Coats - Deuteronomy 24

The first 5 verses of chapter 24 pertain to divorce. TB said that while there is no law allowing for divorce in the Torah, it’s mentioned so frequently that it’s clear that it was common enough in Hebrew society. First is says that if a man is displeased with his wife, he can give her a ‘bill of divorcement” and let her leave and marry another man. I have mixed feelings on this, especially considering that I am divorced myself. Back then, I’m sure that it was devastating to have your husband divorce you, just like it is today. But there was probably the added difficulty of shame and limited options of remarriage, but then again maybe not, I really don’t know. But on the other hand, if a man is tired of his wife and doesn’t want her anymore, it seems more likely that he’ll abuse her if he can’t divorce her, so in that case it’s best that she be allowed to leave and marry someone else. I don’t know it’s complicated, but I know for sure that having your husband throw you away is devastating to any woman, at any time in history.

But the rule does stipulate that if a man divorces his wife and she marries someone else and then the second husband either divorces her or dies, the first husband can not remarry her. TB says that this is because at that time, there was a prevenance of a “wife swapping scheme,” meaning a man would divorce his first wife, marry another, get sick of her and divorce her, and then remarry the first wife and do the same thing again later. The IM suggests that this rule was to discourage frivolous divorce. Verse 5 says that a man can not go to war if he has married a new wife within the last year. TB says that this was so try to make sure that the new wife became pregnant and therefore if the man died in the war, his linage and legacy would live on, whereas if he went to war without having children, other problems arose as far as land rights, etc.

A millstone can not be taken as leverage for a loan because that would be taking away that person’s only means of supporting themselves and they would go hungry. Anyone found to be kidnapping people and selling them into slavery is to be put to death. TB interestingly connected this to what happened with Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. The command to observe the rules concerning leprosy. You can’t go into the house to take something that has been used as collateral for a loan, the person has to bring it out to you. You can’t keep the collateral of a man if it is his coat, because he needs it so that he won’t freeze to death at night. It can be taken again in the morning but has to be returned to him every night. I think at that point, it would be a pretty big hassle to go back and forth everyday bit who knows what actually happened. They couldn’t oppress laborers, and they have to be paid everyday. TB notes that most poor people, then and now, can’t simply wait to be paid at a time when it is convenient to the employer. A widow can not EVER have her clothes taken even if they are used as collateral for a loan. And finally, lots of food should be left over in the field during the harvest so that the less fortunate can come and get food to eat for themselvea. Lots of rules here about protecting those who are vulnerable and really, it makes sense. Anything of abundance that anyone has is because it was a gift from God and doesn't belong to them. It's just as easy to make a rich man poor as it is for God to make a poor man rich, so we are to be generous with each other with what God has given us.