Exodus chapters 22-24

More Laws

God’s message to me: God provides what you can handle. He promised to deliver Canaan a piece at a time until the nation of Israel was large enough to handle it, not all at once so that the land would go wild and be unmanageable.

Promises: Following God’s laws brings blessings. He promised the Israelites health, wealth, long life and property.

Commands: Plenty of laws are mentioned below but a general theme is shown. Don’t involve yourself in that which is unjust. Spreading rumors, false testimony(even if you think it serves the right ends), lynching, not being impartial and anything else that might pervert justice is wrong. Keep in mind that we serve a just God. There is a societal responsibility to adjudicate criminal matters for mutual protection. To many people make it personal and press for someone to be punished even if the law doesn’t support it. This perverts justice. Remember that the ones we can’t catch, God will, and knowing that we can accept our losses in court.

Timeless principles: Justice must be impartial to be just. All to often a demand for “justice” is a demand for revenge and such demands don’t involve a demand that the right people be punished. It does no good to avenge the crime if you take out the wrong criminal. When that happens the real criminal is left to continue his crimes.

more to learn for in-depth study: Note Exodus 24:4 once again it points out that Moses wrote these things down. I know I’m repeating myself on this subject but I have heard more than enough from the folks who claim none of this was written until hundreds of years later. To many Christians have tried to tell me that nothing was written until the Babylonian captivity over 1000 years later. It’s nonsense and proves they don’t read their bibles. It was just after this that God carved the law into stone tablets for Moses to bring to the Israelites.

Let’s avoid becoming a law book and hit the highlights

Killing a burglar is not a crime and not punishable civilly. That seems like common sense but the US is only beginning to understand the principle after more than half a century of punishing the homeowner for protecting his family and property.

Accidental losses are paid for and restored from the best available but only the loss is restored. This is not a problem for the civil courts except for things that depreciate. The bible calls for the loss to be restored from the best available to the person that caused the loss. Depreciation is an excuse that leaves people with a little cash but unable to replace the thing they lost. Theft is repaid double triple or more. That would clear the jails and lower crime even if we had to put all the thieves on chain gangs to earn the money they owe. Rented property is expected to receive wear and risk damage. The rental payment is owed but not more even if it is damaged. Why is it the renters responsibility to insure the rented property? Shotgun weddings were the rule and paying the dowry was required even if the girls father wouldn’t let you marry her.

Sorcery=bad, bestiality= bad, Sacrificing to other gods= bad, any of these things could end in a death sentence and they are still a bad idea today, though the penalty is less.

Treat the stranger(resident alien)well. The Children of Israel were resident aliens in Egypt. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were resident aliens in Canaan. The pilgrims were resident aliens in Holland before coming to
America. We all want to be treated well away from home and so we should treat others well also. Treating the widows and orphans and children of single mothers well should be expected but, too often it is not. What we know of welfare was meant for them but the welfare state that expands it’s use has made us cynical.

Lending to the poor is fine, charging interest is not, nor is taking security. Never delay your tithes.

Don’t spread falsehoods, don’t testify to a lie, don’t help to pervert justice, don’t show partiality in disputes, help the one who needs it even if you don’t like the guy. Don’t kill the innocent, avoid being involved in false matters, TAKE NO BRIBES.

You have 6 days to work, God expects you to rest on the seventh as he did and to let all the people and animals that work for you rest as well. The land gets a Sabbath rest every 7 years. Work the fields for six years and let them rest on the seventh. It’s a formula to avoid topsoil erosion, replace soil nutrients and ensure good crops.

The feasts of Passover, Harvest, and ingathering are appointed holidays.

From the Red Sea to the Mediterranean and from the desert in the south to the Euphrates river, these were the boundaries of the promised land