Marriage and the family has always been something the Lord has always honoured. See why in today’s readings...
Deuteronomy 24: Laws Concerning Divorce
1 "When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favour in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house,
2 and if she goes and becomes another man's wife,
3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife,
4 then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the LORD. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.
Miscellaneous Laws
5 "When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.
6 "No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.
7 "If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8 "Take care, in a case of leprous disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do.
9 Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.
10 "When you make your neighbour a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge.
11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you.
12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge.
13 You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.
14 "You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.
15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.
16 "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 "You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow's garment in 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.
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 sojourner, 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 them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
Deuteronomy 25:
1 "If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty,
2 then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense.
3 Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.
4 "You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.
Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage
5 "If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.
6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, 'My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.'
8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, 'I do not wish to take her,'
9 then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, 'So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.'
10 And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, 'The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.'
Miscellaneous Laws
11 "When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts,
12 then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.
13 "You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small.
14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small.
15 A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.
17 "Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt,
18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God.
19 Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.
Things to think about…
The law of divorce in Dt 24:1-14 when a certificate of divorce was written and given was actually a bill of innocence. I.E it was acknowledging that the divorced party was innocent and that the other person, in this case the husband, was at fault by finding something wrong (unpleasant) about her after he had married her. It was not her fault that she was now a divorced woman. With this Divorce paper (a bill of innocence) she was free to remarry. We used to have statements of guilt on our divorce certificates like “drunkenness”, “adultery” or “domestic violence”, sadly all we have now is “Irreconcilable differences” and no party is deemed to be at fault. No fault divorce came into being in Australia in 1975, this system certainly had its flaws. God of course still sees and hates divorce. Pray for marriages in the church and in our country. May we shine as lights on this issue which causes so much pain for the next generation. For those who have suffered the pain of divorce, may our Lord Jesus continue to be your ever-present comfort, peace and hope.
The Lord’s counsel in Dt 24 is look after the people and look after the land – Dt 24:5-22. The new soldier is to enjoy his wife for a year and is to have no other public service engagements – what a great idea. He is “To be happy with his wife” – this is God’s heart – compare this with the allowance for sin given in the previous verses. God wants loving marriages where there is peace and joy in the home. The poor, the fatherless and the sojourner must always be valued and never oppressed, Dt 24:10-18. This also is God’s heart and is reflected in the NT especially in the book of James. The church should reflect spiritually what was required by Israel in the law. This is not always easy to understand or apply as we saw in yesterday’s reading. In what ways can you look after visitors or those who are struggling financially? God said to leave some of the fruit on the trees for the poor and the sojourner. We should never spend every last cent we have on ourselves. Welcome people into your home for a meal or give someone a love offering if you know they are struggling.
Discipline and consequences for sin and breaking the law should be in the church and the state, Dt 25:1-3. When discipline is not carried out people do what is right in their own eyes. This is often not the right thing due to ignorance. Pray that we discipline those we love in the church and that our country punishes those who break the law appropriately.
Do you have an animal? Look after it, Dt 25:4.
The perpetuation of the blessing of the family name in the land was part of Israelite identity within the land. It was a shame not to have raised up sons to keep the family’s name within the land alive, Dt 25:5-10. In our day in a spiritual sense, we are called to pass on the name of Christ onto the next generation. At Pentecost it was the sons and daughters who proclaimed the Lord’s word. It can only be so if they are taught from His word. It is a shame not to do this faithfully otherwise the house of Christ is left without honour. May we never have the spiritual shame associated with us as those who are described as “The house of him who had his sandal pulled off”, Dt 25:10.
Some passages in the scriptures have me baffled. One of them is Dt 25:1,2. What is a wife doing getting involved in a scrap with 2 men and then reaching for his testicles? Some would say this is foolhardy, dangerous and unwise. But in this passage the Lord is showing the honour due to a man who is made in the image of God – private parts were to be honoured because of their role in perpetuating the name of the family in Israel. A woman was not to go near them except those associated with her own husband. For us today we are to never allow gossip towards other families. For the women I would say it is important not to pull down someone else’s husband – you dishonour your head, you dishonour your husband and Christ. Shameless words and actions are not to be displayed by the Lord’s people.
Keep fair weights and measures, Dt 25:13-19. Do not rip your boss off with your time or energy, pay your taxes and honour God with everything you have. This is the simple and practical counsel found in these verses.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups are encouraged to do alpha at church on Wednesday night 6:30pm at church. Be encouraged and join us.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for the appointment of Ric Benson as Church Health and Community Pastor to CBC. Ric will be preaching for 2 weeks on the 20th Aug and 27th Aug, prior to the church vote on the 27th Aug.
2. Pray for the Kids Klub advertising through Chaplain and RI this week. Pray this ministry builds in our community.
3. Pray for alpha course session Wed 6:30pm at Church. Invite non-Christians.
4. Pray about Sunday’s message that it would change lives.
5. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
6. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you saved.
7. Pray for Rosie and Kids@church, pray for more teachers.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise the Lord for some good responses to Sunday’s message.
2. We had a good discussion with the young adults at the Beatty’s on how to engage the next generation with the gospel.
3. Great third session last night at alpha course.
4. Give thanks for Sally who has consistently been able to come to church with Richard.
5. Some encouraging signs of those wanting to consider who Jesus was. People asking about baptism.
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Information session 27th Aug after the morning service.
2. Alpha Course 3rd session on Wed 2nd Aug – 6:30pm – invite non Christians to this course.
