Deuteronomy 24:10 says, When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Verse eleven adds, Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. Moses said when obtaining a pledge from their brother that they were not to go into his house to obtain it, but were to allow him to bring it out. They were still to treat him with respect and not as someone that they now controlled. We should always treat others with respect, even if they owe us something. Verse twelve continues, And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: There was also a law concerning the pledge of a poor person, and that was that the person obtaining the pledge should not keep it overnight. Verse thirteen concludes, In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God. The one with the pledge was to return it by nightfall so that the one who had pledged it could sleep in his own garment and bless the lender. Too often today, the attitude of the lender is that he will not release a person from their debt until every bit is paid, no matter how much the one with the debt may suffer for it. Moses said that if the one holding the pledge did this, it would go well with them, I believe in the eyes of God, we today should be more concerned with what is right with God than with how much we can gain materially. Verse fourteen states, Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: Moses said they were not to oppress the poor, whether they were Israelites or not. We could learn from this today. Verse fifteen adds, At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee. Moses said they were to pay the hired man daily, especially the poor, so that he did not cry against him to God and God count it as a sin. God has always said that His people need to be mindful of the poor and do all that they can to help them. Verse sixteen says, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. Moses said that no one, even a father or son, should be put to death for the sins of others, but everyone should be put to death for their own sins. This is still true, with one exception. Jesus Christ was put to death for our sins, but this still does not exempt us from the earthly consequences of our sin. Verse seventeen says, Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: Moses said they were not to pervert the judgment of a stranger nor the fatherless, nor take a widow’s raiment for a pledge. God always has and always will expect His people to be fair in their treatment of all people, especially the less fortunate. Verse eighteen adds, But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. Moses said they were to remember that they had been bondsmen in Egypt until God freed them, just as we are to remember that we were in bondage to sin until God freed us by sending His only begotten Son to die for us. Verse nineteen states, When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. Moses said when they were harvesting a field and realized they had forgotten a sheaf that they were not to go back and get it, but were to leave it for the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. We need to have this same attitude of compassion today. Verse twenty continues, When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. Verse twenty-one concludes, When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. Moses said that when the harvested olives or grapes that they were not to go over the trees again, but were to leave them for those in need. We need to be willing to share part of what God has blessed us with with the less fortunate. Verse twenty-two declares, And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing. God through Moses said that they were to remember that they had been bondmen in Egypt before He set them free and that He commanded them to do these things. Once we are set free by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we are to do the things that God commands us to do.
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