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Contingency legislation – Deut. 24
Contingency legislation – Deut. 24
Here we read of the instruction that Moses gives concerning divorce and remarriage. Notice that this is an "IF…THEN” construction. Such does not necessarily indicate that the first part is ‘good,' 'acceptable,' or ‘desirable;’ let alone commanded of God. Notice some other similar passages.
In Deut. 22:28-29 we read:
28 “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.
Such was NOT an approved way of ‘finding a wife’… it was intended to discourage the immoral behavior.
We see this again in Deut. 22:13-19. Here the 'IF' clause concerns a man accusing his bride of not being a virgin, and the 'THEN' clause results in "he may not divorce her all his days." This was not encouraging a husband to charge his wife but rather was to discourage such accusations.
SO it seems with this passage in Deut. 24. It begins with the 'IF', and then a long, complex continuing sentence that draws its 'THEN' conclusion in vs. 4 (see note at end). This is a bit more difficult to see in that is long sentence. It begins by setting up the first part of the situation "when…" (vs. 1-2). The 'if' situation that is then attached to this scenario it given in vs. 3; actually, two such 'if' situations occur. The 'THEN' conclusion is stated in verse 4. The NASB and the ESV supply the 'then' to help see this.
1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house,
2 and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife,
3 and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife,
4 then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.
The KJ, put a period in the middle and thus changes the structure of this so that it becomes:
WHEN divorce, THEN give bill of divorce.
"If" 2nd husband puts her away or dies, 'THEN' first can’t take her back.
With that, it looks like the first sentence commands the giving of the bill of divorcement. While the giving of such a writing was part of the 'IF' scenario, it is just part of the scenario.
Rather than understand verses 1-2 as a separate and complete situation, we see that they are part of the contingency statement of verse 4. Such was not advocating or encouraging divorce, but was putting a harsh future condition if one did so.
Truly, for the hardness of their hearts, God permitted such divorce, yet His original design and intent was one man married to one woman for life (cp. Jesus statement in Matt. 19).
Hugh DeLong
