A Holy Nation (3): Deuteronomy 22-24.4 (6)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 128.1, 2
Blessed is every one who fears the LORD,
Who walks in His ways.
When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

Psalm 128.1, 2
(Fountain: There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood)
How blessed are they who fear You, Lord, who walk within Your ways!
Rejoicing in Your bounteous Word, they prosper all their days!
They prosper all their days, they prosper all their days!
Rejoicing in Your bounteous Word, they prosper all their days!

Today’s Text: Deuteronomy 24.1-4

Preparation
1. What reason is given for permitting divorce?

2. Under what circumstances could a divorced couple not become remarried to one another?

Meditation
One of the important functions of the Law of God is to show us where we have fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3.23; 7.7). This statute on divorce is sufficiently clear not to require much additional explanation. But because Jesus commented on this passage, we want to consider it not merely for what it tells us about when divorce is lawful, but for what it reveals about the Law and its role in the life of faith.

In Matthew 19.3-10, the Pharisees – always trying to catch Jesus in His words – posed a question that seemed to be based in the Law of God. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Jesus answered by first reminding them of God’s purpose for marriage, that a man and woman should become one flesh before God, and remain that way as long as they live.

“Aha!” thought the Pharisees, thinking they had caught Jesus contradicting the Law of God: “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” Jesus’ reply sheds light both on our text and on the whole purpose of the Law of God. First, He shows us that the “uncleanness” mentioned in verse 1 (and implied again in verse 3) relates to “sexual immorality” (Matt. 19.9). That’s helpful.

But the larger issue relates to the purpose of the Law: “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts…” gave this statute and all the rest of the Law. The Law is a divine condescension to the hardness of our hearts, to show us our sins and to warn us against indulging them. In the beginning, at creation, we did not need the Law; but the entrance of sin makes the Law necessary.

Our natural inclination is to make ourselves god and to relate to others by whatever means serve our self-interest. Each of these – worship of self and exploitation of our neighbors – takes a wide variety of forms. The Law shines a light on the dark recesses of our soul and warns us against yielding to sin. When the Spirit of God is given to a new believer, He immediately begins rewriting the Law on the heart (Ezek. 36.26, 27). A law of sin remains in us even after we come to faith in Christ, and we still need to resist it according to the holy and righteous and good Law of God (Rom. 7.21-23; 7.12). Jesus walked the path of God’s Law, and He commands us to walk it as well (1 Jn. 2.1-6). The Law illuminates our sinful tendencies, then drives us to Jesus for grace to strengthen us for obedience (Gal. 3.19-25).

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
God gave marriage as an earthly and physical example of our relationship with Him (cf. Eph. 5.22-33). In marriage, we declare love and faithfulness to another. Through marriage, we understand God’s deep love for us: “I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, and I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD” (Hos. 2.19, 20). The banner over our earthly and heavenly relationships is love (Song 2.4). But even when that is not the case, we can still learn, in the sorrow and anger of divorce, lessons of His love and the way He deals with us when we persist in sin against Him. When we are in sin, unrepentant and unclean, God can put us away from Himself for a season; yet the restored relationship that can be found throughout repentance and return is merciful and kind: “’For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,’ says your God. ‘For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,’ says the LORD, your Redeemer” (Is. 54.5-8). Indeed, in the beginning, these things were not so; but since they are, we can learn a lot from them.

Reflection
1. How is marriage a symbol of our relationship with God?

2. God never “divorces” His bride (us); but He does distance Himself from us at times. Why? What must we do to return to Him?

3. How can believers encourage one another to remain faithful to Christ as His Bride?

The Lord explains the intention of the law, which required a bill of divorce in every case where a wife was put away. The precept not to put away a wife is the opposite of saying that a man may put away his wife if he pleases, which is not what the law says. Augustine (354-430), Against Faustus, A Manichaean 19.26

Thank You, Lord, for Your Law. Help me to walk in it today as I…

Closing Prayer: Psalm 128.3-6
Pray for God’s peace to fill you for this day, and that He may bless all your endeavors as you walk the path of His Word.

Psalm 128.3-6
(Fountain: There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood)
Their homes with happy children bloom who fear Your holy Name;
their tables and their every room declare Your glorious fame!
Declare Your glorious fame, declare Your glorious fame!
Their tables and their every room declare Your glorious fame!

O Lord, from Zion send Your peace, and prosp’rous make our ways;
thus may Your blessings e’er increase upon us all our days!
Upon us all our days, upon us all our days!
Thus may Your blessings e’er increase upon all us all our days!

T. M. and Susie Moore

Listen to our summary of last week’s study in Deuteronomy by clicking here. You can download all the studies in the series by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from Church Fathers from Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy: Ancient Christian Commentary Series III, Joseph T. Lienhard, S. J. ed. in collaboration with Ronnie J. Rombs, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001). All quotations from John Calvin from John Calvin, Commentaries on The Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Order of A Harmony, Rev. Charles William Bingham M. A., tr. and ed. (Edinburgh: The Calvin Translation Society, 1863. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).