13th Sunday After Trinity 2018

August 26, 2018

Deuteronomy 24:10-22

“Rules”

According to a 3rd century rabbi, Moses gave 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands to the Israelites. That’s adds up to a total of 613 rules Moses put on the Jews. King David reduced those rules to just 11, in Psalm 15. Isaiah broke them down to just 6, in chapter 33 of his book. The prophet Micah binds all of those rules into just three commands. And finally, the prophet, Habbakuk, reduces all of those rules to just one great statement: “The just shall live by faith.”

Our Old Testament lesson, from Deuteronomy, outlines several rules as to how the Jews should treat one another. Our lesson begins at verse 10 and finishes out the chapter. However, the first nine verses are just as interesting as our reading, so let’s look at all of chapter 24. Here are the first nine verses:

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

“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.

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

“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. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way when you came out of Egypt!” And that brings us up to today’s lesson.

The beginning verses of what we just read is the Old Testament’s primary passage on divorce. However, its focus is on the remarriage, which typically followed divorce rather than on divorce itself. The cause of divorce, which is referred to as “some uncleanness” is unclear, and has been argued futilely by ancient rabbis and modern theologians. What is clear is that divorce was an issue decided by the married couple involved. The husband writes the divorce decree, rather than elders or a priestly court. It was expected that a divorced person would remarry, as marriage was considered the normal state for an adult in ancient Israel. Once a divorced wife remarried, there was no chance of a return to the first husband. This way the integrity of the second marriage was protected. There was no option to bounce back and forth once a divorce was declared and finalized.

This procedure does not mean that divorce was common in Israel, or that divorce for any and every cause was encouraged. Probably the greatest deterrent to divorce was the fact that the husband, when he gave his wife the written release, also had to return her dowry, and perhaps pay other monetary costs to her family! Jesus explained this clause in Old Testament Law, in chapter 19 of Matthew’s Gospel, by saying that God permitted divorce “because your hearts were hard”. This is best understood as recognition that sin so damages some marriages that the relationship becomes destructive. In such cases, where God’s intention to bless through the marriage cannot be achieved because of the hardness of human hearts, divorce is permitted.

This provision in no way changes the biblical ideal of lifelong marriage, or Scripture’s condemnation of divorces motivated by the lust for another.

Newlyweds were among those exempt from military service. Strikingly, the reason given is not that the family line be preserved, but that the groom “bring happiness to the wife he has married.” Again, we see the unusual sensitivity of the Old Testament to women, as well as to other humanitarian concerns.

Several rulings here deal with the issue of debt, and security offered by the debtor to guarantee repayment. Old Testament Law did not permit Israelites to charge each other interest, which in other contemporary cultures typically ran to 50 percent! Old Testament Law did, however, permit taking items as security against repayment. I had the opportunity to look at a loan agreement from one of the modern “pay day loan” type businesses. By law, they have to highlight exactly how much interest is being charged. I was absolutely floored when I saw the interest charged, over the life of the loan, was calculated at 947%!!! I don’t think God is pleased with that modern-day usury.

In ancient Israel, rulings protected the debtor. No millstone could be taken in an effort to pressure repayment, for the family depended on millstones to grind grain for their daily bread. A debtor might sell himself as a slave voluntarily to pay a debt, but he could not be enslaved against his will. Indentured servitude was an option for desperately poor people. Even a cloak given as a pledge had to be returned at night, as cloaks were typically used as blankets when the poor slept. So, the rights of the poor who were forced to borrow were carefully protected in law.

Other verses in this passage protect the poor from those who might demand something essential to life in order to pressure repayment of a debt. This verse reminds us that self-respect is also essential to an individual’s life. The person who makes a loan must wait until whatever is offered in pledge is brought to him, voluntarily. He cannot enter the poor man’s house and take something of value from him. This shows us that others deserve respect, no matter what their social status in life!

Wage earners in Old Testament times depended on daily earnings to buy food for themselves and their families. There were no checking or savings accounts or credit cards. So, workmen were to be paid daily, so they could meet their daily needs.

Moses reminded the Israelites, “You were slaves” in both verses 18 and 22. We must never suppose we are better than others. To preserve us from pride and insensitivity, we must remember we too were slaves to sin until Jesus saved us.

I read another interesting story regarding the difference between rules, or the law, and grace. It was written by Harry Ironsides. He said, “Some years ago, I had a little school for young Indian men and women, who came to my home in Oakland, California, from the various tribes in northern Arizona. One of these was a Navajo young man of unusually keen intelligence. One Sunday evening, he went with me to our young people's meeting. They were talking about the epistle to the Galatians, and the special subject was law and grace. They were not very clear about it, and finally one turned to the Indian and said, "I wonder whether our Indian friend has anything to say about this."

He rose to his feet and said, "Well, my friends, I have been listening very carefully, because I am here to learn all I can in order to take it back to my people. I do not understand all that you are talking about, and I do not think you do yourselves. But, concerning this law and grace business, let me see if I can make it clear. I think it is like this. When Mr. Ironside brought me from my home we took the longest railroad journey I ever took. We got out at Barstow, and there I saw the most beautiful railroad station and hotel I have ever seen. I walked all around and saw at one end a sign, 'Do not spit here.' I looked at that sign and then looked down at the ground and saw many had spitted there, and before I think what I am doing I have spitted myself. Isn't that strange when the sign says, 'Do not spit here'?

"I come to Oakland and go to the home of the lady who invited me to dinner today and I am in the nicest home I have been in. Such beautiful furniture and carpets, I hate to step on them. I sank into a comfortable chair, and the lady said, 'Now, John, you sit there while I go out and see whether the maid has dinner ready.' I look around at the beautiful pictures, at the grand piano, and I walk all around those rooms. I am looking for a sign; and the sign I am looking for is, 'Do not spit here,' but I look around those two beautiful drawing rooms, and cannot find a sign like this. I think 'What a pity when this is such a beautiful home to have people spitting all over it -- too bad they don't put up a sign!' So, I look all over that carpet, but cannot find that anybody have spitted there. What a strange thing! Where the sign says, 'Do not spit,' a lot of people did. Where there was no sign at all, in that beautiful home, nobody spit on the floor. Now I understand! That sign is law, but inside the home it is grace. They love their beautiful home, and they want to keep it clean. They do not need a sign to tell them so. I think that explains the law and grace business."

As he sat down, a murmur of approval went around the room and the leader exclaimed, "I think that is the best illustration of law and grace I have ever heard."

I’ve been told that the Law is like a lamp that illuminates the dirt on the floor. But, it is not the broom that sweeps the floor clean. We know from Scripture that once the Law was given, sin actually increased! It seems to be in our human nature to desire to do things we are forbidden to do. That is why we could never rely on our own human will to always do what is right in the eyes of God. The broom that will sweep the sin from our lives comes in the form of God’s grace. All the laws ever put into practice could never make us holy. But, belief in Jesus Christ and an acceptance of the Holy Spirit is what makes us a new creation. A creation that does not need to be bound by Law…or to be told not to spit on the carpet!

Amen,

Fr. Bill Shepard†

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Fr. Bill Shepard†