Deuteronomy 25:1

Deuteronomy 25:1 says, If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.  Moses said that if two men in a disagreement came before the judges that they should justify the righteous and condemn the wicked.  I believe that the judges would have needed to rely on God to allow them to know which was which.  We need to pray that judges will be able to discern the truth today as well.  Verse two adds, And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.  Moses said that if the wicked had done something to deserve it, that He was to lay down and be beaten while he watched, in accordance with how much wickedness he was guilty of.  He would be found guilty, but the punishment would still fit the crime.  This should be the case today, that the punishment fit the crime.  Verse three continues, Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.  They were to give the man a maximum of forty stripes, and no more, because if he was given more the one's giving the stripes could seem vile.  This was to happen after the man had been found guilty, and we certainly should never hear of policemen beating suspects at all today, especially excessively, but we are seeing this more and more often.  Verse four states, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.  Moses then addressed the treatment of an ox treading corn, and said that the ox should not be muzzled so that it couldn't eat some of the corn that fell on the floor.  This would be cruel, and God never expects His people to be cruel to animals.  This does not mean that we are not allowed to use them to work, nor even that we are not allowed to kill them to eat.  We are just not to abuse them while they are performing work for us.  Verse five states, If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.  Moses said if a married man died before he had a child that his brother was to marry the widow and give her a child to carry on the man's name in Israel.  Matthew Henry says this was to be an unmarried brother, and we now have a better understanding that we will not be forgotten in God's everlasting kingdom if we are a Christian, and that is where it really matters.  Verse six adds, And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.  Moses said her firstborn was to carry on the name of the deceased husband and brother.  It does not specify how the living brother was to carry on his name or lineage in Israel.  Verse seven continues, And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.  If the man refused to carry out this obligation, the widow was to take him before the elders and publicly state this.  In this case, the woman was given the power to demand justice, which they often weren't.  Verse eight says, Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;  Verse nine adds, Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.  The man was to be called before the judges and given an opportunity to fulfill his obligation, and if he still refused, the widow was to come and in the presence of the elders pull off the man's shoe and spit in his face, thereby dishonoring him publicly.  Of course, we have no such law today.  Verse ten adds, And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.  The man would then be known in Isreal for what he had refused to do.  We might have more faithfulness to God today as followers of Christ if we were marked so the world could see when we failed to obey His commandments.