I would invite you to turn in the Bible to the book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 25. If you're using one of the church Bibles, our text can be found on page 166. We do continue to study through the book of Deuteronomy, going through it largely chapter by chapter. Before we look at the text, I want you to think of how God only gave one prohibition to Adam and Eve. God had created Adam and Eve. He placed them in the garden, the first man and first woman from whom all mankind has descended. God only gave them one prohibition. He said that they were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He had placed many other trees in the garden that were good for food, and they could eat from any of the other trees, but not from this one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now, God did not have to tell Adam and Eve, you shall not murder. He did not have to tell them, you shall not commit adultery. He didn't have to tell them, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false testimony, you shall not covet. No, their hearts were holy and righteous. And as long as their hearts feared God and were submissive to Him, they would live in holiness and righteousness. But when Satan entered the garden and deceived Eve, and placed doubt in Eve's mind about the goodness of God, and tempted Adam and Eve to decide for themselves good and evil, man fell into rebellion against God. Man's hearts that were holy and righteous became unrighteous, rebellious, and corrupt. Mankind It had grasped for the bait that Satan had placed before them. Adam and Eve had tried to be like God, but when they tried to be like God, Adam and Eve's hearts turned from worshiping the true God to worshiping self. And it was not just a matter of two individuals becoming corrupt, it was a matter of the human race that would issue forth from them becoming corrupt. And for this, God's curse came upon the earth. Death entered the world. Sickness entered the world. Suffering entered the world. All because of man's rebellion against God. Yet God promised a redeemer. God's purpose was to display his grace and his mercy in the midst of a world darkened by man's rebellion. We read in Genesis 3.15, in the words that God spoke to the serpent, the Lord said, in the hearing of Adam and Eve, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He, that is the offspring of the woman, he shall bruise your head, that is the head of the serpent or the head of the devil who is behind the serpent, and you shall bruise his heel. We see in this promise that God gave in the hearing of Adam and Eve, that God would not leave the world in its fallen state. He would send the Redeemer, the offspring of the woman. The Redeemer would suffer. In those words of God, he said that the serpent would bruise the heel of the offspring of the woman. The Redeemer would suffer, but through his suffering, he would give life. Through his suffering, he would make people new unto the praise of his glorious grace. That is the context of almost everything in the Bible, including the Mosaic Law that we are studying, that we have been studying and we continue to study this morning. The law of God that God gave to the nation of Israel through Moses, the law had a role to play as God was unfolding his redemptive plan. The law reveals our sin. The law reveals our need of redemption. And the law also reveals how God's redeemed people are to respond to his grace by loving him and living for his glory. We continue to study the law this morning. Keep the context in mind. Keep the big picture in mind as we read. I'm gonna read to us the 25th chapter, so please stand in honor of the word of God. If there is a dispute between men, and they come into court, and the judge is decided between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. Forty stripes may be given him, but not more. Lest if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight. You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain. If brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go into her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, Then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, my husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. And if he persists saying, I do not wish to take her, then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, so shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, the house of him who has his sandal pulled off. when men fight with one another, and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, then you shall cut off her hand. Your eyes shall have no pity. You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God has given you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God. Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven, you shall not forget. This is God's holy word, please be seated. In Deuteronomy, we have been seeing that the Lord gave a wide variety of laws to his people, the nation of Israel. As we continue to see the variety of the laws that God gave his people, the variety tells us that God has a claim on all of life. We have seen laws about worship, about the work of our hands, about finances, about the use of time, about relations with other people. And in all of these, the Lord is showing us that he has a claim on all of this. He has a claim on your worship. He has a claim on the work of your hands. He has a claim on your finances. He has a claim on your time. He has a claim on your relations with everyone around you. with your family members, your relationships with your neighbors, your relations with the poor, everyone around you that God has placed you in connection with. God has a claim to how you relate to those people. We've been seeing that throughout the book of Deuteronomy and today we continue to look at some miscellaneous laws. There really is not a whole lot that binds these different laws that we're going to look at together. So oftentimes they're called miscellaneous laws and it reminds us that God does have a claim on all areas of life. There's no part of life that is outside of his sovereign authority. So today we're gonna see six miscellaneous laws. The first is that civil punishment must be proportionate and not excessive. Civil punishment must be proportionate and not excessive. Look closely, beginning of verse one. If there is a dispute between men and they come into court. And the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty. Then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 40 stripes may be given him, but not more. Lest if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight. Because mankind is a fallen race, men and women in defiance of God's moral law wrong one another. The law of Moses anticipated this. And it stipulated how an Israelite was to be punished for a crime against another. We see in our text that before being punished, his case was to be tried in court. And in some cases we see that the judges would decide that the guilty man deserved to be beaten. That was a common penalty in the ancient Near East. We see in our text that if the man deserved to be beaten for the crime he committed against another Israelite, then the judge was to make sure that the number of stripes he received was in proportion to his offense. The word stripes being lashes. The number of lashes was in proportion to his offense. In other words, a minor crime was to receive a small number of stripes, and a major crime was to receive a large number of stripes. However, verse three said a limit on how many stripes a man could be given. You could be given no more than 40 stripes. Now observe in verse three the stated reason for this limit. 40 stripes may be given him, but not more. Last, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight. We see here that a criminal's human dignity was not to be violated by excessive punishment. The Bible teaches that all human beings have dignity by virtue of being created in the image of God. Not even the committing of a serious crime takes away that dignity. Civil punishment, we see here, must never be administered in an uncontrolled, dehumanizing way. Now, if this is the case with civil punishment, which is the subject here, it most certainly is the case with parental discipline. Parental discipline, which is to be loving and corrective, not retributive like civil punishment. If civil punishment must be in proportion, must not be excessive, how much more that is the case. with loving, corrective parental discipline. Parental discipline must never be administered in anger. It must be proportionate to the offense. It must never degrade the child who is made in the image of God. Well, this whole idea in our text of punishment being proportionate to the offense raises a theological question. It raises the question, are some sins more serious than other sins? The answer is both yes and no. We see in the Bible that some sins have worse temporal consequences than other sins. For example, the temporal consequences of sinful anger are smaller than the temporal consequences of murder. But at the same time, all sins have the same eternal consequences. The eternal consequence of sinful anger is the same as the eternal consequence of murder. Different temporal consequences, but the same eternal consequence. Romans 6.23 says, for the wages of sin is death. That is, eternal death. That is the wage of any sin, of all sins is eternal death. They all have the same eternal punishment. Now Jesus did teach that there will be different degrees of punishment in hell. You see that in Matthew chapter 11, when he was denouncing the villages where he had performed many great miracles showing that he is the Son of God, he is the Messiah whom God had sent. these villages who had rejected Christ, rejected Him as the Messiah. Jesus denounced these cities, saying that the punishment for them in eternity would be worse. than that for Sodom and Gomorrah, and Tyre and Sidon. And this morning we studied in Sunday school God's judgment upon Sodom as he sent burning sulfur down to completely destroy those wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And yet Jesus said that the punishment of Capernaum, Chorazin, Bethsaida would be worse. Why? Was it because those villages committed more serious sins? No, it was because they had received more revelation. They had received the very incarnate Son of God in their midst. They had seen the miracles of Christ. They had more revelation. and they rejected it all. So there's degrees of punishment in hell, but it's not on what sins you committed, it's on how much revelation was given to you and you rejected. So here in our text, we do see proportionate punishment for sin, but this is talking about temporal punishment, civil punishment. This law in our text concerning how a criminal is to be treated is followed by a law concerning how a work animal is to be treated. The principle in the second law is that those who serve must be provided for. Those who serve must be provided for. Look at verse four in our text. You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain. you have to understand the culture of the day. That's a very important principle of interpreting scripture is You understand that the Bible was written to people in a different culture and time. They had different manners and customs. And to understand the scripture, you need to know something of their manners and customs. You have to put yourself in their position. And so when you study the manners and customs of the day, what you learn is that this was a very common thing in their day. An ox or another similar animal treading out the grain. It was an agricultural society. Grain was grown all over the land of Israel. And after the grain stocks would be cut down, those grain stocks would then be spread out on a threshing floor. One way to thrash the grain was to have an ox walk on those grain stalks, pulling a wooden sledge behind it with sharp objects on the bottom of that sledge. This would chew up the grain stalks and release the grain from the stalk, leaving straw, chaff, and edible grain. Now, some people in that culture muzzled their ox while the ox was doing this work. They muzzled the ox so that the ox would not eat any of the grain while it was working. But we see in God's law that God's chosen and redeemed people were not to do this. They were to take good care of the ox that served them by letting it eat some of the grain as it worked, letting it eat some of the fruit of its labors. Now, this law is quoted twice in the New Testament, both times in a similar way. It's quoted in 1 Timothy 5, verses 17 and 18, and it's also quoted in 1 Corinthians 9. Let's look at 1 Corinthians 9 to see how it is used in this passage. 1 Corinthians 9. Why don't us first look at verse 14 to see where Paul is going in this section. In verse 14 he says, in the same way the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. So that's his point. Let's see how he gets to that point. Go back to verse four, verse four. Do we not have the right to eat and drink? This is Paul the Apostle. He gave himself completely to the work of the ministry. He had fellow laborers with him that also gave themselves entirely to the work of the ministry. He asks, do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord in Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. So as Paul seeks to make this point, he says, this is found in the scriptures. And he quotes our text, the law that God gave to Israel, you should not muzzle an ox while it's treading out the grain. He's saying, God's not just concerned about oxen. He's not just concerned about work animals. Paul's not negating the fact that the law in our text concerned letting work animals share in the fruit of their labor, but what he's getting at is that God has an even greater care and concern for his servants than for animals. And since oxen are to be allowed to benefit from their labor, how much more those who devote themselves to proclaiming the gospel should get their living from doing so? So on this basis, we can say that as we look at the law before us in Deuteronomy about the oxen, that the principle of the law here is that those who serve you must be provided for, whether they be animals like oxen or even more so if they be human beings who serve you. When you come back to Deuteronomy 25, this law is followed by a third law, a law that enabled and encouraged an Israelite man's name to be perpetuated in Israel. This third law is about an Israelite man's name being perpetuated in Israel. Look here in our text at verses five and six. If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go into her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. Now this may sound strange to you. We don't have anything like this in our society. There are related passages to this in the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 27 and Numbers chapter 36 contain sections that address the same issue. And so those passages help us to understand this one. What we see is that it was very important in Israel for a man's name to be carried on by his male descendants. And that this went hand in hand with passing on the family's land from generation to generation. Now our text before us concerns the case where a man marries, but later he dies without having any children. We read in this law here that in that case, the widow was not permitted to marry outside their clan. If the woman married outside her clan, then her first husband's land would become the land of someone outside his clan. Maybe even it would become the land of someone outside his tribe. And in Israel, it was important for the land that the Lord gave a tribe to stay with that tribe. And the land he gave a clan to stay with that clan. And so we see here that instead of marrying outside the clan, one of the widow's deceased husband's brothers was to take the widow as his wife and have a son with her. And the first son that would be born to them was to carry on the name of the man who had died. This meant that the dead man's land would be inherited by this son. Scholars call this leverate marriage. The word leverate comes from the Latin word for brother-in-law. Leverate marriage, brother-in-law marriage. Now, this practice was common in the ancient Near East. It was not just practiced in Israel. It was practiced in other nations around them. And the Lord instructed Israel here to follow this practice, but to follow it in a way that it was holy and righteous before God. There's an example of Leveret marriage in Genesis chapter 38 with Judah's sons and Tamar. Now, you may say, wouldn't this be violating other laws of God? Because the book of Leviticus gave prohibitions against brother and sister-in-laws marrying one another. But what you see here is this is an exception to that general prohibition against marrying one's brother or sister-in-law. What's the significance of this? Why was this important? for a man's name to be passed down and for his land to be passed down. We see in the Bible that children are a blessing from the Lord. And we see in the Old Testament that it was a blessing from the Lord for a man's name to be carried on by his descendants. And so the Lord's law for Israel encouraged leverage marriage, but it was to be done in a way that was holy. Today, in Sunday school, we saw a passage about Lot and his daughters and the wicked way that they tried to carry on the name of Lot as they got him drunk and so forth. All that happened there. That was an unholy way of carrying on a man's name. The Lord gave instructions for doing this in a holy way. But a man still had the right to refuse to do this for his deceased brother, but only after a strong effort was made to urge him to perpetuate the name of his brother. Look at verse seven in our text. And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, my husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me. The purpose here of the widow taking the issue to the elders was that the elders would then urge the man to do this, to fulfill his duty here. Look at verse eight. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists saying, I do not wish to take her, Then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, so shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. And the name of his house shall be called in Israel the house of him who has his sandal pulled off. Pulling your sandal off your foot was the cultural way of making a legal matter official. spitting in this man's face. And the words that the widow was to say were meant to shame the man who refused to perpetuate his brother's name. And thus we see here the legal penalty for refusing to do this was being publicly shamed by the widow. We see a wonderful example of leveret marriage in Ruth chapter four. Turn with me to Ruth chapter four. Just a few books to the right. You have Joshua, Judges, and then Ruth, a short book, just four chapters. When you come to Ruth chapter four, you have met Naomi. Naomi's husband's name was Elimelech. Naomi and Elimelech, along with their two sons, had left Bethlehem when there was a famine. They went to the nation of Moab and they sojourned there during the famine. Their two sons married Moabite women, but then Naomi and Elimelech's two sons died without having any children. So Naomi's husband, Elimelech, who also dies, There's a danger that his name is going to be blotted out because his two sons have died without having children. But a liminal X name can be carried on if a near male relative will marry Naomi's daughter-in-law, Ruth, who comes back with Naomi to Bethlehem. Remember how Ruth becomes an Israelite. Naomi encouraged her to stay in Moab when Naomi returned. But Ruth said, no, your God will be my God. Your people will be my people. She became an Israelite. She returns with Naomi to Bethlehem. And Naomi sends her out to glean in the barley fields. And there Ruth meets Boaz, who is one of their near relatives. And Boaz is unlike the men of his day. He's a godly man. And let's see what happens in Ruth chapter four. Because now Boaz is aware of the need for a liminal ex name to be perpetuated and for Ruth and Naomi to be cared for. Ruth has communicated her desire to Boaz that Boaz would do this on their behalf. And so in chapter 4 verse 1, now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. Because he's not the closest male relative. There's another who's closer. So it says, and behold, the Redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. He's the closer male relative to Naomi and Ruth. So Boaz said, turn aside, friend, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. And he took 10 men of the elders of the city and said, sit down here. So they sat down. Then he said to the Redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative, Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it and say, buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me that I may know. For there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you. And he said, I will redeem it. Then Boaz said, the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you will also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance. Boaz understands the law we are studying in Deuteronomy, about leverage marriage, and he applies it here. He says, you're gonna have to do this. Verse six, and the Redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it. Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm a transaction, the one who drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the Redeemer said to Boaz, buy it for yourself, he drew off his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses this day that I have bought from the land, I'm sorry, I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belong to Elimelech and all that belong to Chilion and to Malon. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Malon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day. Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem. And may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he went into her and the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a redeemer and may his name be renowned in Israel. They're referring to the son who's been born to Boaz and Ruth as now the redeemer. May his name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life. "'and a nourisher of your old age, "'for your daughter-in-law who loves you, "'who is more to you than seven sons, "'has given birth to him.' "'Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap, "'and became his nurse. "'And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, "'saying, a son has been born to Naomi. "'They named him Obed. "'He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.'" Boaz and Ruth obeyed the law in our text. And their obedience to the law in our text led toward the birth of King David, and eventually to the birth of the Messiah. Now, if Israel did not live in a fallen world, there would not have been a need for leverage marriage. Romans 5.12 teaches that death came into the world through sin. If it wasn't a fallen world, there wouldn't be death, there'd be no need for leverate marriage. But the beautiful thing is that in the law before us, the Lord made a provision for bringing back to life a family line that had died, like a limalex. And this was just a small foreshadow of what the Messiah would do for all who would believe in him. bring life to our spiritually dead souls, and one day raise our bodies as imperishable and immortal. This text is about bringing life to a family line that has died, and the Lord used it in a marvelous way as he unfolded his plan to send us the Redeemer. Well, in our, you can come back to Deuteronomy chapter 25, In our text, this law about perpetuating the name of a man who had died is followed by a related law. The fourth law in our text is that a man's ability to reproduce must be protected. A man's ability to reproduce must be protected. Look at Deuteronomy 25 verses 11 and 12. When men fight with one another, and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, then you shall cut off her hand. Your eyes shall have no pity. Again, because mankind is fallen, the law anticipates cases like this one. There's two men fighting. And here, in this case, the wife of one of them wants to rescue her husband. Now, the law says, in such a case, it was illegal for the woman to seize her husband's attacker by his private parts. That could be very effective, as it would immediately put him in agonizing pain, but it was such a serious thing that the civil penalty for doing so was, according to verse 12, you shall cut off her hand, your eye shall have no pity. It raises the question, why was it a crime for a woman to do this? She's trying to defend her husband, protect her husband. Why was that a crime? To grab the private parts of the other man. Why was the penalty so severe? It's not just a small fine. Her hand is cut off. They are to show no pity to her. Well, this law appears to intentionally be paired with the previous law in our text about a man's name being perpetuated by his brother having a son with his widow. It appears here that the reason why it was a crime for a woman to seize the attacker's private parts was because it could destroy that man's ability to have children. She could use other methods to try to rescue her husband, but endangering the attacker's ability to have children was absolutely off limits. Back in Genesis 1, verse 28, after God created male and female in his image, God blessed the man and the woman and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. God repeated this to Noah and to his family, to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth. Psalm 127 speaks of the blessing of children. Psalm 127 verses three through five. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gates. The Old Testament put a much higher value on children than the culture that we live in puts on children. And the Bible even speaks of a man's future descendants being in his loins. In Hebrews 7, verse 10, the author of Hebrews says that Levi was in Abraham's loins when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. Levi wouldn't be born for a long time afterwards. He was not the direct son of Abraham. He was like the great grandson of Abraham. But the Bible says Levi was in Abraham's loins. So just as Deuteronomy chapter 25 verse three said a man deserving to be beaten could not be degraded, likewise the law before us says an attacker's private parts could not be seized. His ability to have children had to be protected. Now today, it is common in self-defense classes for women to be taught that if they are attacked by a man to kick him in the private parts. I believe that we should consider this to be a last resort in light of the verses before us. A last resort because of how serious it is to, damage a man in such a way that he could not have children. Well, this law is followed by a very different law, the fifth law in our text, a law that said that commercial transactions must be honest. Look in our text at verses 13 and following. You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights. a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God has given you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God. Back in that day, when you were buying or selling goods, you might use weights on a balance to weigh the goods. If you've taken chemistry class, you've probably used a balance scale to measure out different amounts of chemicals. Well, that was common in commercial transactions in that day, when you're buying and selling goods, to use weights on a balance to weigh the goods. or to use measures. This passage mentions both weights and measures. It's common to use measures, which were containers for measuring the volume of the goods being bought or sold. Now, dishonest people might cheat. When they were buying something, let's say they were buying barley, a dishonest person might use a larger measure in order to get more than they paid for. But when they were selling something, maybe they were selling olive oil, they would use a smaller measure in order to give the buyer less than what he paid for. Two sets of balances, two sets of measures. It's about cheating, but not using a true, accurate measure. Cheating the person that you're doing business with. So this law prohibited such dishonesty, and it required using fair measurements. This law is part of the moral law of God that he has for all people in all times. Verse 16 says, all who do such things, all who act dishonestly are an abomination to the Lord your God. It treated this with great seriousness, being dishonest in your dealings with another. But the New Testament speaks in even more serious terms. about dishonesty and lying. Listen to what Revelation 21 verse eight says. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. Did you know that liars are included on that list? If you were writing a list like this of the people whose portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, what would you put on that list? We think of murder, we think of adultery, we think of things like that. Would you include all liars? God includes that on this list. Dishonesty is a very serious offense against God, who never lies, whose word is truth. This command that we must be honest is rooted in the very nature and character of God, just as all God's moral law is. Because God is truth, because his word is truth, we can always believe him, we can trust him. It's one of his perfections, and he requires that those of us whom he has created in his image would worship him by reflecting his nature by being honest with one another. Dishonesty is a very serious offense against God. Whether that dishonesty is cheating on your taxes or not paying for one of your items when you go through self-checkout, or misrepresenting the condition of something that you are selling, making it look better than it really is, or accepting too much change from a cashier. As I was thinking about this, I remembered one time that I went into my bank, and I went into my bank to withdraw money. I requested the amount in 20s. The teller gave me the correct number of bills if the bills were 20s. But I looked at the bills that she put in my hand, and they were hundreds. She gave me five times as much money as the statement said I was withdrawing. Because Jesus Christ is my Lord, I had no choice but to immediately hand it back and point out the teller's mistake. I could not take that. The Lord sees everything that you and I do. We can hide things from others, but we cannot hide anything from the Lord. The problem is that all of us have been an abomination to the Lord because all of us have acted dishonestly. I'm ashamed to this day of how I treated my younger brother. I will never remember one evening when I cheated him out of money. It was sin against God, it was rebellion against God. I didn't just slip. I intentionally cheated him out of money. There's other personal examples I could tell you. The law of God here that requires honesty reveals the fallenness of all of our hearts. It's not that we have accidentally been dishonest, it's that we have purposefully been dishonest. As people who have been an abomination to the Lord, all of us need a Savior. All of us need a Savior who obeyed the law of God perfectly. Because all of us have been an abomination to the Lord, all of us need a Savior who has suffered in our place the penalty for our rebellion. A Savior who has been raised in victory. And know that Jesus Christ is this Savior whom God in his grace has sent, whom God has provided. Christ obeyed the law of God perfectly on our behalf. He suffered in our place the penalty for our rebellion and he has been raised in victory to save all who come to him in repentance and faith. So come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith and he will save you. And understand that Christ calls all who come to him to a life of following him as your master. So after the Lord sought and saved the dishonest tax collector Zacchaeus, what did Zacchaeus do? Jesus came to his house when Jesus was approaching Jerusalem. He was headed to Jerusalem to lay down his life as a ransom for many. But he stopped there in Jericho and he went into Zacchaeus' home. And in Luke 19, eight, Zacchaeus stood up and he said to the Lord Jesus, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. That was repentance. The Lord brought salvation to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was convicted of his dishonesty. as a cheating tax collector who took more than he was supposed to take. What did his repentance look like? He said, I will restore fourfold what I have defrauded to others. Christ forgives us of all of our sin and he calls us to repent and to live now a life of submission to him as our master. How are you now to love the God who has saved you? One of the ways that you are now are to love the God who has saved you is by consciously acting honestly unto his glory. It's not about just trying to be honest in the way the world may try to be honest, just trying to be a good person. No, it's about being honest in all your dealings unto the glory of God. Being honest with a mind to the Lord. Being honest as worship to Him. Being honest at work to the glory of God. Being honest in your home out of love for God. Acting honestly in your church as worship to God. Being honest with your neighbors unto the glory of your Redeemer. There's a whole new life for us to live. The law shows us our sin, our need for the Savior, and after we're saved, the law shows us how to love God, how to live for His glory. Well, there's one more section in our text, and it gave instructions regarding the Amalekites. And the principle in this sixth section, this last section, is that cruelty is to be punished. Cruelty is to be punished. Look here in Deuteronomy 25 at verse 17. Verse 17. Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Moses brings up to Israel's attention, to their remembrance, the Amalekites, an event that had happened 40 years before. The Amalekites appear to have been descendants of Esau. Some of Esau's descendants were the Edomites, and some of his descendants were the Amalekites. That makes the Amalekites like brothers to the Israelites, because Esau was the brother of Israel, of Jacob. Exodus 17 records how when Israel was traveling from Egypt to Sinai, the Amalekites suddenly attacked Israel. The attack was unprovoked. Our text tells us that Amalek did this when Israel was faint and weary. Our text tells us the attack was against those who were lagging behind. That was a journey to take by foot from Egypt to Sinai. And there were some stragglers, some people who were especially weary, who were having trouble keeping up. They were the most vulnerable. And Amalek came along, and they attacked those stragglers. They attacked the vulnerable, those who were most weary. The way that Moses describes it is Amalek cut off Israel's tail, describing those stragglers as their tail. Verse 18 says, Amalek did not fear God. Though God had revealed himself to the Amalekites' forefathers, Abraham and Isaac, the Amalekites did not fear God. This was the heart of their fallen condition. The heart of their fallen condition was not their behavior. The heart of their fallen condition was that they did not fear God. If they had feared God, they would not have attacked the people that God had just redeemed, but they would have helped the people whom God had redeemed. Failure to fear God is at the heart of the fallen condition of every man, woman, boy, and girl. When you fear God, you revere Him. When you fear God, you submit to Him. When you fear God, you are controlled by Him. You're controlled by His will. But Amalek did just the opposite. and cruelly attacking Israel's stragglers. When Amalek did that, Exodus 17 tells us that Moses called Joshua to lead Israel in battle against the Amalekites, to defend themselves against these attackers. And that Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of a hill overlooking the battle. And when Moses lifted up his hands to the Lord in heaven, asking the Lord for victory, the Lord fought for his people. And the Lord that day gave Israel the victory over the Amalekites. But the Lord did not forget the godless cruelty of the Amalekites against the nation that the Lord was committed to bless. And now 40 years later, Moses tells Israel to remember what Amalek did. Continue in verse 19. Moses says, therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget. Just as the Lord had determined to use Israel as an instrument of His wrath against the wicked Canaanites, so we see here that the Lord also determined to use Israel in the same way against the cruel Amalekites. To use Israel as an instrument of God's judgment upon the Amalekites. In Exodus chapter 17 verse 14, at the end of that battle with the Amalekites, the Lord had said to Moses, write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. And now 40 years later in our text, we learn that the Lord would use Israel as his instrument of that judgment. But it didn't happen right away. It took time for the Lord to give Israel victory over the Canaanites, largely because of Israel's proclivity to idolatry. But finally, during the reign of King Saul, the Lord brought about what he says here as far as the destruction of the Amalekites. You remember how in 1 Samuel 15, verses one through three, The prophet Samuel said to King Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Just like Israel was to do before that with the Canaanites. Understand from our text that because mankind is fallen in rebellion against God, there are times when God pours out his holy wrath on those who do not fear him. God poured out his wrath in the days of Noah in a worldwide flood that destroyed all of mankind except Noah and his family who found grace in the eyes of the Lord. In the days of Lot and Abraham, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in judgment. the different points in history God has poured out His wrath. And every time God does so, it is a foreshadowing of the future outpouring of God's wrath in eternity upon all who have rebelled against God, which is another reminder that we need the Savior whom God has provided. For apart from Christ, our hearts are just like the hearts of the Amalekites who did not fear God. Well, it is clear in our text that the law of Moses was given to a people living in a fallen world. The law anticipated that men would do wicked things against one another deserving of 40 lashes. The law anticipated that some men would die young before having children, something that was not part of God's original design before the fall, death. The law anticipated that young women would lose their husbands and be left childless, that men would fight with one another, that people would be inclined to dishonesty. Most of the law of God would have been unnecessary if man were holy and upright in God's sight. 1 Timothy 1 verse 9 tells us the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane. The law shows what a terrible thing rebellion against God really is. Rebellion against God has plunged mankind into spiritual darkness. Rebellion against God has plunged mankind into death, not just physical death, but spiritual death, and finally, eternal death. But there is coming a day when God will gather his redeemed ones to himself. A day when God will send the wicked to judgment, and will redeem creation, and will establish righteousness on the earth. And even there will come a day when God will make a new heavens and a new earth, where there will be no death, where only righteousness will dwell for all of eternity. But that is future. Right now, God's purpose is to display His grace in redeeming sinners. Right now, God's purpose is to display His grace in enabling those whom He saves to live for Him in the midst of a fallen world. We saw earlier in Deuteronomy that a purpose of the Mosaic law was to teach the Lord's redeemed people how to reflect Him before the watching world. As Christians, we know why there is so much death and suffering in the world. We know why there are plagues like the coronavirus. We know why there are wars. We know why there is crime. It's all because man and woman has rebelled against God. It's all because we refuse to listen to the word of God and believe the word of God and follow the word of God. And because we rebelled, a curse came upon this earth. Because of this, there is sickness, there is death, there is suffering. The reason why these things are in the world is not because of a lack of education. It's not because we do not understand one another. It's not because of poverty. No, the reason for these things is the rebellion of the human heart against the creator, and God is a just God. And as Christians, we know the solution to the root of the world's problems. The solution to the root of the world's problems is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The heart of the problem is the human heart. And the gospel is good news of what God has done to save souls. We know the solution, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of Christ's death for sinners, and his victorious resurrection on the third day that brings salvation to every sinner who will believe in him. If you are a Christian, you can know that God has you right where you are. in order to be a shining light for him. Don't look at the fallen world around us and go, woe is me that I live in such a dark world. Woe is me that I live in such a place with such suffering. Not woe is me. First of all, humble us because we know our sin In Adam, brought all of this upon ourselves. Don't say, woe is me, because God has saved you, brothers and sisters. And he has a perfect plan that he is unfolding, a perfect plan of redemption. There is coming a day when there will be no death. There's coming a day when there'll be no tears, there'll be no suffering. But that's not yet. God has you right now, exactly where you are, in order to be a reflection of his grace and glory and character to the world around. The law anticipated the things that we encounter in a fallen world. God's word shows us that this is the point in history where we are at. In Philippians chapter two, verses 12 through 16 say, therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed. So now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both the will and the work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life. Brothers and sisters, this is God's purpose for you right now. Right now His purpose for you is that you would be His light shining in this world. His light shining in this crooked and twisted generation. You have the solution to the heart of the world's problems. May we, by God's grace, be faithful to fulfill the purposes he has for us right now where he's placed us, for his glory. You're never gonna do it if you lean on your own understanding. You need the light of God's word to lead you. Deuteronomy is part of that light. And the rest of scripture is the part of that light. May we heed the light, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you did not give us what we deserve, your eternal judgment, but instead you sent your Son to suffer your wrath in our place, that we through Christ's death would be forgiven of all of our sin, past, present, and future, and through his resurrection we would be justified, declared righteous in your sight by your grace. given the gift of your spirit, and called by you to serve you for your glory right now, right here. And we thank you, Lord, that you're not going to leave us indefinitely in a fallen world. But just as you have made us new creations, so one day you will make all things new. and we'll be in a place where there is no night, no darkness, no evil, no death, no sickness, no suffering, but we'll forever be in the light, the light that comes from you, oh God, that will be the light of the city. We look forward to that day, Lord Jesus, when we will see you face to face. Come quickly for us, but as long as you tarry, use us for your glory. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.