In Deut. 18:14-17, notice what God groups together: the amassing of horses, wives, and gold. He forbids horses because they are offensive military weapons of the ancient world; He forbids His people to be the aggressors in war. He also forbids the hoarding of gold and silver, because His form of government is to be decentralized, not allowing a large, centralized bureaucratic system. Besides, the Lord knew that a Biblical government would not need a lot of money, if it were not the aggressor in war, and if it stayed out of domestic issues that were none of its concern. Finally, God forbids unlawful remarriage – actually multiple marriages – because the practical application is the same. He knew that a magistrate would collect many wives for one of three reasons: perverseness, power, and wealth. All three were a form of power totally unacceptable to Him. Consider what happened to Solomon, who was remarrying for political reasons (1 Ki. 11:1-13). Any State allowing for non-discretional remarriage is a power state, condoning its own right to be a power-broker.
- Ray R. Sutton, Second Chance: Biblical Principles of Divorce and Remarriage, 219-20 at http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks.
