Sunday, March 11, 2007

Exodus 21 - The Laws of the Nation

(1)“These are the regulations* you must present to Israel.


*regulations: Judicial precedents to be used in settling questions of law and custom. This introductory phrase serves as the title of the following collection of civil and religious laws (Exodus 21-23) which is called in Exodus 24:7, the "Book of the Covenant" (Hebrew Mishpatim). Most of these regulations are not really relevant until Israel enters the land, so they are in anticipation of that day. Additionally, the judges appointed by Moses as suggested by Jethro needed some guidelines. They lay out how the judges are to apply the law.


(2) “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.


Deuteronomy 15:12-15: “If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free. “When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed. Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the Lord your God has blessed you. Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.


   "The main reason for the existence of slavery in Israel was financial. It was common practice in the Ancient Near East to pay off unresolved debts through servitude. If you were unable to pay, you could sell yourself or a member of your family to your creditor as payment. But God’s concern is that financial obligation should never lead to financial exploitation, which is very destructive to community. Therefore, God commands that all debt is to have limits. A “debt slave” could serve his creditor for six years, but on the seventh year he was to be set free, with no payment of release. In God’s economy, people are more important than money; therefore no debt should rob a person of his entire future. There should always be an opportunity to start over." -- Sermons by Brian Morgan - Peninsula Bible Church Cupertino: www.pbcc.org/sermons/morgan/


   No man could make himself a servant or slave for more than seven years; and if he mortgaged the family inheritance, it must return to the family at the jubilee, which returned every fiftieth year. It is supposed that the term "six years" is to be understood as referring to the sabbatical years; for let a man come into servitude at whatever part of the interim between two sabbatical years, he could not be detained in bondage beyond a sabbatical year; so that if he fell into bondage the third year after a sabbatical year, he had but three years to serve; if the fifth, but one. Others suppose that this privilege belonged only to the year of jubilee, beyond which no man could be detained in bondage, though he had been sold only one year before. -- Clarke's Commentary - Exodus 21: www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeexo21.htm


There were four basic ways a Hebrew might become a slave to another Hebrew:

· In extreme poverty, they might sell their liberty (Leviticus 25:39).

· A father might sell his children into servitude (Exodus 21:7).

· In the case of bankruptcy, a man might become servant to his creditors (2 Kings 4:1).

· If a thief had nothing with which to pay proper restitution (Exodus 22:3-4).


(3) If he was single when he became your slave, he shall leave single. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife must be freed with him.


(4) “If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave and they had sons or daughters, then only the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.


(5) But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’


(6) If he does this, his master must present him before God*. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.


*before God: Or before the judges


Deuteronomy 15:16-17: “But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you. In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.


   "The piercing of the ear would result in the shedding of blood, and the blood sealed the covenant. Furthermore he is brought to the door. This would at this stage be the door of the tent. Later when they received the land of promise it would be a door with door posts. And the awl is then passed through the ear and into the tent pole or door post. This might be seen as symbolizing his permanent attachment to this home. But from then on he is a bondman for ever". -- Commentary on Exodus (part 4 chapters 19-24): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus4.html


   Pagans had a custom of branding the slave with the name or the sign of the owner. Paul referred to himself as just such a slave in Galatians 6:17: From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus. Since the expression "to have an open ear" meant "to obey," a pierced ear lobe was an ancient symbol of obedience.


   King David confesses in the Psalms that he had entered the house of God unwillingly, like a forced servant, but that he has fallen in love with God his Master. He no longer wishes to leave God's house. Instead he longs for God to pierce his ear and permanently incorporate him into God's household. Jesus also picks up this theme of servants who come to permanent membership in John 15 where he upgrades his disciples from mere servants to actual sons and daughters of the household. Not only have the followers of Jesus received lifelong membership in God's household, they have also become much more than servants. They have become adopted children of God. They now share in the family fortune and spend their days going about family business. Their adoption is complete. This 'ear piercing' custom in Exodus caught my eye because it wonderfully chronicles the spiritual journey that many people are on. We enter God's house unwillingly at first, perhaps forced to do so by our parents. God seems harsh, demanding and foreign. Yet slowly we discover the 'ways of the house' and learn that God really does know what He is doing. In fact, we discover that God is pretty amazing. Our service is no longer harsh and difficult. It becomes joyful and worthwhile. At some point we come to desire a permanent part in God's household. We ask for God to 'nail us on' so that we can stay with Him for life. Even more incredibly, Jesus upgrades us from mere servants to real children of God. Complete, lifelong participants in the family of God. Our servitude is transformed to warm, willing family life. God pierces not only our ear but deep into our hearts making us His own. For life. -- My Ear You Have Pierced: peoplebooksandchrist.blogspot.com/2005/05/my-ear-you-have-pierced.html


(7) “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.


   "This the Jews allowed no man to do but in extreme distress-when he had no goods, either movable or immovable left, even to the clothes on his back; and he had this permission only while she was unmarriageable." -- Clarke's Commentary - Exodus 21: www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeexo21.htm


(8) If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.


(9) But if the slave’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave but as a daughter.


(10) “If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy.


(11) If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.


(12) “Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.


Numbers 35:31, 33-34: Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death ... This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder. You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the Lord, who lives among the people of Israel.”


(13) But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.


   Later (Numbers 35 and Joshua 20) God commanded and Israel made cities of refuge - a place where he may flee - cities where one could flee in a case of manslaughter, and be protected until his case was properly heard.


(14) However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.


(15) “Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.


   "In a patriarchal society the leader was father of the clan, and then authority went downwards to the fathers of sub-clans or family groups until the lowest authority was reached, the father of the family. Each was seen, within his sphere, as standing, as it were, along with his wife, in the place of God. That is why the command to honor father and mother received such prominence (20:12). To smite such was like striking a judge or even God. It was to hit at recognized authority and demanded the death penalty. By this the authority of the parents was firmly established. It is the principle that is important. Not every father would demand the death penalty for his son, circumstances would be taken into account. In the Code of Hammurabi a son who lifted up his hand against his parents was to have his hands cut off." --
Commentary on Exodus (part 4 chapters 19-24): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus4.html


(16) “Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.


(17) “Anyone who dishonors* father or mother must be put to death.


*dishonors: Greek version reads Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of.


Deuteronomy 21:18-21: “Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

Leviticus 20:9: “Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. Such a person is guilty of a capital offense.

Mark 7:10-13: For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”


(18) “Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.


(19) If he is later able to walk outside again, even with a crutch, the assailant will not be punished but must compensate his victim for lost wages and provide for his full recovery.


(20) “If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished.


(21) But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.


(22) “Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely*. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve.


*gives birth prematurely: Hebrew reads so her children come out. This is not miscarriage. Hebrew had other words more suited to pinpointing a miscarriage or stillbirth. It is very important to note the same writer used the normal word Hebrew word for miscarriage "shakal" just two chapters later in Exodus 23:26. This clearly indicates the writer had something besides miscarriage in mind for the Exodus 21:22-25 passage.


(23) But if there is further injury*, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,


*further injury: That is, if the child or the woman should die.


(24) an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,


(25) a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.


Matthew 5:38-41: “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.


   The section of verses 23-25 is known as the lex talionis, the law of tit for tat. The purpose of this law was not merely the enforcement of rigorous justice, but also the prevention of greater penalties than would be just.


(26) “If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.


(27) And if a man knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.


(28)If an ox* gores a man or woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable.


*ox: Or bull, or cow; also in 21:29-36.


(29) But suppose the ox had a reputation for goring, and the owner had been informed but failed to keep it under control. If the ox then kills someone, it must be stoned, and the owner must also be put to death.


(30) However, the dead person’s relatives may accept payment to compensate for the loss of life. The owner of the ox may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.


(31) “The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.


(32) But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins, and the ox must be stoned.


*thirty silver coins: Hebrew shekels of silver, about 12 ounces or 342 grams in weight. Significantly, this was the same price Jesus was "sold" for. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15).


(33) "Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.


(34) The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.


(35) “If someone’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and the injured ox dies, then the two owners must sell the live ox and divide the price equally between them. They must also divide the dead animal.


(36) But if the ox had a reputation for goring, yet its owner failed to keep it under control, he must pay full compensation—a live ox for the dead one—but he may keep the dead ox.



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Monday, March 05, 2007

Exodus 20-Law versus Grace

   The Law and the altar go together. The Law revealed that man is a sinner and needs a Savior. There must be an altar upon which to offer the sacrifice; there must be the shedding of blood for sin. You have a mirror in your bathroom, which is a picture of the Law, and there is a wash basin underneath the mirror You do not wash yourself with the mirror; it only reveals the dirt. Just so, the Law is the mirror that reveals our sin. And beneath that mirror there is a wash basin.


   Putting law and grace into the same system is to rob the Law of its majesty and meaning. There is no love in the Law. There is no grace in the Law. Grace is robbed of its goodness and glory when it is mixed with the Law. Grace is stripped of its wonder, attractiveness and desire. The sinner's needs are not met when law and grace are bound together. The Law sets forth what man ought to be. Grace sets forth what God is.


   The Law reveals who God is and the vast yawning chasm between God and man. The Law says man has been weighed in the balances by the Ten Commandments and has been found wanting. You do not measure yourself by comparing yourself to others. You measure yourself by comparing yourself to God's standards. -- Exodus Chapters 19-40: The Law" - J. Vernon McGee - Thomas Nelson Publishers



The Apostle Paul declared directly in Romans why the law was given: Romans 3:19-20 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.


   To break the human spirit of its pride and create a broken heart before God was the deepest purpose of the Law. When Jesus came to His own people Israel, He found two types: those that had learned this lesson of brokenness, and those who resisted it in human pride. Those who had been broken by the Law and were humbled by it. They knew they were condemned under it and found Him to be a source of redemption and a savior which they longed for. Those that thought they were living by it yet were hardened by it. They were proud of their standing before God and felt entitled and had a position. Believing that they were first in the Kingdom of God and deserved to be honored by God.


John 1:11-12 "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name"



   The Jewish religious leaders which Jesus referred to as "the Jews," were constantly trying to condemn Jesus because He would not submit to their oral traditions and the writings of the Rabbis. The leaders attempted to maintain a sort of ritualistic and devoted lifestyle that would guarantee them entitlement and a position in heaven. They had missed the entire point of the Law. When they saw Jesus violating their traditions and associating with certain people that were considered by them as "unclean" they were appalled.


   Jesus came to them and said to them: 'Go and learn what this means, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." They didn't get it. They didn't get what the Law was ultimately supposed to teach. That they were sinners and that they needed a Savior. Notice that when they said "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?", they were implying that they were sinless. Jesus, in essence, told them to go away and learn their own Torah and then come back when they learned the meaning of the Law and what its ultimate purpose was - that they were not well but needed a Physician. That they were not righteous but were desperately wicked. The Sermon on the Mount was given ultimately to humble all men before the perfect standard of what God calls "good."


   So there are two roads that run through this earth. One is pride and one is humility. God gives grace to the humble but He resists the prideful. Those who had been broken by the Law flocked to Him because He offered them hope. They knew they were sick and that they needed the great Physician. They had gotten the lesson of the Law, which was that all fall short of the glory of God, and all are sinners and only those that walk by faith in God will be justified in His sight. Those that accept the free gift.


-- The Purpose & Heart of the Law: www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Purpose__Heart_of_the_Law.htm



Law is God prohibiting and requiring;

Grace is God beseeching and bestowing.


Law is a ministry of condemnation;

Grace is of forgiveness.


Law curses;

Grace redeems from that curse.


Law kills;

Grace makes alive.


Law shuts every mouth before God;

Grace opens every mouth to praise Him.


Law puts a great and guilty distance between man and God;

Grace makes guilty man nigh to God.


Law says "do and live";

Grace, "believe and live."


Law never had a missionary;

Grace is to be preached to every creature.


Law utterly condemns the best man;

Grace freely justifies the worst.


Law is a system of probation;

Grace, of favor.


Law stones an adulteress;

Grace says, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."


Under law the sheep dies at the hand of the shepherd;

Under grace the Shepherd dies for the sheep.


Everywhere the Scriptures present law and grace in sharply contrasted spheres. The mingling of them in much of the current teaching of the day spoils both, for law is robbed of its terror, and grace of its freeness.


-- Law And Grace by C I Scofield www.geocities.com/cobblestoneministries/2006/LawAndGrace_Scofield.html



Law versus Grace in the New Testament:



  • Matthew 5:17-19: “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

  • Matthew 22:34-40: But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
    Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

  • Mark 3:4: Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

  • Luke 6:2: But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

  • Luke 6:9: Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

  • Luke 14:3:
    Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?”

  • Luke 16:17: But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.

  • Luke 24:44: Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

  • John 1:17: For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

  • John 5:10: so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

  • John 7:19:
    Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”

  • John 8:5: The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

  • Acts 15:1-29: While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers. They told them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted. When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them. But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.” So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written: ‘Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, including the Gentiles—all those I have called to be mine. The Lord has spoken—he who made these things known so long ago.’ “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.” Then the apostles and elders together with the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. This is the letter they took with them: “This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings! “We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”

  • Acts 21:18-25: The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry. After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously. But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs. What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come. “Here’s what we want you to do. We have four men here who have completed their vow. Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to have their heads ritually shaved. Then everyone will know that the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish laws. “As for the Gentile believers, they should do what we already told them in a letter: They should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”

  • Romans 2:13: For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.

  • Romans 3:19-21: Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.

  • Romans 3:27-28: Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

  • Romans 3:31: Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

  • Romans 4:14-16: If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.

  • Romans 5:12-20: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

  • Romans 6:14-15: Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!

  • Romans 7:1-17: Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.

  • Romans 8:3: The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
  • Romans 9:4: They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.
  • Romans 10:4-5: For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands.

  • Romans 11:6: And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

  • Romans 13:8-10: Owe nothing to anyone - except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These - and other such commandments - are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

  • 2 Corinthians 3:6-9, 14: He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.
    The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

  • Galatians 2:16-21: Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law". But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

  • Galatians 3:1-13: Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

  • Galatians 3:19-25: Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

  • Galatians 4:21-28: Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother...And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.

  • Galatians 5:1: So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

  • Galatians 5:18: But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

  • Ephesians 2:8-10: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

  • Ephesians 2:15: He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.

  • Philippians 3:9: and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

  • 1 Timothy 1:8-10: We know that the law is good when used correctly. For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders.
    The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching.

  • Hebrews 2:2: For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.

  • Hebrews 7:19: For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

  • Hebrews 8:6-7: But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

  • Hebrews 9:14-15: Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

  • Hebrews 10:1: The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.

  • James 2:10-12: But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law. So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.

  • 1 John 3:4: Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.



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Saturday, February 24, 2007

Exodus 20

COVENANT--THE CONSTITUTION OF A PEOPLE TO BE A NATION


   What is the purpose of the ten commandments? To show God's holy standards. This is the constitution of this new people, ruled, not be a king, but by Yahweh.


  The modern nation of Israel has no written constitution in one single document. Many religious Jews at the time opposed the idea of their nation having a document which the government would regard as nominally "higher" in authority than religious texts. For the anti-religious left, any mention of Divine providence was anathema. For religious Jews, the proclamation of the reestablishment of the Jewish state could not appear without such a reference. The compromise worked out was built around the inclusion of Tzur Israel (Rock of Israel), a phrase traditionally used as a euphemism for God, yet vague enough to allow for various interpretations. Many religious Jews hold that the only real constitution for a Jewish state is the Torah and the Jewish law (halakhah) that flows from it.


   These commandments are repeated almost verbatim in Deuteronomy 5:6-21 toward the close of the forty-year desert period. Remember that by this time only Moses, Joshua and Caleb are still alive of those who were present at the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. There are three versions of the Ten Commandments in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). They are at Exodus 20:2-17, Exodus 34:12-26, and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Exodus 20 is the most commonly used set.

   These ten commands (words) form the preamble; they will be followed by the decisions (judgments). And then in chapter 24, the covenant will be inaugurated. So when Israel entered into covenant with God, they entered into a theocracy by expressing their willingness to submit to His authority. The Law was the binding constitution for the nation of Israel under Yahweh their God. The Law legislated how Israel was to live in order to be blessed by God and used by him as a kingdom of priests. In the process of legislating their conduct and their ritual for worship, the Law revealed God. It revealed the holiness of Yahweh as the standard for all worship and service, and in revealing that it revealed or uncovered sin. But what the Law condemned, the Law (Leviticus) also made provision for in the laws of the sacrifice and the feasts intended for atonement. The New Testament teaches that the Law was good, and perfect, and holy. But it also teaches that Christ was the end (goal) of the Law, that it ultimately led to him. It was a pedagogue, Paul said, to bring people to Christ. And when the fulfillment of the promise came in him, believers were not to go back under the Law. What this means for Christians is that what the Law of Israel revealed about God and His will is timeless and still authoritative over faith and conduct, but what the Law regulated for Israel in their existence as the people of God has been done away with in Christ. The Ten Commandments reveal the essence of the Law; the ten for the most part are reiterated in the New Testament because they reflect the holy and righteous nature of God. The New Testament often raises them to a higher standard, to guard the spirit of the Law as well as the letter. -- BibleGateway - Exodus 20: www.bible.org/netbible/exo20.htm


(1)Then God* gave the people all these instructions**:


*God: Elohim


**instructions: Hebrew all these words.


   Who is the speaker? The voice is that of JESUS. The Spirit clears this fact. He tells us, that the Angel, the messenger of the eternal Covenant, communed with Moses on the Mount.


(2) “I am the Lord* your God**, who rescued you from the land of Egypt***, the place of your slavery.


*Lord: Yahweh


**God: Elohim


***from the land of Egypt: So, the ten commandments are directed to Israel.


(3) (I) “You must not have any other god but me.


   Since all other nations and people, especially Egypt, were polytheistic, this set the people of Israel apart. Israel continually slipped into the worship of other gods and idols once settled in the promised land, sometimes even worshipping other gods in the temple! Atheism is not condemned here, because there was no such thing then. But today's "wise" are now "fools" for saying "There is no God".


Leviticus 26:1: Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the Lord your God.


Deuteronomy 5:7-9: “You must not have any other god but me.“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.



Joshua 23:6-7: “So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left. Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them.


1 Kings 11:4-7;10-13: In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done.On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”


Nehemiah 13:23-26: About the same time I realized that some of the men of Judah had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Furthermore, half their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of some other people and could not speak the language of Judah at all. So I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear in the name of God that they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people of the land “Wasn’t this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin?” I demanded. “There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives.



Matthew 4:10: “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.


Revelation 13:14-15: And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.


(4) (II) “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image* of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.


*image: Hebrew pesel (Teraphim, plural). These were family gods worshipped by Abram's kindred. Joshua 24:14 - So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone.


   The second commandment doesn’t forbid making an image of something for artistic purposes; God Himself commanded Israel make images of cherubim (Exodus 25:18, 26:31). It forbids the making of images as an “aid” to worship.


   Moses, of course, has already struggled with Israel’s allegiance to the gods of Egypt around them prior to Exodus chapter 20, and that will continue to be a struggle that will be manifested in Exodus 31 and 32 and the incident with the golden calf. At the end of the age of Israel’s nation state, the prophets are still talking with Israel about idolatry. Isaiah and Jeremiah and the later prophets all address Israel about this.


   What do you love the most? What do you desire the most? What do you want the most? What do you strive for the most? What do you aim for the most? What do you think about the most? The answer to those questions will tell you who your god is. What are your "gods"? Job, respect, perfection, family, spouse, children, money, success, health .... ? That which we love and serve and desire and long after and aim for and strive for and think of the most is our god. In the days of ancient Israel, there was great temptation to worship the gods of materialism (Baal, the god of weather and financial success) and sex (Ashtoreth, the goddess of sex, romance, and reproduction), or any number of other local deities. We are tempted to worship the same gods, but without the old-fashioned names and images.


   This is not a command that you can not do artwork. It is a command that God is not to be pictured. He is not to be visually represented. It’s clear, of course, from the context and it’s clear from other passages: Deuteronomy 4:15 says, “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai.


(5) You must not bow down* to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous** God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject** me.


*bow down: Under the auspices of Moses himself, figures of cherubim, brazen serpents, oxen, and many other things in the earth beneath, were made and never condemned. The mere making was no sin--it was the making with the intent to give idolatrous worship. It is the use of art or sculpture in worship that God condemns. Solomon had God's blessing to build a Temple, where he erected golden forms of two cherubim inside the Holy of Holies. On the walls of the sanctuary were carved figures of angels, trees, and flowers, none of which Israel worshipped.


*jealous: The word “jealous” is the same word often translated “zeal” or “zealous.”


**reject: The word rendered “reject” is often translated “hate” and carries with it the idea of defiantly rejecting and opposing God and his word. Such people are doomed to carry on the sins of their ancestors and bear guilt with them.


   You don’t believe He’s serious about that? Read what He did to Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10:1-3, when they came and offered a sacrifice that He had not asked for. He killed them on the spot. Read 1 Samuel 6:1-10, when the children of Israel had put the ark of the covenant on a cart and they were carrying it back to Jerusalem. Surely God was pleased with this. The oxen stumbled, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark, to keep it from falling, and he was struck down dead. Read 1 Samuel 6 and 7 sometime. You know what you’ll find out? Oh yes, I remember the ark was not supposed to be carried on a cart. It was suppose to be carried on poles.


(6) But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those* who love me and obey my commands.


*for a thousand generations on those: Hebrew for thousands of those.


(7) (III) “You must not misuse the name* of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.


* name: And, what is this "name"? It is Yahweh. To avoid breaking this commandment, Jews use the term Hashem, "the name" or "g_d". The command prohibits use of the name for any idle, frivolous, or insincere purpose. This would include perjury, pagan incantations, or idle talk. The name is to be treated with reverence and respect because it is the name of the holy God. We should avoid careless speech using words like "Gee" (substitute for Jesus) or "Gosh" (substitute for God).


   On Palm Sunday, 2000 years ago, a group of people took up the name of Jesus Christ, and they called Him "The King," and they sang, "Hosanna. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." And they sang His praises, and they adored Him, and they waved palm branches at Him. And five days later, they shouted "Crucify Him." They took His name in vain.


(8) (IV)“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.


(9) You have six days each week for your ordinary work,


(10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath* day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.


*Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word Shabbat, meaning "to cease, stop, desist; to come to an end, rest." Shabbat begins from twilight on Friday and continues until Saturday at sundown.


   Ancient Rabbis taught that on the Sabbath, a man could not carry something in his right hand or in his left hand, across his chest or on his shoulder. But he could carry something with the back of his hand, his foot, his elbow, or in his ear, his hair, or in the hem of his shirt, or in his shoe or sandal. Or, on the Sabbath, Israelites were forbidden to tie a knot - except, a woman could tie a knot in her girdle. So, if a bucket of water had to be raised from a well, an Israelite could not tie a rope to the bucket, but a woman could tie her girdle to the bucket and pull it up from the well. In observant Jewish homes today, one cannot turn on a light, a stove, or a switch on the Sabbath. It is forbidden to drive a certain distance or to make a telephone call - all carefully regulated by traditions seeking to spell out the law exactly. This is where the law leads to - absurdity!


   Where in the New Testament does it say that Christians should keep the Sabbath? Also, for those who want to keep the Sabbath, where does it say how to keep it? The only place in which the Bible contains instruction on how to observe the Sabbath is in the Law of the Old Covenant that was given to the Israelites only.


Genesis 2:3: And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.


Exodus 16:29: They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.”


Exodus 35:2-3: You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death. You must not even light a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath.”


Numbers 15:32-36: One day while the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they discovered a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. The people who found him doing this took him before Moses, Aaron, and the rest of the community. They held him in custody because they did not know what to do with him. Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must be put to death! The whole community must stone him outside the camp.” So the whole community took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


According to Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the purpose of the Sabbath was to remind God's people that they had been slaves in Egypt and that He had delivered them and brought them into the promised land, their "resting place". Even the servants and slaves were to rest! This is an ordinance strictly for Israel! Deuteronomy 5:12-15: “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do. Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.


Leviticus 23:3: “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.


Isaiah 58:13-14: “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!”


Jeremiah 17:24,25,27: “‘But if you obey me, says the Lord, and do not carry on your trade at the gates or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy, then kings and their officials will go in and out of these gates forever. There will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. Kings and their officials will always ride in and out among the people of Judah in chariots and on horses, and this city will remain forever.
“‘But if you do not listen to me and refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates. The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring flames.’”


Nehemiah 13:15-22: In those days I saw men of Judah treading out their winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath. So I rebuked them for selling their produce on that day. Some men from Tyre, who lived in Jerusalem, were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise. They were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah—and in Jerusalem at that! So I confronted the nobles of Judah. “Why are you profaning the Sabbath in this evil way?” I asked. “Wasn’t it just this sort of thing that your ancestors did that caused our God to bring all this trouble upon us and our city? Now you are bringing even more wrath upon Israel by permitting the Sabbath to be desecrated in this way! ”Then I commanded that the gates of Jerusalem should be shut as darkness fell every Friday evening, not to be opened until the Sabbath ended. I sent some of my own servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day. The merchants and tradesmen with a variety of wares camped outside Jerusalem once or twice. But I spoke sharply to them and said, “What are you doing out here, camping around the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you!” And that was the last time they came on the Sabbath.2 Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the gates in order to preserve the holiness of the Sabbath.


Matthew 12:1-14: At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.” Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.) And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath. ”Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.


Mark 2:27-28: Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”


Mark 3:4: Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.


Luke 6:2: But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”


Luke 6:9: Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”


Luke 14:3: Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?”


John 5:10: so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”


John 7:22-23: But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?


John 9:16: Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.


Acts 16:13: On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there.


Romans 14:5-6: In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.


Hebrews 4:8-10: Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest (sabbath) still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.


Colossians 2:16-17: So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.


   Leviticus 25 lists several kinds of sabbaths, including the seven sabbaths of years to the Year of Jubilee.




(11) For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.


(12) (V)“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.


Ephesians 6:2-3: “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”


   The first commandment with a promise. How do we honor our parents? The father and mother stood in the place of God.


   In Romans 1 and in 2 Timothy 3, Paul indicates disobedience to parents as the example of sin run amuck and society fallen apart. In Romans 1:28-32 in the midst of this list of horrendous sins, what's stuck right in the middle of debauchery that you don't even want to talk about in polite public, he sticks "disobedient to parents." And in 2 Timothy 3, when he is wanting to tell Timothy, "Timothy, you are going to minister in a day and age where everything falls apart." And he talks about people being lovers of money and lovers of selves and alienated in their affections to one another, he sticks "disobedient to parents." Why? Because for Paul, a person who can violate this command of authority, of respect for the authority of parents, is a person who is capable of the most drastic spiritual error and who is in grave spiritual danger.


(13) (VI) “You must not murder.


   The word for “kill” or "murder" in Exodus 20:13 is the Hebrew rasah. It is used 43 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. It always means violent, personal killing - that is actually murder or is accused as murder. It is never used of killing in war or (with one possible exception, Numbers 35:27) of killing in judicial execution. Rather, a clear distinction is preserved between legal “putting to death” and illegal “murder.” For example, Numbers 35:19 says, The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death. The word “murderer” here comes from rasah, which is forbidden in the Ten Commandments. The word “put to death” is a general word that can describe legal executions.


John 7:19: Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”


(14) (VII) “You must not commit adultery.


Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.


Romans 7:3: So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.


John 8:5: The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”


(15) (VIII) “You must not steal.


Ephesians 4:28: If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.


(16) (IX) “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.


   The prohibition is against perjury. The New Testament puts it simply. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.
(Colossians 3:9).


(17) (X) “You must not covet* your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”


*covet: Literally, the word for “covet” here means “to pant after.”


Luke 12:15: Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”


Romans 7:7: I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet."


Hebrews 13:5: Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.


Ephesians 5:5: You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.


(18) When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning* and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.


*lightning: plural of Hebrew lappid. Only here and Genesis 15:17 in the Torah: After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. lappid represents God's physical presence.


   It would appear that the people heard the thunder but did not understand what God had been saying. We can compare with this John 12:28-29 where again the voice was heard but the people did not understand. But they were very much aware of the external signs. They heard the thunder and the trumpet sound, they saw the lightning and the smoke. And they were afraid. Those who had been growing bolder now cowered back trembling, and drew away. They no longer wanted to climb the mount.


   They're in the presence of God and yet their reaction is fear and trembling, and furthermore they stampede. They fear, they tremble and they flee. You remember when this story started, the children of Israel were crowding in around Mount Sinai. They wanted to look. So much so, that God said to Moses, "Don't let them step on the mountain because I will bring immediate judgment and destruction on anyone who sets foot on My mountain. Don't let them crowd in." Now at the end of the Ten commandments, we find out they are at a distance. Now they had gotten from next to the mountain to a distance from the mountain by fleeing. God came and met with them and they ran.


(19) And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”


Deuteronomy 18:15-18: Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him.


Deuteronomy 5.24-27: They said, ‘Look, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Today we have seen that God can speak to us humans, and yet we live! But now, why should we risk death again? If the Lord our God speaks to us again, we will certainly die and be consumed by this awesome fire. Can any living thing hear the voice of the living God from the heart of the fire as we did and yet survive? Go yourself and listen to what the Lord our God says. Then come and tell us everything he tells you, and we will listen and obey.’


(20) “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”


(21) As the people stood in the distance*, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.


*in the distance: As opposed to Ephesians 2:13: But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ
and Hebrews 4:16: So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.


(22) And the Lord said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven.


(23) Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.


(24) “Build for me an altar* made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever** I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you.


*altar: Hebrew: mizbeah (pronounced: miz-bay'-akh) is derived from the verbal root zbh, meaning "to slaughter". God's people often built altars on the site of a theophany or divine appearance (e.g., Genesis 12:7; 35:1,7). Theologically, altars provided a meeting place between God and humanity, an intersection between heaven and Earth. They defined the spaces in which God caused His name to dwell and at which human beings might thereby call upon that name (Genesis 13:3-4; 26:25; Deut 12:11; 1 Kings 8:22-54).


   The first altar specifically mentioned in the Bible is the one erected by Noah (Genesis 8:20), although we assume that Adam and the pre-Flood patriarchs also used altars for their sacrifices. The first blood sacrifices are mentioned in connection with Adam and Eve (God's shedding of animal blood to make coverings for them) and their son Able's offerings (Genesis 3-4). Altars were erected by Abraham (Genesis 12:7; 13:4; 22:9), by Isaac (Genesis 26:25), by Jacob (33:20; 35:1,3), and by Moses (Exodus 17:15). In the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, two altars were erected.


   The “burnt offering” is the offering prescribed in Leviticus 1. Everything of this animal went up in smoke as a sweet aroma to God. It signified complete surrender by the worshiper who brought the animal, and complete acceptance by God, thereby making atonement. The “peace offering” is legislated in Leviticus 3 and 7. This was a communal meal offering to celebrate being at peace with God. It was made usually for thanksgiving, for payment of vows, or as a freewill offering.


**wherever:



  1. Shiloh was the first place - Jeremiah 7:12: “‘Go now to the place at Shiloh where I once put the Tabernacle that bore my name. See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Israelites.

  2. then Bethel: 1 Samuel 10:3: “When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a wineskin full of wine.

  3. then Zion: Psalm 78:68: He chose instead the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loved.


Genesis 13:3-4: From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before. This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again.


Deuteronomy 12:11: you must bring everything I command you—your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, and your offerings to fulfill a vow—to the designated place of worship, the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored.


1 Kings 8:22,54: Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven ... When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to the Lord, he stood up in front of the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven.


(25) If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones*. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.


*natural, uncut stones: No tools - no human effort. Represents grace: Ephesians 2:8-10: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.



   Yet, the tabernacles's altar would contain an altar of bronze and another of gold. The bronze altar would be built of acacia wood, overlaid with bronze. It would stand in the courtyard, would be used specifically for burnt offerings. The altar of gold was to be built of acacia wood and overlaid with gold (Exodus 30:1-3) and was used for offering incense within the sanctuary. A golden incense altar and a bronze altar were also to be prominent fixtures in Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:22).


   Of course, with God’s ultimate altar, a few wooden beams were sufficient. What God does want from us in worship is seen by Jesus’ statement in John 4:24: For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” God wants worship that is characterized by Spirit (as opposed to flesh) and truth (as opposed to deception or mere feeling).


(26) And do not approach my altar by going up steps. If you do, someone might look up under your clothing and see your nakedness.


   Their altars were to be entirely different. This was changed in Exodus 28:42-42; Leviticus 6:10; 16:3-4; Ezekiel 44:17-18 where they were instructed to wear linen undergarments.



Matthew 22:34-40: But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”


Romans 13:9: For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.



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