Questions from the Scripture text: Who must not be given back to whom (Deuteronomy 23:15)? Where may he stay instead (Deuteronomy 23:16)? Who must not be among Israel (Deuteronomy 23:17)? What may not be done with their wages (Deuteronomy 23:18)? Or with what other sort of money? Why not? What must not be charged to whom (Deuteronomy 23:19)? Whom may they charge interest (Deuteronomy 23:20)? Why not their brother? What must be paid quickly (Deuteronomy 23:21-23)? Why? What is better, if you are not going to pay (Deuteronomy 23:22)? What may you do where (Deuteronomy 23:24)? What mayn’t you do? What else may you do, where else (Deuteronomy 23:25)? What may happen to a wife (Deuteronomy 24:1)? And then what (Deuteronomy 24:2)? In what two circumstances might she obtain new resources (Deuteronomy 24:3)? Who must not take advantage of this in what way (Deuteronomy 24:4)? Why not? Who must not go to war or be conscripted into public service (Deuteronomy 24:5)? To whom is he owed instead? What must not be taken for what purpose (Deuteronomy 24:6)? Why not? What might a man be found doing to another (Deuteronomy 24:7)? What was the penalty for this? Why?
What do Israel’s eighth commandment statutes teach us? Deuteronomy 23:15–24:7 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eighteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that what each man has is a sacred trust from God.
It is interesting to observe what situations comprise the case law for applying the eighth commandment to Israel’s life in the land. It actually begins with something that was considered man-stealing by the surrounding nations (Deuteronomy 23:15-16), but the implication is that this was someone coming from outside of Israel to dwell among Israel. Man-stealing of Israelites was a capital crime (Deuteronomy 24:7), but Israelites were permitted to take slaves from among those whom Providence gave over to them, by war or by poverty. Yet, another nation’s slave escaping to them was not to be seen as a gift of wealth from God. In that case, Providence was giving that man his freedom among God’s people.
Then, Deuteronomy 23:17-18 remind us that sin is never a legitimate way of obtaining possessions from the Lord. The first thing to do with any wages is to give God His portion, but wages gained by wickedness are an abomination; one mustn’t even do the very first thing with them. This should neutralize any idea that we might have of obtaining illegitimate wealth in order to “do good with it.”
God’s covenant people were not permitted to “take a bite” out of each other (the literal words, used as an idiom for “charging interest” in Deuteronomy 23:19-20). There is a theme throughout Scripture of the Lord bequeathing the wealth of the nations to His people. Here, Israel are permitted to participate in the standard practice of the day, when it came to those nations, as part of the Lord blessing them in all to which they set their hand (Deuteronomy 23:20). Only, they must never think of it that way, when it came to their brother (Deuteronomy 23:19). Not only may they not charge him interest, but they may keep, as collateral, no part of that their brother needs for earning his living (Deuteronomy 24:6).
Deuteronomy 23:21-23 establish that what is voluntary becomes obligatory, once it has been promised—especially, promised to the Lord.
Deuteronomy 23:24-25 deal with the fruit of the land as God’s gift to all of His people. Yes, particular land, and its harvest, are God’s gift to particular Israelites. But, here He makes a distinction between gleaning and harvesting, so that the gleanings may function as a sort of built-in hospitality from their brothers.
Maybe the most interesting inclusion in this section is in Deuteronomy 24:1–4. The woman in question is not an abomination (Deuteronomy 24:4) to all men, only to the man who had previously decided that he did not want her (Deuteronomy 24:1). But what has changed? By placing the passage in this section, the implication is that she has some settlement from her second divorce, or some remaining portion in her widowhood (Deuteronomy 24:3). To treat marriage as otherwise undesirable, unless you can obtain wealth by it—that is the abomination here. This marital theme continues in Deuteronomy 24:5, where the wife’s great gain in her marriage is not her husband’s money (which he might have earned as a soldier or by public office), but her husband himself (of whom she must not be deprived by these other things).
By noting what all of these statutes have in common, we can understand the heart of the eighth commandment: it is the Lord, Who gives to each man his wealth. And this is not only sovereignly providential but covenantally personal. Even beyond wealth, to freedom and marriage and everything else, whatever a man has is to be treated (by him, and by others) as a sacred trust unto him from God.
What wealth do you have? By what means are you obtaining it? What else do you have? How are you treating all of these things as a sacred trust from God? Whose possessions do you need to respect more?
Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us for considering that which was sinful as a way of obtaining wealth—even to give it to you. And, forgive us, for when we have considered our brother’s trouble as an opportunity for ourselves. Grant that we would receive our freedom, our marriage, our wealth, and everything else that we have, as a sacred trust from You. And give us the same regard for our brother, and what he has as a sacred trust. Forgive us, for Christ’s sake, and by Your Spirit, conform us to His image, we ask in His Name, AMEN!
Suggested songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent, Who Will Reside” or TPH174 “The Ten Commandments”