Deuteronomy 24

In Genesis 2, God said that it was not good for Adam to be alone. The solution to that “not good” came in the creation of the woman. At the end of the day, the Lord spoke the words “very good” over all His works of creation.

But the world changed in Genesis 3 as the man and the woman became partners in hearing the voice of an enemy rather than the voice of God. With the fall of mankind, sin polluted every relationship, even marriage. Various lusts began to carry the descendants of Adam and Eve in ways of life that brought more death.

Yet the Lord's eternal purpose for His people was life, not death. Another marriage would eventually be made by a much better husband, The relationship between Christ and the church will be free of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, for Jesus will sanctify His bride. One day she will be without spot or blemish or any such thing, for Christ will fully cleanse her by His Word and Spirit.

In the days of preparation for the coming of this great Husband, God gave Israel a Law which could have worked for great blessing in the land if the people of God had followed it. But they would not limit their passions. They pursued entangling affections despite His warnings that they would pollute the land by their unbridled desires.

By the time the Messiah came, Israel had such a casual attitude about divorce that the religious leaders seemed to have lost sight of what marriage was. They had forgotten about the gift of Eve for Adam in the beginning, and they were using Moses' prohibition against repeated divorce and remarriage as if it were a blanket endorsement of divorce.

Even today in the church, evil is sometimes celebrated as the greatest good, and the promise of the eternal marriage between the Son of God and His bride seems very distant. Some are preaching boldly about the blessings of fleshly desires, while ordinary Christians are a little embarrassed about having an eager affection for Christ as their ultimate Husband. In the world outside of the church, lust is openly exhibited as the theme of so much entertainment, and shame has become the enemy. Holy faithfulness seems unnatural and even unhealthy.

How can we recover from such depravity? We need a new spirit growing in us, the Spirit of holiness. This will not come from the Law of Moses but from the gift of our faithful covenant Husband who has a perfectly chaste love for us as His bride.

What can we learn today from some of the specific provisions contained in this section of God's Law? The joy of a new marriage was guarded in the Law of Israel. A young man was protected from military service and other public duties for one year so that he could love his wife and be happy together with her in the fruitfulness of this new relationship. There is something beautiful here that testifies to a world of life and a newness of love that will never fade away.

Israel also had laws against taking a poor family's way of providing food for themselves. The Law warned about the penalty for stealing a fellow Israelite. There were laws to contain disease, greed, and abuse of all kinds. But who can heal our diseased hearts that glory in our shame? How do we recover purity when we are convinced that every eager affection is good?

Have we forgotten the consequences of Adam's sin?We need to remember what that one sin, and our many sins that followed, meant to our faithful eternal husband. His young life was cut off from the face of the earth. The cross reminds us of the seriousness of our impurity.

But our loyal Husband has come to save us. He defeated every enemy that threatened the blessing of His new bride. His resurrection power can defeat enslaving sin within us and restore us to the holiness that He is giving to His family today and forever.

Ask Him for the gift of holy wisdom for living a new life. Your life on earth does not have to be a perverse carnival celebrating every fleshly impulse. By the power of Jesus Christ you can live a life of willing submission to the perfect Husband who saved you by His death.