Deuteronomy 22-24

Thursday Evening Bible Study

December 9, 2010

Introduction

Play “James and the Professor” promo

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision

Moses is reviewing the Law for the nation of Israel.

They heard God’s laws forty years earlier when they were at Mount Sinai.

Now that they are about to enter the Promised Land, and Moses will die soon, it’s time for a review.

Deuteronomy 22

22:1-12 Miscellaneous Laws

:1 “You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother.

:2 And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him.

:3 You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself.

:4 “You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again.

:1 bring them back

In God’s law, there is no such thing as “finders-keepers”. If you find something that belongs to someone else, you are to return it to them or else keep it until you see them again.

God doesn’t want His people to “not be involved”. He wants us to help others.

:5 “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God.

:5 abomination – tow‘ebah – a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable

God doesn’t want anyone confused about your sexuality.

God isn’t confused about your sexuality. He wants men to be men and women to be women.

Does this mean that a gal can’t wear pants? Can a guy have long hair?

The issue isn’t what specific clothes you wear, it’s about whether people will confuse you for a guy or a gal.

We might think that it’s difficult in our modern times because guys and gals wear so much similar clothing. But it was just as hard in those days, to be able to tell a man’s robe apart from a woman’s robe.

:6 “If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young;

:7 you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.

:7 let the mother go

This might have been a law to teach kindness.

It might have been more practical, of protecting a food source. If you take only the young birds but leave the mother bird, then the mother bird can live on to produce more offspring, more food.

:8 “When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it.

:8 parapet

On a flat roof, a parapet is a small wall around the outside of the roof, a way to keep people from falling off your roof. People on those days used their roofs as a type of patio. A parapet was just common sense. It was like having a fence around your backyard pool. Your home should be a safe place. People should not be hurt at your home because of your negligence.

:9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.

:10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

:11 “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.

:9 different kinds of seed

The Israelites were prohibited from mixing certain things together.

Though people have some suggestions, for the most part we aren’t real sure why these laws were given.

They were prohibited from sowing wheat or barley in between the rows of their vineyards. Also, not to plow with different animals together or mix different types of cloth in a garment.

Why weren’t they to mix stuff?

This may have had a symbolic function in teaching the Israelites something about the created order.

There is also a sense in which some of these mixtures are reflective of certain pagan practices. The ancient Zabians, or fire-worshippers, sowed different seeds, accompanying the act with magical rites and invocations. Some of the idolatrous priests wore garments of this mixture, thinking it to be magical.

God doesn’t want His people mixed up in Satanic, magical arts.

There may be some practical reasons as well.

Apparently there can be a degradation of certain grains and grasses when you mix them in the same field. A cross pollination occurs and the result is a type of plant called “chess” by farmers, a plant of inferior quality from the original plants.

:12 “You shall make tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself.

:12 tassels

The “tassels” were supposed to be a memory technique.

Sometimes we have a hard time remembering things.

Illustration

My Memory's Gone

An agitated patient was stomping around the psychiatrist’s office, running his hands through his hair, almost in tears. “Doctor, my memory’s gone. Gone! I can’t remember my wife’s name. Can’t remember my children’s names. Can’t remember what kind of car I drive. Can’t remember where I work. It was all I could do to find my way here.” “Calm down. How long have you been like this?” “Like what?”

The tassels come from Numbers 15:37-41, where God commanded the Israelites to sow fringed borders on their garments. These fringes were to be a way of reminding them to obey the Law of the Lord.

(Nu 15:39 NKJV) And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,

When the woman grabbed the hem of Jesus’ robe, it was probably the fringe on His robe.

Jesus didn’t need a reminder to obey the Law of the Lord, but He was demonstrating that He was living His life according to the Law of the Lord.

We need to remember to obey God.

What do you do to help yourself remember?

I think that having a Quiet Time in the morning, a time of reading and praying, can be a great help in remembering to do the right thing.

22:13-30 Sexual Morality

:13 “If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and detests her,

:14 and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,’

:13 and detests her

The man is trying to divorce his new wife. His reason was that when they got married she was not a virgin.

Could you even imagine that being a reason for divorce today?

Today, it would be odd that a guy or a gal were still virgins when they got married.

:15 then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate.

:15 evidence

On a couple’s wedding night, there is a portion of a gal’s anatomy that often breaks on that first night of the honeymoon. This piece of tissue was preserved in a piece of cloth and kept by the gal’s father as proof that she was a virgin on the night of her wedding. This was the “tokens of her virginity”.

Lesson

Parents have a responsibility

In this culture, the father was the “protector” of his daughter’s virginity. We may not have the same customs in our society, but I think the principles should be similar. Parents ought to pass on to their children the proper values concerning sex.

:16 And the young woman’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her.

:17 Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, “I found your daughter was not a virgin,” and yet these are the evidences of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

:18 Then the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him;

:18 punish him

Most likely with a whipping.

:19 and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days.

The guy was not allowed to divorce her.

:19 one hundred shekels of silver

He is fined 100 shekels, about 48 oz. of silver. This is twice the normal price paid to the father originally to marry his daughter.

The father of the gal keeps the silver.

:19 a virgin of Israel

Lesson

Virginity is a treasure

Our society doesn’t even get it.

God is the creator of sex, and He created it to be enjoyed within the boundaries of marriage. He designed it to function at it’s best when it is between two people who truly love each other. And God’s idea of love in marriage is a lifelong commitment and trust.

Because of this, maintaining virginity until marriage is a great, great blessing to that marriage.

Illustration

I’ve heard Dr. Dobson explain it as if a person’s sexual nature was worth a million bucks. Every time you have sex with another person, you are taking half of your treasure and giving it to them. When you are married to that person, the treasure stays within the family. But when you are not married to that person, you’ve just lost a half of your fortune, and the value of your sexual nature is now worth a half a million. When you have sex with another person, it’s now worth a quarter of a million dollars. And when it goes on and on, sex becomes something cheap and filthy, instead of priceless and beautiful.

Virginity is a treasure. Faithfulness to your marriage is priceless.

I can see a new Master Card commercial: Cost of the wedding chapel: $500. Cost of the Bridal Gown: $1500. Cost of the reception: $10,000. Cost of purity and faithfulness: Priceless.

:20 “But if the thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman,

:21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

If the gal was found to have not been a virgin, then she was put to death.

:22 “If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.

:22 both of them shall die

The penalty for adultery was death. In Mesopotamia, an adulterous couple were tied together and thrown into a river to drown. In Israel, the death sentence was originally done through stoning, later they changed to strangulation. (I imagine the man’s wife probably did it … just kidding)

There is no such thing as a “casual affair”. God calls it “evil”.

:23 “If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her,

:24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.

:23 betrothed

The penalty for unfaithfulness was the same as if you were married.

:23 in the city

The implication is that if she had been raped against her will, she would have cried out and have been heard by others. A woman wasn’t punished because she was raped. She was only punished if she was a willing participant.

:24 put away the evil

Could you imagine what this country would be like if everyone who had an affair was put to death? What would we watch on TV if there was no adultery?

:25 “But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.

:26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter.

:27 For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

:25 in the countryside

There would be no way of proving whether or not she did it willingly or not. Only the man was put to death.

:28 “If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out,

:29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.

:29 fifty shekels – the normal amount a man would pay his father in law to marry his daughter.

If the gal was not engaged or married, then a man who had intercourse with her was going to get to marry her.

There is no place for what the world calls “casual sex”. God’s design for sex is that it be done within the bounds of marriage.

:30 “A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s bed.

:30 take his father’s wife

This was a form of incest, though not necessarily with your own mother, perhaps with your step mother.

:30 uncover his father’s bed

Some translations have “skirt” instead of “bed”.

This doesn’t mean that your father might be hiding a skirt and you shouldn’t look for it! J

It refers again to having intercourse with your mom or stepmom, to “uncover” the skirt was a polite way of talking about sex, specifically with someone that was married to your father.

Deuteronomy 23

23:1-8 Excluded from the Congregation

:1 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD.

:1 emasculated

It is thought that this was referring to some of the pagan practices of castrating their priesthood. These men were not allowed to come into the Tabernacle (or Temple).

:2 “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.

:2 one of illegitimate birth

We call this person a “bastard”. It might refer to a person who was born to a mother who did not marry the father. It might refer to the child where one parent was an Israelite, and the other was a Gentile.

Our society is so used to single moms raising their children without being married to the father, that we are kind of surprised with this.

The point is not to punish the poor single mom, the point is to point out God’s ideal – that a man and wife marry, and raise children together.

:3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever,

:4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.

:5 Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.

:6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.

:3 Ammonite or Moabite

God did not allow an Ammonite or Moabite to worship at the Tabernacle because of how they had treated Israel in the wilderness.

This all sounds pretty grim and harsh. But God’s not totally inflexible. There is some grace here as well:

Ruth, a Moabite, married into the tribe of Judah. Her descendants included David and Jesus.

Also,

(Isa 56:3-5 NLT) “And my blessings are for Gentiles, too, when they commit themselves to the LORD. Do not let them think that I consider them second-class citizens. And my blessings are also for the eunuchs. They are as much mine as anyone else. {4} For I say this to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy, who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me: {5} I will give them—in my house, within my walls—a memorial and a name far greater than the honor they would have received by having sons and daughters. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!

In Deuteronomy, it may look here like God is against certain races of people. Nothing of the sort. It’s just that in Moses’ day, these people as a whole had hearts as far from God as could be. But the true measuring stick isn’t what race you are, it’s where your heart is at. If your heart is for seeking the Lord, God will accept you.

Jesus said,

(Jn 6:37 NKJV) All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

:7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land.

:8 The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

:7 Edomite

Edom was the land of Esau, who was the brother of Jacob or Israel.

23:9-14 Clean Camp

The next few verses talk about some hygiene issues.

It’s all about washing your hands, healthy toilet practices, and stuff like that (we won’t read it).

:9 “When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing.

:10 If there is any man among you who becomes unclean by some occurrence in the night, then he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp.

:11 But it shall be, when evening comes, that he shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp.

:12 “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out;

:13 and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse.

:14 For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.

:14 For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp

God appreciates it when we keep things clean.

Lesson

A clean life

Sometimes we get the idea that it doesn’t really matter to God what kind things we talk about or what kind of jokes we tell.

Some folks even have the idea that when they go someplace they shouldn’t, that God is waiting for them outside.

Paul talks about this same principle when he writes,

(1 Co 6:18–20 NKJV) 18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

God cares. He walks in the midst of the camp. Clean up your messes so God doesn’t have to step in your poop.

23:15-25 Miscellaneous Laws

:15 “You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you.

:16 He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.

:16 He may dwell with you

Israel was to go against the custom of the nations around them when it came to handling runaway slaves. Instead of returning a runaway slave to its master, runaways were to find refuge in Israel.

I wonder how those in the south during the Civil War handled verses like this.

:17 “There shall be no ritual harlot of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel.

:18 You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.

:18 harlot … dog

Female and male prostitutes.

Lesson

God wants the heart, not the bucks

Some people have the notion that if they give enough to the church, that they will make things right with God.

God wants people to get right with Him and give them their hearts. He doesn’t want people to stay in their sin and think they can pay for it with an offering to the church.

Illustration

Deb found a video about this gal who used to be a hooker in Las Vegas and how Jesus has changed her life.

Play “Annie Lobert” video clip. This is what God is looking for.

:19 “You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest.

:20 To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.

:19 charge interest

Don’t charge interest to other Israelites when you loan to them.

You could charge interest to those who were not Israelites.

:21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you.

:22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you.

:23 That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.

:21 make a vow

Don’t make promises to God that you don’t keep. God considers it a sin if you break a promise to Him.

But it’s okay not to be making promises to God.

The point: Keep your promises. Be a person of your word (as much as you can)

(Mt 5:37 NKJV) But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

:24 “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container.

:25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.

:24 you may eat

This was called “gleaning”. You were allowed to go into a field and pluck grapes or grain to keep you from starving. But you were not allowed to take advantage of the “gleaning laws” by going in and outright harvesting your neighbor’s field.

Deuteronomy 24

24:1-4 Divorce

:1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,

:1 some uncleanness – ‘erva – nakedness, nudity, shame, indecency, improper behavior

This section has been the subject of much controversy over the ages. Just what is the definition of “uncleanness”? What is allowable in divorce?

In Jesus’ day, things had deteriorated to the point where “uncleanness” could be just about anything. Burning the toast. Bad breath. You name it.

Illustration

Put A Sock In It

A young couple decided to wed. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other. The Groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. “Father,” he said, “I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage.” His father replied, “Don’t you love this girl?” “Oh yes, very much,” he said,” but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I’m afraid that my fiancé will be put off by them.” “No problem,” said dad, “all you have to do is wash your feet as often as possible, and always wear socks, even to bed.” Well, to him this seemed a workable solution. The bride-to-be, overcoming her fear, decided to take her problem up with her mom.” Mom,” she said, “When I wake up in the morning my breath is truly awful.” “Honey,” her mother consoled, “everyone has bad breath in the morning.” “No, you don’t understand,. My morning breath is so bad, I’m afraid that my fiancé will not want to sleep in the same room with me.” Her mother said simply, “Try this. In the morning, get straight out of bed, and head for the kitchen and make breakfast. While the family is busy eating, move on to the bathroom and brush your teeth. The key is, not to say a word until you’ve brushed your teeth.” “I shouldn’t say good morning or anything?” the daughter asked. “Not a word,” her mother affirmed. “Well, it’s certainly worth a try,” she thought. The loving couple was finally married. Not forgetting the advice each had received, he with his perpetual socks and she with her morning silence, they managed quite well. That is, until about six months later. Shortly before dawn one morning, the husband wakes with a start to find that one of his socks had come off. Fearful of the consequences, he frantically searches the bed. This, of course, wakes his bride and without thinking, she asks, “What on earth are you doing?” “Good grief,” he replies, “you’ve swallowed my sock!”

What is “uncleanness”?

For some people, this is talking about marrying a woman who is not a virgin. They claim that the only allowable reason for divorce is when the other person was previously involved in premarital sex. The problem with this view is that Jesus Himself made it a bit broader than that.

I would suggest there are at least two other allowable reasons for divorce:

1. Immorality

(Mt 19:9 NKJV) And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

sexual immorality – porneia – illicit sexual intercourse; sex outside of marriage.

When your spouse has been unfaithful to you, the Bible allows for divorce. Divorce isn’t automatic – it’s possible to forgive and restore any marriage, but divorce is allowable.

2. Abandonment

I do believe there is one other possible justification for divorce and remarriage, and that is abandonment:

(1 Co 7:15 NKJV) But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace.

Some see a strict interpretation here, where the person leaving has to be an unbeliever.

Some see even a believing spouse that leaves as acting as though they were an unbeliever, and hence applicable.

I am beginning to wonder about abusive spouses, if there isn’t a sense in which they have abandoned the marriage.

:2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife,

:2 becomes another man’s wife

In other words … remarry.

When a divorce meets God’s requirements for divorce, it is allowable for a person to remarry. That’s the whole purpose behind divorce, to end the marriage and allow a person to remarry.

:3 if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife,

:4 then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

If you’ve been divorced, remarried, and then divorced again, you were not to go back to the original spouse. God calls it an abomination.

24:5-22 Miscellaneous Laws

:5 “When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.

When you are a newlywed, you are free from military duty for one year.

:6 “No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone in pledge, for he takes one’s living in pledge.

A millstone was one way of making a living, by grinding wheat and barley into flour. If you loaned someone money with his millstone as collateral, you don’t take the millstone if he defaults on the loan. You don’t take away his means of making a living.

:7 “If a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; and you shall put away the evil from among you.

Kidnapping was punishable by death.

:8 “Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy, that you carefully observe and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you; just as I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do.

Watch out for that leprosy stuff. Take care of your health.

The priests and Levites had a manual to follow in the book of Leviticus concerning how to detect and what to do with leprosy. (Lev. 13-14)

:9 Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way when you came out of Egypt!

:9 Miriam

Miriam was Moses and Aaron’s sister. In Num. 12, she challenged Moses’ leadership, especially regarding a new wife he had taken.

As a result, Miriam was struck temporarily with leprosy.

:10 “When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge.

:11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you.

:12 And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight.

:13 You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God.

:13 return the pledge

God desires compassion in lending. If a poor man gave you his coat for collateral, you were to give it back to him before he goes to bed.

:14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates.

:15 Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the LORD, and it be sin to you.

:15 lest he cry out

Employers should take care of their employees.

Lesson

God looks out for the little guys.

If they cry to God for help, you’re in a dangerous place if you are an oppressor.

James seems to draw on this when he condemns the wealthy person who takes advantage of the poor,

(Jas 5:4 NKJV) Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

:16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.

:16 Fathers shall not be put to death

Each person is responsible for his or her own sin.

Lesson

Don’t blame your parents.

It’s too easy today to blame our sins on our parents. But God doesn’t blame them, God blames you for your own sin.

They will be judged for their sins. You will be judged for yours.

:17 “You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge.

:18 But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing.

:17 the stranger

Israel was to be compassionate on the weak and helpless. They needed to remember that they too were once weak and helpless.

:19 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

:20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

:19 your harvest

We talked about gleaning. Here the rules are set out for those who own the fields.

Don’t take every last little olive, every last grape.

Make sure you leave some produce in the fields so the poor can come and glean.

This was God’s welfare system for the poor. It wasn’t a totally free handout, the poor were to go out and work to eat.

:22 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing.

:22 remember

Don’t forget where you’ve come from.