Deuteronomy 24 · Grade 4
Justice for the Vulnerable
Read and Think
Deuteronomy 24 is full of laws that protect people with little power. A new husband was free from military duty for a year to cheer his wife. Taking a millstone as a pledge was forbidden, because it would take away a family's daily bread, their very life.
Lenders must respect a borrower's home and must return a poor man's cloak by sunset. Workers had to be paid the same day, for they set their heart on their wages. If not, they might cry to God against the employer. Each person would die for his own sin, not for the sin of a parent or child.
At harvest, the forgotten sheaf, the olives left on the branches, and the grapes left on the vine belonged to the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. Ruth gleaned in Boaz's field under this law. The reason given twice is memory: remember that you were a slave in Egypt.
Show What You Know
Why was taking a millstone as a pledge forbidden?
Why must workers be paid the same day?
Who gleaned in Boaz's field under this law?
What reason is given twice?
Think About It
Why does God take special notice of the poor, the widow, and the foreigner?
What could your family leave for others, the way Israel left the edges of the harvest?
Memory Verse
“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who are in your land within your gates.”
Deuteronomy 24:14 (WEB)
Copy It
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for mercy. Help me . Amen.
Take It Home
For families: talk about these together.
- How can you make sure your words and choices never take advantage of someone weaker?
- Why does remembering God's mercy make us merciful?
Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.