(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 24:5–13, “When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken. No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge. If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you. Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt. When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: 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 most basic fact about war is that people get maimed and killed and, if I go, there is no guarantee that it won’t be me. The Lord made sure that a man who was married didn’t have to go to war for twelve months so that the couple could have time to develop their marriage and even try to have a child so that the family could continue. There were laws about one Israeli charging interest to another Israeli. However, from time to time a person might need to borrow money. In that case the lender would expect to take some kind of guarantee for the loan. However, what kind of guarantee could a person take from someone who was poor? One possibility was the poor man’s overcoat. The Lord made it quite clear that He cared for the poor and needy and would look after them (Ex 22:21–24, “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.”) If someone took a poor man’s coat then what would the poor man do about keeping warm at night? That is why the lender had to give the coat back before sunset, even though the loan wasn’t repaid at that time. Another think that a person who has money to lend does is act like he owns the borrower but this was not acceptable. The borrower wasn’t allowed to come into the poor man’s house and see if there was anything he might like to take. Even though a man is poor, he is still a child of God and must be treated with the dignity that a child of God deserves. Kidnaping was a capital offence, especially if a man kidnapped someone for profit.
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