Crime and Punishment, Mostly Punishment (Dt 25:1-3)

"If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt. He may beat him forty times but no more, so that he does not beat him with many more stripes than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes." (Deuteronomy 25:1-3)

This scripture tells us several things about punishment:

1. Physical punishment can be effective as a vehicle for administering justice. In my country we presently only have two options for punishment: 1) fines, and 2) incarceration, but this was not always the case. For example, in Las Vegas (where I used to live) the penalty for one who physically abused his wife used to be public beatings. In may other nations, beating or caining is still practiced today. In the right context, this may be useful as a punishment and a deterrence to crime.
2. For punishment to be effective it must be applied in a timely manner. When years pass between the crime, the sentence, and the actual punishment, the value of punishment as a deterrent diminishes. King Solomon observes, "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil." (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
3. Punishment should not be done in secret. When punishment is done behind "closed doors" it can lead to the sentence being too strict and/or to the abuse of the offender. When those who mete out punishment never see the results of their sentence they loose touch with the effect their decision has on the lives of those they preside. Similarly, when punishment is not done "in the light" it is hard to ensure that the punishment is executed as intended in the sentence.
4. In punishment we must not loose sight that the offender is a person; one made in the image of Christ. No matter how heinous the crime, a person is still a person and deserving of respect. Not that we pity the offender, but we must still treat them with the common dignity shown to an human being. Punishment must not necessitate disrespect.

David Robison

crime, punishment, Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, Foundations of Governance, David Robison

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Aliens, Orphans, and Widows (Dt 24:19-22)

"When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing." (Deuteronomy 24:19-22)

God has a plan for providing for the poor and indigent among us, not a plan with a system of handouts, but a calling for us to forfeit the "edges" or "excess" of our prosperity that others may glean from them. In Moses' day that meant leaving some of the harvest in the field that the poor and needy might glean the provision of God behind them. This bounty was not simply handed to the poor but was left in the field for them that they might gather according to their own industry.

What might this look like today? For a while we had our gutters cleaned by some people who were in extreme financial need. I could have cleaned it myself but the amount I paid to someone else who was in need of the work was simply the gleanings of my abundance. Maybe its paying someone who needs some money to rake and bag your leaves. Certainly you could do this but you could also spend some of the excess of your abundance to bless someone else. I'm sure there are many ways we can practice the scripture and leave the gleanings to the poor.

One final thought, Moses reminds the Israelites that they too were once poor and oppressed in a land of slavery. When blessing and abundance comes our way, we must always remember the path that God took us on to bring us there. We must remember the times that we too struggled with our finances. This remembrance should prompt us to be merciful and kind to others in need.

David Robison

poor, needy, gleaning, The Robe, Book of Deuteronomy, David Robison

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Alians among us (Dt 24:17-18)

"You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow's garment in pledge. But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing." (Deuteronomy 24:17-18)

Right now, immigration, both legal and illegal, is a major issue in my country. This one topic has recently heated up the passions and rhetoric of many on both sides of this issue. In this scripture God deals not with the citizenship of the immigrants but rather with the justice that is due to them; whether they be citizens or not.

The right to justice does not originate from, or is it conferred by, government, rather it begins and flows from God. People's right to justice is a right they bear simply because they are people; people made in the image of God. The role of government then is to provide for the equitable administration of justice, and this justice is to be afforded to all regardless of their race, age, gender, ethnicity, or even citizenship. Justice is one of the key duties of government and it should be provided with a blind eye; without regard to a man's face.

David Robison

immigration, citizenship, The Robe, Book of Deuteronomy, David Robison, Foundations of Governance

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Miscelaneous laws: Dt 24:7-16

"If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen of the sons of Israel, and he deals with him violently or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you." (Deuteronomy 24:7)

God is speaking here of more than your basic kidnapping for ransom scenario. This scripture refers to those who participate and profit from the theft, trafficking, and selling of human soles. This would include participation is activities such as slavery and the sex trade. History is replete of examples of such violence, such as when Africans were captured and sold as slaves at markets in Europe and the Americas, and such violence and slavery continues today in places like the Sudan and in the sex trade in places like Thailand and Moldova. God had determined that the just penalty for participation in such activities is death.

"Be careful against an infection of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you; as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 24:8-9)

While Leprosy is used as a metaphor for various moral and spiritual miladies, this scripture contextually is referring to actual diseases, infections, and sicknesses, especially those that are highly communicable in nature. The goal of these laws was to prevent the rampant spread of infections that could threaten the congregation as a whole. It is within the purview of good government to enact statutes to protect the public health and to prevent the epidemic spread of diseases. This might include the passing of laws relating to the quarantining of infected individuals, the authorization of stockpiling medicine and antidotes, and various provision and regulations for mass vaccination.

"You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the Lord and it become sin in you." (Deuteronomy 24:14-15)

Governments should protect the poor from the rich and the weak from the strong. The goal of such laws is not to make them equal but to prevent one from taking advantage of the other and to provide remedies when this is not the case. This particular scripture is referring to the case where an employer holds back the wages due his employees. In such cases the government may intrude into the employer/employee relationship to ensure that the worker is treated fairly and receives his just wages and receives them in a timely manner.

"Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin." (Deuteronomy 24:16)

This scripture is very clear, but it also provides the foundation for some other laws and stipulations, even within our own constitution. The US Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 says, "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." Part of the reason for the prohibition of Bills of Attainder is to prevent laws from being passed that would punish the surviving family members of one who was convicted of an egregious crime. These bills were often used to punish the family members of those convicted of treason against the crown. God's law simply says, punish those who commit the crime but leave the innocent alone.

David Robison

Book of Deuteronomy, foundations of governance, laws, The Robe, David Robison

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Laws on Lending: Dt 24:6, 10-13

"No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone in pledge, for he would be taking a life in pledge... When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge. You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 24:6, 10-13)

God provides for some basic laws pertaining to lending to the poor. These laws were intended to preserve the rights and dignity of the poor and to prevent the rich from exercising their power of wealth over the poor. King Solomon noted, "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave." (Proverbs 22:7) Because of this inequity of power, God's has established his laws to ensure equitable treatment of the borrower by the lender.

In this passage, God establishes two basic rules of lending, both which deal with the collecting and holding of collateral. First, the required collateral must not be so egregious as to deprive the borrower of their ability to earn a living. In Moses' day that would be taking away a man's millstone, today it might be taking away a man's house, car, tools, or other assets that he might depend upon to make a living. Secondly, the collecting of collateral must be done in a way as to not demean the borrower or to deprive them of their dignity. The rich are not to view the borrower as their slaves but as their brethren and they are to treat them with the dignity that is fitting a brother.

In summary, God says that our lending should be in such a way as to engender the blessings of those to whom we lend. When we view lending as a means of increasing our wealth, we begin to view the poor as objects and not people made in God's image. However, when we view lending as an opportunity to bless and aid others, we see them as people and treat them as brothers. This is the kind of lending that God desires. The kind of lending that leads to a promise. "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done." (Proverbs 19:17 NIV)

David Robison

Book of Deuteronomy, Foundations of Governance, lending, poor, rich

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Newly Married (part 2) Dt: 24:5

"When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken." (Deuteronomy 24:5)

My first thought at reading this verse was "How?" How do I bring joy and happiness to my wife? How do I, as this verse can also be translated, cheer up or gladden my wife? Knowing what to do doesn't help much unless you also know how to do it. As I was pondering this I read the following verse.

"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." (John 16:24)

Jesus desires to give us our needs, wants, and desires so that, not only would we have want we need and want but that in receiving them we might also have joy. Joy is the fruit of answered prayer. Sometimes, our lack of joy is just a lack of asking. James said, "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask." (James 4:1-2) If we would but ask God for the things we need and desire then we would not only receive the petitions of our hearts but we would also find new joy in the Lord.

The key to bringing joy to our wives (or anyone else for that matter) is learning to become the answer to their prayers. When we learn to recognize the desires of their heart and then find ways to supply those desires then we have found the key to bringing them joy. For some it might be the desire for someone to understand them, for others it might be the need to feel that they are important to someone else. Other might simply need someone to help them and lift them up when they are overwhelmed and overburdened by the demands of everyday life. What ever the need, to the degree to which we can supply the want, we can also bring them joy.

This is not to say that, as husbands, we should expect (or even attempt) to meet every need and desire of our wives hearts for some needs can only be met by the Lord. Some people, when the wed, have the expectation that the other person is going to meet all their needs, that all their desires are going to be met in their spouse, that their spouse is going to rescue them and save them from their present circumstances and that they will never want again. Some people, when they look for a partner, are really looking for a savior. However, a husband or wife can never replace the true savior. As individuals we must learn to go to the Lord for our needs and desires and not expect another human to meat what only the Lord can provide. However, that being said, there are times when God can use us to be the answers to the prayers of others. When we learn to tune into the needs and desires of others then we can find ways to allow God to use us to become the answer to their prayers and a source of great joy to them as well.

David Robison

marriage, joy, David Robison, The Robe, Book of Deuteronomy
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Newly Married (part 1) Dt: 24:5

"When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken." (Deuteronomy 24:5)

Unfortunately, this does not mean that the new husband does not have to do any work for a full year, rather this law applies to the state's demands and expectations upon a newly married couple. The health of the family is to be given greater priority over the health of the state. A man's responsibility to his new bride is to take precedents over his responsibility to the state. The state must recognize and respect the importance of families and must not enact policies and behaviors that would intrude into the family in a way that would be destructive, harmful, or counter productive.

This verse deals specifically with required military service and other forced obligations to the state. Couples, in their first year of marriage, were not to be pressed into service by the state but rather were to be given a year to establish their marriage and their family. Unfortunately, such wisdom is not universally practiced in our modern military. It is quite common for couples to get married immediately prior to one or the other deploying for six months or longer. While there are many reasons why couples marry just before joining the military, it often leads to significant hardships and difficulties, especially when faced with prolonged separation due to military deployments. God's wisdom is either to wait to wed or wait to deploy (a choice not available to most new recruits).

I believe that my government, in particular, needs to rethink its policy of deploying newly wed solders. I also believe that the military needs to amend its policies of deploying mothers of young children. There is a surprising number of women deployed who have infants at home under the care of husbands and/or grandparents. I believe that the same wisdom espoused in this scripture can also be applied to deploying parents, especially mothers, with infants under then age of one year old.

While this scripture deals specifically with the government's demands on the family, often the modern church also intrudes upon families with excessive demands, especially for newly married couples. I am amazed how often the church takes newly married couples and places them in "ministry", making them youth pastors, worship leaders, and the like. The church is then in a position to place demands and expectations on them that can interfere with their growth as a married couple. I think it would be wise for churches to remove all expectations and demands on newlyweds for a year to give them time to grow together without the interfering demands of the church. Similarly, I am also concerned with the number of young families that serve as senior pastors or senior leaders in churches. In the first century church, their leaders were called "elders", because they were "elder". They were older saints who, not only had the benefit of years of wisdom, but also had the time to devote to the church, in that they had finished raising their children and could give a greater portion of their time to the church. While this verse does not prohibit young families in position of leadership within the church, such decisions should be based on the principal found in this verse: family first, church and state second.

David Robison

church, state, family, marriage, David Robison, The Robe, Book of Deuteronomy

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Divorce, remarriage, and remarriage (Part 2) Dt 24:1-4

"Then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since 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 gives you as an inheritance." (Deuteronomy 24:4)

It is hard, in our modern world, to understand exactly why such an action is so onerous to the Lord, but God sees the remarriage of a woman, after an intervening marriage to another man, a great sin. God says that such sin greatly defines the land. "If a husband divorces his wife and she goes from him and belongs to another man, will he still return to her? Will not that land be completely polluted?" (Jeremiah 3:1) The only clue given here for while it is such a great sin is because the woman has been "defiled". When a woman is divorced and remarries, she is no longer "clean" to her former husband and, while if she is divorced from her second husband she is free to marry another, she is not free to return to her first husband.

What I find interesting is not the defiled state of the woman but who it is who is responsible for her defilement. In speaking on divorce and remarriage, Jesus said, "everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." (Matthew 5:32) Jesus declares that when a man divorces his wife and sends her away he causes her to commit adultery. In relation to the scripture in Deuteronomy, the woman is defiled not because of her actions but because of her husband's. Her husband is responsible for her defilement since he is the one who sent her away. I believe that it is for this reason, because it was the husband that divorced her and sent her away, that she is not to return to him. She is free to marry another but not him. When one divorces their wife or husband, except for the case of sexual immorality, God calls it treachery.

"'This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. Yet you say, 'For what reason?' Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. For I hate divorce,' says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'and him who covers his garment with wrong,' says the Lord of hosts. 'So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.'" (Malachi 2:13-14, 16)

To be sure, God is not speaking about divorce that is the result of sexual infidelity, abandonment, or abuse leading to an unsafe home environment, but in cases where one simply decides they no longer want to be married, their rejection of their spouse is treachery. When we deal treacherously with one another God holds us accountable, not only for our own actions, but also for the pain, hurt, and defilement we force upon others.

David Robison

marriage, divorce, defilement, Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, David Robison

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Divorce, remarriage, and remarriage (Part 1) Dt 24:1-4

"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 indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife, and if the latter husband turns against 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 husband dies who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since 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 gives you as an inheritance. (Deuteronomy 24:1-4)

This passage, contrary to its first appearance, is not a teaching on divorce. It is not about when divorce is permitted or how divorce is to be handled. Rather, this passage is a prepositional phrase, "If A and B then C", or in this case, "not C". This scripture simply states God's law forbidding a couple to remarry after they have been divorced and remarried to someone else in the interim. However, given that, there are some insights into divorce and remarriage we can glean from this passage.

First, in this passage God does not condone divorce but simply presents it as a reality. Divorce is and was a practice that persisted for ages in Israel and the surrounding nations. God was not instituting something new but rather acknowledging an existing practice among the people. While God never intended marriages to end in divorce, He did, however, permit it in some situations as a remedy for the wickedness of mans' heart.

This passage cites two separate divorces, each with their own reason. In the first case, the wife falls out of favor with her husband because he found some "indecency" in her. This Hebrew word is very interesting. It literally means nudity and refers to the exposure of one's pudenda. This is the same word used when Noah's son saw him laying naked on his bed. "Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father's nakedness." (Genesis 9:22-23) It is unlikely that this verse is referring to an actual act of sexual immorality or lewdness. If so, then other aspects of the law would have required the woman to be stoned not divorced. While it is unclear exactly what may have been meant by this term, it does give a vivid picture of the break down of the relationship between the man and the woman. The deterioration of their marriage goes far beyond the inconveniences and annoyances that are from time to time incident in almost every marriage. In the marriage cited there is a radical change in the way one partner sees the other. What love and affection that may have once existed between the man and his wife has evaporated and been replaced by despising, loathing, and contempt of the other person and for who they are and/or have become.

In the second case, it is simply recorded that the second husband "hates" his wife. This Hebrew word literally means to become and enemy or a foe. Sometimes, due to constant and repeated fighting and bickering, a couple's relationship can be reduced from one of love to one of hate. In this case, the problems that exist between the couples are more than irritations, misunderstandings, and frustrations, they have actually become enemies. Instead of serving and preferring each other, they are engaged in a persistent lifestyle of attacking and tearing down one another.

In cases like these, God permits divorce as a remedy to evil that that has made itself present in their marriage. Jesus said,

"They said to Him, 'Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?' He said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.'" (Matthew 19:7-9)

Divorce is the remedy for the hardness of mans' heart. It is an acknowledgment that men are sinners and, at their unregenerate core, mankind is basically evil and sinful. In these cases, given the unrepentant and wicked nature of the heart of men, divorce is preferable to a life of constant waring. This is why Paul says,

"But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace." (1 Corinthians 7:12-13, 15)

God is a god of peace and sometimes divorce with peace is better than a marriage with acrimony. For this reason, God permits divorce, though it was never His original intention of design.

More to come... David Robison

Divorce, Remarriage, Love, Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, David Robison

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Industry, Proprietorship, and Entitlement: Dt 23:24-25

When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket. When you enter your neighbor's standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor's standing grain." (Deuteronomy 23:24-25)

This scripture deals with three aspects of personal property.

Industry: A person's industry is to be rewarded. One who applies himself to the formation of wealth had the right to the fruits of such pursuits. In this case, those who apply their efforts to tilling and farming the land. Those who work do so in hope of a profit and are deserving of their rewards. "Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? Because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops." (1 Corinthians 9:7, 10)

Proprietorship: While one may be the proprietor of his own wealth, it is the Lord who gives the increase. All that we have, including the strength to create wealth, comes from God. The law allowing a neighbor to eat from another's field as they pass through is, in part, to remind us that before anything became ours, it was first God's. Since God gave us the land and its increase, He has also the right to give it to others for their use, enjoyment, and satisfaction. We must not hold on so tight to our possessions that we forget to be charitable and generous to others. "The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it." (Psalms 24:1)

Entitlement: No one has the right to presume or intrude upon another's wealth. He who works is entitled to the increase of his labors and the rewards of his industry belong to him. We do not have the right, or entitlement, to another's wealth for which we have not labored. The world and our society does not owe us its wealth, nor are we entitled to its riches, except to the degree to which we apply ourselves in labors, efforts, and industry. "For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either." (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

David Robison

work, labor, industry, The Robe, David Robison, Book of Deuteronomy

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