25:1-3 At first glance these verses appear irrelevant today. But a closer look reveals some important principles about discipline. Are you responsible for the discipline of a child, a student, or an employee? Three important points will help you carry out your responsibility: (1) Let the punishment follow quickly after the offense; (2) let the degree of punishment reflect the seriousness of the offense; and (3) don’t overdo the punishment. Discipline that is swift, just, and restrained makes its point while preserving the dignity of the offender.
25:4 What is the point of this Old Testament regulation? Oxen were often used to tread out the grain on a threshing floor. The animal was attached by poles to a large millstone. As it walked around the millstone, its hooves trampled the grain, separating the kernels from the chaff. At the same time, the millstone ground the grain into flour. To muzzle the ox would prevent it from eating while it was working. Paul used this illustration in the New Testament to argue that people productive in Christian work should not be denied its benefits—they should receive financial support (1 Corinthians 9:9-12; 1 Timothy 5:17, 18). The fact that a person is in Christian ministry doesn’t mean he or she should be unfairly paid. There is also a broader application: Don’t be stingy with those who work for you.
25:5-10 This law describes a “levirate” marriage, the marriage of a widow to the brother of her dead husband. The purpose of such a marriage was to carry on the dead man’s name and inheritance. Family ties were an important aspect of Israelite culture. The best way to be remembered was through your line of descendants. If a widow married someone outside the family, her first husband’s line would come to an end. Tamar fought for this right in Genesis 38.