes us that honesty in business relationships is always the best policy.  Weights and measures have not always been one hundred per cent accurate, but the regulation here is that you may not take advantage knowingly.  While we had a store and measured out meet, grain and bird seed.  We discovered that the more modern our scales – the more profit we could make.  On one occasion we purchased a $400 set of electronic scales and just in the ordinary business cycle paid for them in three short months.  In the last century, the makers of Jell-O had a system to make certain that their packages had at least the amount stamped on the box.  Then they invested in machinery to make certain that there was not a lot of overage as well.  That specialized equipment cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars, but enough Jell-O was salvaged to pay the expense within the business quarter, after that the profit increased significantly!  Of course honest weights and measures do not always benefit just the seller, the purchaser also gets his fair return for the honest leverage of pricing as well.

Finally we come to our last miscellaneous regulation of the day.  And this regulation is aimed at the Amalekites, who had already sought to gain wrongful treasures from the weakest members of the tribes of Israel while they were vulnerable in their desert wanderings.  In addition, we know from the biblical record that these cruel tribesmen had no probable hope in heaven and that since God’s divine wrath against them had been raised to a fever pitch – Israel was to take every opportunity to destroy them.  Israel was plagued by these desperate brigands for generations and peace was obtained finally it seems, only in the reign of Hezekiah.

New Covenant Continuum:  As we wind down from the varied details spread before us, let us take the admonition of Dr Brown seriously:  “As with an earlier passage in this section (25:12) these [final] verses are descriptive, not prescriptive.  They clearly command what Israel ought to do, not what we are to do.  This is certainly God’s word but it is not his final word.  Though this particular law has a great deal to teach us, it does not tell us how we are to treat our enemies.”  After I read those words, I had to take a paragraph out of the last instance regarding the Amalekites.  After all Christ has come and we are encouraged to love and pray for our enemies.  Yes, there are too many times when we have to take up arms to protect ourselves or those countries too weak to do the same for themselves, therefore, we must always be judicious in our application of force and seek an honorable end to armed conflict whenever and wherever it is realistically possible.

Contemporary Application:  In closing, let me observe that there are in this group of regulations at least several items which we should understand applied only in the immediate context of Israelite history as long as that nation remained a sovereign state.  We today could not in good conscience advocate a literal application of the Levirate marriage principles or the wholesale extermination of a specific people group or nation as some terrorists have publicly proposed.  We can certainly appreciate that capital punishments should continue to remain beyond public view, but we may also realize that a minimal corporeal punishment, carefully regulated may in fact be kinder than long term incarceration.  We also see in these ancient legal regulations much wisdom upon which our own system of laws was once established.  May we continue to not only advocate but also continue in spirit those laws that transcend culture, history and social environment.  Amen.

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Copyright (C) 2002                      Christ Covenant Reformed (Presbyterian Church in America)                                      

      03 March  2002                       Box 13926 - Columbus, Ohio 43213-8049

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