Deuteronomy 15 - 29: Business, honeymoons, & the ultimate consequence

- Taking care of business:  Lots of practical guidelines here for the people of Israel. We take these things for granted, but God gave much needed words of guidance and advice in a time of evil and lawlessness. Areas he covers include:

• setting up a legal system, including laws, judges, and procedures (Deut 16, 19). For example, prosecutors had to have more than one witness, and judgment could be handed down only after a thorough investigation. No twisting of the law or bribery, ever.
• checks & balances for a future monarchy (Deut 17:14-17)
• military advice (Deut 20)
• liability issues (Deut 22:6-7)
• farming (Deut 22)
• issues surrounding rape and guidelines to protect women (Deut 22)
• sanitation (Deut 23:12-14)
• a long honeymoon! Newlywed men got a year off: "He gets one year off simply to be at home making his wife happy" (Deut 24:5).
• financial matters & interest (Deut 24)
• charity (Deut 24)
• fair business practices and employment rules (Deut 24-25)
• and much more....

- All together now:  At the end of this setting out of guidelines, Moses had the people do a group verbal recitation of the rules (Deut 27).
- The ultimate consequence:  Moses warned the people that if they didn't follow God's ways, that "God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found" (Deut 28:68).
- Not to worry:  If the people followed God's rules and took care of their responsibilities, Moses promised that "God will take care of the hidden things" (Deut 29:29).

Elena's verse of the day:  "The Lord must give you a change of heart before you truly understand what you have seen and heard" (Deuteronomy 29:4).