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Deuteronomy 24-27

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Deuteronomy 24

1If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.

2If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife,

3and the second man hates her, writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies,

4then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

5If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the wife he has married.

6Do not take a pair of millstones or even an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that would be taking one’s livelihood as security.

7If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.

8In cases of infectious skin diseases, be careful to diligently follow everything the Levitical priests instruct you. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.

9Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the journey after you came out of Egypt.

10When you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect security.

11You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you.

12If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession;

13be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God.

14Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.

15You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

16Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.

17Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.

18Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

19If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

20When you beat the olives from your trees, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.

21When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not go over the vines again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.

22Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

Deuteronomy 25

1If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.

2If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall have him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime warrants.

3He may receive no more than forty lashes, lest your brother be beaten any more than that and be degraded in your sight.

4Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.

5When brothers dwell together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother is to take her as his wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for her.

6The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

7But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, she is to go to the elders at the city gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.”

8Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, “I do not want to marry her,”

9his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal, spit in his face, and declare, “This is what is done to the man who will not maintain his brother’s line.”

10And his family name in Israel will be called “The House of the Unsandaled.”

11If two men are fighting, and the wife of one comes to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she reaches out her hand and grabs his genitals,

12you are to cut off her hand. You must show her no pity.

13You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light.

14You shall not have two differing measures in your house, one large and one small.

15You must maintain accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

16For everyone who behaves dishonestly in regard to these things is detestable to the LORD your God.

17Remember what the Amalekites did to you along your way from Egypt,

18how they met you on your journey when you were tired and weary, and they attacked all your stragglers; they had no fear of God.

19When the LORD your God gives you rest from the enemies around you in the land that He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

Deuteronomy 26

1When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it,

2you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,

3to the priest who is serving at that time, and say to him, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.”

4Then the priest shall take the basket from your hands and place it before the altar of the LORD your God,

5and you are to declare before the LORD your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty and numerous.

6But the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, putting us to hard labor.

7So we called out to the LORD, the God of our fathers; and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, toil, and oppression.

8Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, signs, and wonders.

9And He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land that You, O LORD, have given me.” Then you are to place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before Him.

11So you shall rejoice—you, the Levite, and the foreigner dwelling among you—in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.

12When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates.

13Then you shall declare in the presence of the LORD your God, “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commandments You have given me. I have not transgressed or forgotten Your commandments.

14I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything You commanded me.

15Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.”

16The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and with all your soul.

17Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.

18And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,

19that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.

Deuteronomy 27

1Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all the commandments I am giving you today.

2And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, set up large stones and coat them with plaster.

3Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

4And when you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to coat them with plaster.

5Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them.

6You shall build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones and offer upon it burnt offerings to the LORD your God.

7There you are to sacrifice your peace offerings, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God.

8And you shall write distinctly upon these stones all the words of this law.”

9Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be silent, O Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD your God.

10You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God and follow His commandments and statutes I am giving you today.”

11On that day Moses commanded the people:

12“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

13And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14Then the Levites shall proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:

15‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

16‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

17‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

18‘Cursed is he who lets a blind man wander in the road.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

19‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

20‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

21‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

22‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

23‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

24‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

25‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

26‘Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

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Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Pastoral and devotional reflections focused on spiritual formation and application.

Deuteronomy 24:1-4 Verses 1-4

Where the providence of God, or his own wrong choice in marriage, has allotted to a Christian a trial instead of a help meet; he will from his heart prefer bearing the cross, to such relief as tends to sin, confusion, and misery. Divine grace will sanctify this cross, support under it, and teach so to behave, as will gradually render it more tolerable.

Deuteronomy 24:5-13 Verses 5-13

It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cover it, or endeavour to shake off their convictions; but by repentance, and prayer, and humble confession, take the way to peace and pardon. Some orders are given about pledges for money lent. This teaches us to consult the comfort and subsistence of others, as much as our own advantage. Let the poor debtor sleep in his own raiment, and praise God for thy kindness to him. Poor debtors ought to feel more than commonly they do, the goodness of creditors who do not take all the advantage of the law against them, nor should this ever be looked upon as weakness.

Deuteronomy 24:14-22 Verses 14-22

It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.

Deuteronomy 25:1-3 Verses 1-3

Every punishment should be with solemnity, that those who see it may be filled with dread, and be warned not to offend in like manner. And though the criminals must be shamed as well as put to pain, for their warning and disgrace, yet care should be taken that they do not appear totally vile. Happy those who are chastened of the Lord to humble them, that they should not be condemned with the world to destruction.

Deuteronomy 25:4 Verse 4

This is a charge to husbandmen. It teaches us to make much of the animals that serve us. But we must learn, not only to be just, but kind to all who are employed for the good of our better part, our souls, 1Co 9:9.

Deuteronomy 25:5-12 Verses 5-12

The custom here regulated seems to have been in the Jewish law in order to keep inheritances distinct; now it is unlawful.

Deuteronomy 25:13-16 Verses 13-16

Dishonest gain always brings a curse on men's property, families, and souls. Happy those who judge themselves, repent of and forsake their sins, and put away evil things, that they may not be condemned of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Verses 17-19

Let every persecutor and injurer of God's people take warning from the case of the Amalekites. The longer it is before judgement comes, the more dreadful will it be at last. Amalek may remind us of the foes of our souls. May we be enabled to slay all our lusts, all the corruptions both within and without, all the powers of darkness and of the world, which oppose our way to the blessed Saviour.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Verses 1-11

When God has made good his promises to us, he expects we should own it to the honour of his faithfulness. And our creature comforts are doubly sweet, when we see them flowing from the fountain of the promise. The person who offered his first-fruits, must remember and own the mean origin of that nation, of which he was a member. A Syrian ready to perish was my father. Jacob is here called a Syrian. Their nation in its infancy sojourned in Egypt as strangers, they served there as slaves. They were a poor, despised, oppressed people in Egypt; and though become rich and great, had no reason to be proud, secure, or forgetful of God. He must thankfully acknowledge God's great goodness to Israel. The comfort we have in our own enjoyments, should lead us to be thankful for our share in public peace and plenty; and with present mercies we should bless the Lord for the former mercies we remember, and the further mercies we expect and hope for. He must offer his basket of first-fruits. Whatever good thing God gives us, it is his will that we make the most comfortable use we can of it, tracing the streams to the Fountain of all consolation.

Deuteronomy 26:12-15 Verses 12-15

How should the earth yield its increase, or, if it does, what comfort can we take in it, unless therewith our God gives us his blessing? All this represented the covenant relation between a reconciled God and every true believer, and the privileges and duties belonging to it. We must be watchful, and show that according to the covenant of grace in Christ Jesus, the Lord is our God, and we are his people, waiting in his appointed way for the performance of his gracious promises.

Deuteronomy 26:16-19 Verses 16-19

Moses here enforces the precepts. They are God's laws, therefore thou shalt do them, to that end were they given thee; do them, and dispute them not; do them, and draw not back; do them, not carelessly and hypocritically, but with thy heart and soul, thy whole heart and thy whole soul. We forswear ourselves, and break the most sacred engagement, if, when we have taken the Lord to be our God, we do not make conscience of obeying his commands. We are elected to obedience, 1Pe 1:2; chosen that we should be holy, Eph 1:4; purified a peculiar people, that we might not only do good works, but be zealous in them, Tit 2:14. Holiness is true honour, and the only way to everlasting honour.

Deuteronomy 27:1-10 Verses 1-10

As soon as they were come into Canaan, they must set up a monument, on which they must write the words of this law. They must set up an altar. The word and prayer must go together. Though they might not, of their own heads, set up any altar besides that at the tabernacle; yet, by the appointment of God, they might, upon special occasion. This altar must be made of unhewn stones, such as they found upon the field. Christ, our Altar, is a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, refused by the builders, as having no form or comeliness, but accepted of God the Father, and made the Head of the corner. In the Old Testament the words of the law are written, with the curse annexed; which would overcome us with horror, if we had not, in the New Testament, an altar erected close by, which gives consolation. Blessed be God, the printed copies of the Scriptures among us, do away the necessity of such methods as were presented to Israel. The end of the gospel ministry is, and the end of preachers ought to be, to make the word of God as plain as possible. Yet, unless the Spirit of God prosper such labours with Divine power, we shall not, even by these means, be made wise unto salvation: for this blessing we should therefore daily and earnestly pray.

Deuteronomy 27:11-26 Verses 11-26

The six tribes appointed for blessing, were all children of the free women, for to such the promise belongs, Ga 4:31. Levi is here among the rest. Ministers should apply to themselves the blessing and curse they preach to others, and by faith set their own Amen to it. And they must not only allure people to their duty with the promises of a blessing, but awe them with the threatenings of a curse, by declaring that a curse would be upon those who do such things. To each of the curses the people were to say, Amen. It professed their faith, that these, and the like curses, were real declarations of the wrath of God against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, not one jot of which shall fall to the ground. It was acknowledging the equity of these curses. Those who do such things deserve to fall, and lie under the curse. Lest those who were guilty of other sins, not here mentioned, should think themselves safe from the curse, the last reaches all. Not only those who do the evil which the law forbids, but those also who omit the good which the law requires. Without the atoning blood of Christ, sinners can neither have communion with a holy God, nor do any thing acceptable to him; his righteous law condemns every one who, at any time, or in any thing, transgresses it. Under its awful curse we remain as transgressors, until the redemption of Christ is applied to our hearts. Wherever the grace of God brings salvation, it teaches the believer to deny ungodliness and wordly lusts, to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, consenting to, and delighting in the words of God's law, after the inward man. In this holy walk, true peace and solid joy are to be found.

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Key Words and Topics

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Abomination to God: Idolatry Deuteronomy 27:15

‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

Abomination to God: Uncleanness Deuteronomy 24:4

then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Abomination to God: Unjust Weights and Measures Deuteronomy 25:13–16

You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light. / You shall not have two differing measures in your house, one large and one small. / You must maintain accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

Adoption: Spiritual Deuteronomy 26:18

And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,

Adultery: Penalties For Deuteronomy 27:20, 22, 23

‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ / ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ / ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

Agriculture: Laws Concerning Deuteronomy 24:19–21

If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. / When you beat the olives from your trees, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. / When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not go over the vines again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.

Aliens: To be Treated with Justice Deuteronomy 24:14, 17

Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. / Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.

Altar: Built by Joshua Deuteronomy 27:4–7

And when you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to coat them with plaster. / Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them. / You shall build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones and offer upon it burnt offerings to the LORD your God.

Altar: Mosaic Commandments Prescribing the Construction of Deuteronomy 27:5–7

Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them. / You shall build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones and offer upon it burnt offerings to the LORD your God. / There you are to sacrifice your peace offerings, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God.

Altars: To be Made of Earth, or Unhewn Stone Deuteronomy 27:5, 6

Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them. / You shall build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones and offer upon it burnt offerings to the LORD your God.

Amalekites: Israel Commanded to Destroy Deuteronomy 25:17–19

Remember what the Amalekites did to you along your way from Egypt, / how they met you on your journey when you were tired and weary, and they attacked all your stragglers; they had no fear of God. / When the LORD your God gives you rest from the enemies around you in the land that He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

Amen: A Word Used to Reenforce a Statement Deuteronomy 27:12–26

“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. / And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. / Then the Levites shall proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:

Animal Cruelty Deuteronomy 25:4

Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.

Arm: Figurative Use of Deuteronomy 26:8

Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, signs, and wonders.

Basket: General Scriptures Concerning Deuteronomy 26:2

you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,

Beating: As a Punishment Deuteronomy 25:3

He may receive no more than forty lashes, lest your brother be beaten any more than that and be degraded in your sight.

Beds of the Poor Covered with Upper Garment Deuteronomy 24:12, 13

If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession; / be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God.

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Peace offerings (Heb. shelamim), detailed regulations regarding given in Lev. 3; 7:11-21,… Righteousness See [535]JUSTIFICATION. Abomination This word is used, (1.) To express the idea that… Habitation God is the habitation of his people, who find rest… Foreigner A Gentile. Such as resided among the Hebrews were required… Sacrifice The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as… Wandering Of the Israelites in the wilderness in consequence of their… Benjamin Son of my right hand. (1.) The younger son of… Naphtali My wrestling, the fifth son of Jacob. His mother was… Issachar Hired (Gen. 30:18). "God hath given me," said Leah, "my… Marriage Was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen.… Daughter This word, besides its natural and proper sense, is used… Divorce The dissolution of the marriage tie was regulated by the… Zebulun Dwelling, the sixth and youngest son of Jacob and Leah… Husband I.e., the "house-band," connecting and keeping together the whole family.… Journey (1.) A day's journey in the East is from 16… Justice Is rendering to every one that which is his due.… Brother (1.) In the natural and common sense (Matt. 1:2; Luke…