Deu 25:5-10 “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 in to 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 had his sandal pulled off.’
In ancient Israel it was seen as a great tragedy for a man to die without leaving descendants to carry on his name, and to give his family inheritance to. Therefore, if a man dies and has no son, it was the responsibility of one of his brothers to take the deceased brother’s widow as a wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. If the brothers of the deceased man refused to take this responsibility, they were to be called to open shame by the widow. The shame was compounded as they would remove his sandal and the widow would spit in his face.
This rule was put in place to keep the inheritance and name of the family intact. It protected the name of the deceased brother, his wife, and the natural order of inheritance associated within the family. The importance of this at the time of going into the promised land is important to God. I have to imagine the thoughts of brothers within the family when an elder brother died and his inheritance was up for grabs. Obviously, the women married into this family would have no rights to it. Greed, envy, pride, and jealousy would have room to flourish if this rule had not been put into place. It was a disgrace to the male who denied his brother’s wife.
Many concepts, precepts, laws, and commands are given in Scripture for us to follow. Some have had a limit to their timing and others are eternal, but they all point to God and His grace, mercy, and love if we but look.
