Remember You Were a Slave

Deuteronomy 24 gathers laws that shield the vulnerable. The opening divorce law regulated a practice already present; Jesus later said Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of your hearts, but from the beginning it was not so (Matthew 19:8). A newly married man was exempt from war and business for a year, so he could cheer his wife.

Lending laws protected dignity. No one could take the mill or upper millstone in pledge, for that takes a life in pledge. A lender must wait outside for the pledge, and a poor man's cloak must be returned by sunset. A hired worker, Israelite or foreigner, must be paid daily, before the sun goes down, lest he cry to God against you. Verse 16 established personal responsibility: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

The gleaning laws required farmers to leave forgotten sheaves and the remains of olive and grape harvests for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. This gave the poor a way to work and eat with dignity, as Ruth did in Boaz's field. Twice the motive is repeated: remember that you were a slave in Egypt. Those who have received mercy must show mercy.