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516 | The Value of Obedience - Deuteronomy 25 · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  God is in control.
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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
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  at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ She's a happy girl,
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  She's a happy girl.
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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of Women at the Well Ministries,
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  where our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  We're so glad that you joined us today as we continue our journey through the book of Deuteronomy.
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  In today's episode, we're diving into Deuteronomy chapter 25.
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  This is a chapter filled with lessons about justice, honesty, and obedience.
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  This is the final chapter in Deuteronomy that focuses on the laws that God gave
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  the Israelites to help them live in holiness and in community.
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  So from fair judgment and honest business dealings to caring for family and
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  neighbors, this chapter reminds us that God is concerned with every part of our lives.
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  Our key verse in this chapter is Deuteronomy 25, 15,
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  which says, But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just
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  measure shalt thou have, that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the
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  Lord thy God giveth thee.
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  This verse points to the heart of God, a God who values fairness,
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  integrity, and obedience.
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  As we walk through these verses together, we'll be reminded that God still calls
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  his people to live with honesty, compassion, and holiness.
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  Join with me as we dive into Deuteronomy chapter 25.
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  Deuteronomy 25 verse 1. If there be a controversy between men and they come
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  unto judgment, that the judges may
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  judge them, then they shall justify the righteous and condemn the wicked.
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  And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall
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  cause him to lie down and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.
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  Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed.
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  Lest if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes,
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  then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
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  Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
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  If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child,
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  the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger.
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  Her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife,
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  and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.
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  And it shall be that the firstborn, which she beareth, shall succeed in the
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  name of his brother which is dead.
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  That is, his name shall not be put out of Israel.
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  And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, Then let his brother's wife
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  go up to the gate unto the elders and say, My husband's brother refuseth to
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  raise up unto his brother a name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.
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  Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak unto him.
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  And if he stand to it and say, I like not to take her, then shall his brother's
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  wife come up unto him in the presence of the elders and loose his shoe from
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  off his foot and spit in his face and shall answer and say,
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  So shall it be done unto that man which will not build up his brother's house.
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  And his name shall be called in Israel, the house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
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  When men strive together, one with another, and the wife of one draweth near
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  for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him,
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  and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets, then thou shalt cut
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  off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her.
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  Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small.
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  Thou shalt not have in thine house diverse measures, a great and a small.
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  But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt
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  thou have, that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
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  For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.
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  Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were yet come forth out
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  of Egypt, how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee,
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  even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary, and he feared not God.
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  Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine
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  enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance
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  to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
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  Thou shalt not forget it.
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  As we move into Deuteronomy chapter 25, we're entering the last chapter of Deuteronomy
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  that deals with the very specific legalistic and ceremonial laws.
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  After this chapter, the tone of the whole book changes.
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  But today, we're in the final chapter that contains these quote-unquote sundry
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  laws that we need to take a look at.
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  If we look at verses 1 through 3, these verses deal with accusations,
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  judges, controversies, and how individuals were to be punished.
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  We see that the judges themselves had rules. The judges had to ensure that they
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  justified the righteous and condemned only the wicked.
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  Both the accuser and the accused had to come before the judge,
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  and no judgment could be made on a one-sided matter.
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  If a punishment had to be carried out, the judge himself was required to be present.
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  If the individual was to be beaten, the judge had to be there and the punishment had to be specified.
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  In verse 3, we see that there could not be more than 40 stripes or 40 specific
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  lashings, because even if someone
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  was being punished, he was still considered a brother in the faith.
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  Therefore, there was a limit to the degree of punishment.
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  Verse 4 stands alone in this chapter, and it refers to the muzzling of an ox
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  while he's working in the corn.
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  The verse says that it was not to be done, meaning that the ox was not to be
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  kept from eating while it was working.
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  This verse is repeated a number of times throughout Scripture as a reminder
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  that everyone who works is due their just reward for that work.
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  This next section, verses 5 through 11, deals with a situation that many of
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  us may actually be familiar with if we have read the book of Ruth.
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  Verse 5 speaks of the Israelite practice that if family members were living
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  in community and a husband died, the husband's brother was to marry the wife
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  in order to keep the wife and her offspring within the family.
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  God's intent when this was established was that the Israelite nation would grow
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  and that family lines would be preserved.
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  We see this command take place in Genesis chapter 38 with Judah.
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  When Judah's firstborn son died, Judah commanded his other son to go into his
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  brother's wife, to marry her, and to raise up children in his brother's name.
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  In verse 7, we see that if the brother refused to marry his deceased brother's
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  wife, she was to go to the judges and the elders in the city and make it clear
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  that he had refused to fulfill his duty.
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  This had to be confirmed publicly, as shown in verse 8, where the brother had
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  to declare that he would not take care of his deceased brother's wife.
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  In verse 9, we read that the woman was then to loose his shoe,
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  a symbolic act, meaning that the man deserved to go barefoot because he had.
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  Refused to take his brother's wife as his own.
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  The next few verses talk about two very different situations,
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  but both are examples of things that clearly needed to be said,
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  like so many of the other laws that we read in the book of Deuteronomy.
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  If we look at verses 11 and 12, we see a situation where two men were fighting,
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  and one of the men's wives intervenes to defend her husband,
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  but did so in a really indiscreet way.
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  In verse 12, we see that because she'd been indiscreet with her hands,
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  her punishment was that her hand was to be cut off.
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  The act itself was considered unholy and defiling, and the punishment reflected
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  the seriousness of not preserving modesty and decency.
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  Verses 13 through 15 address business practices and integrity and commerce.
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  These verses prohibit having different weights for measurement in one's bag or in one's house.
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  All weights and measures were to be perfect and just, ensuring honesty in every transaction.
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  Whether it involved grain, money, or some other product, the Israelites were to deal fairly.
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  Doing things correctly resulted in the blessings of the Lord.
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  Verse 16 closes this section, stating that all who commit unholy acts,
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  whether in matters of modesty and sexual purity or in matters of business,
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  are an abomination unto the Lord.
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  This chapter closes with a section about Amalek. To understand this reference,
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  we have to go back to Exodus chapter 17.
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  Here in Deuteronomy, the Israelites are told to remember what Amalek did.
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  It is described in verse 18, how Amalek met the Israelites along the way struck
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  down the weakest among them and showed no fear of God.
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  In verse 19, as the chapter closes, we read a promise that when the Lord had
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  given Israel rest from all their enemies, the remembrance of Amalek,
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  meaning every remnant of the Amalekites, was to be destroyed.
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  These verses remind the Israelites of the battle that's recorded in Exodus 17.
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  When the Amalekites attacked the Israelites shortly after they had received
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  manna from heaven, the Israelites went to battle against Amalek,
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  and Moses went up on the mountain with Aaron and Hur.
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  When Moses' hands were raised, Israel prevailed, but when his hands were lowered, Amalek prevailed.
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  The Israelites were victorious that day because Moses' hands stayed raised to the Lord.
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  On that same day, the Lord promised that his people would have war with Amalek
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  from generation to generation.
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  Saul later went on to war with the Amalekites, but did not obey the Lord's full
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  command, which contributed to his downfall.
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  Eventually, David completed the task and conquered the Amalekites completely.
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  Just like so many of our other chapters in Deuteronomy, this chapter includes
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  difficult lessons, but lessons that must have needed to be said.
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  Again, the lessons found in Deuteronomy chapter 25 deal with how God desires
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  for us to live and act in community, as well as how God desires for us to live
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  and act in relation to him and to the holiness that he asks of us.
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  Lastly, this chapter demonstrates that God takes it personally when the devil
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  goes against his people.
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  The first three verses of this chapter clearly lay out how punishment was to be enacted.
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  We know that in our society today, there are specific punishments for specific crimes.
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  The Lord was setting up a similar situation so that no one could be punished
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  beyond what was due for their crime.
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  Additionally, the Lord was setting up accountability for the judges.
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  If the judge was declaring a punishment.
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  The judge had to understand their own responsibility and role in the life of
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  the individual being punished.
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  We can see this principle and remnants of it in our court system today.
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  All of us who work understand that everyone who works is due their just reward.
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  There are specific salaries and specific wages for specific work,
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  and everyone who works deserves to be paid.
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  The example found in Deuteronomy chapter 25 is that of an ox,
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  but it is a principle that is true throughout all of Scripture.
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  This teaching is referenced in the book of Hosea, in the book of 1 Corinthians,
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  and in the book of 1 Timothy.
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  Whether it's an animal or a person, everyone deserves to be paid fairly for the work that they do.
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  The next section about taking on a brother's wife and the results of not doing
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  so has for us a specific lesson.
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  For those who are familiar with the book of Ruth, where we see this principle
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  played out, we see the role of the kinsman redeemer.
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  We see the role that Boaz plays in the life of Ruth, and in doing so,
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  we see how the Lord creates opportunities for us to care for and quote-unquote
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  redeem the lives of those in our communities.
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  So often things that happen that we would not choose, God turns and makes a
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  way for our families and our communities to support and care for those around them.
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  The Lord's desire for modesty and holiness is clearly displayed in this chapter.
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  While verses 11 and 12 describe a really specific situation,
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  they make it clear that God's desire is for modesty and holiness among his people.
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  The section in verses 13 through 15 demonstrate that God's desire is for honesty in all things.
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  We are always to be honest and forthright, both in our homes and in our business dealings.
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  It is that honesty and integrity that bring with them the blessings of the Lord.
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  If there is a lesson from the end of this chapter for those of us on this side
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  of the cross, it is that God takes what is done against his people as being done against himself.
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  The Amalekites came after the Israelites when they were at their weakest.
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  And while the Israelites were victorious, they still incurred loss.
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  This was remembered by the Lord and the Lord empowered his people to be completely
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  triumphant over the Amalekites later in time.
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  Though the Amalekites provided quite a lesson for Saul, his disobedience in
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  battle with them led to his downfall, we also see that David's complete obedience
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  in battle with the Amalekites demonstrated how the Lord prevails through those who are faithful.
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  We know that the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
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  We read about that in 1 Peter 5.8.
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  And we know that the Lord gives us the power to fight the devil.
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  In order to be triumphant, our role is to be obedient.
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  If all of these chapters in Deuteronomy teach us anything, they remind us of
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  the value the Lord places on obedience.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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