We continue on in Exodus this week. Today we see that without law there is disorder. They were under God’s law rather than Egyptian law now. This was a tough call for the newly freed slaves.
Exodus 21: Laws About Slaves
1 "Now these are the rules that you shall set before them.
2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.
3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone.
5 But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,'
6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
7 "When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.
8 If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.
9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter.
10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
12 "Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
13 But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
14 But if a man wilfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15 "Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
16 "Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
17 "Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
18 "When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed,
19 then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.
20 "When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged.
21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
22 "When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 "When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye.
27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
28 "When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.
29 But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
30 If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him.
31 If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule.
32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
Laws About Restitution
33 "When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34 the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
35 "When one man's ox butts another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share.
36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.
Exodus 22:
1 "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
2 If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him,
3 but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
4 If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.
5 "If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard.
6 "If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.
7 "If a man gives to his neighbour money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man's house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double.
8 If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbour's property.
9 For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, 'This is it,' the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbour.
10 "If a man gives to his neighbour a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it,
11 an oath by the LORD shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbour's property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution.
12 But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.
13 If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.
14 "If a man borrows anything of his neighbour, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution.
15 If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.
Laws About Social Justice
16 "If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.
17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.
18 "You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
19 "Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.
20 "Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction.
21 "You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry,
24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25 "If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.
26 If ever you take your neighbour's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down,
27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
28 "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
29 "You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me.
30 You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.
31 "You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Things to think about…
What do you think about the rules for slaves? If a slave comes in single he goes out single, but if his master gives him a wife and they have children at the year of the slave’s release the wife and children stay with the master, UNLESS, the slave wants to stay with the master. Do you see the type and analogy here with our Master Jesus, to whom we are slaves? Any spiritual children we have are His. We can think our wife, our husband our children are ours. No, they are a gift for a season. Give them fully to the Lord. Ultimately all life belongs to our Master. May we never treat anyone as our property, but love and care for them as the precious gifts they are for the season of life, however long that may be.
Women were exalted among the ancient near east through the Israelite slave system, Ex 19:7-11. Slave women were to be able to be redeemed or treated as daughter’s in law if given to sons. These laws were novel and exalted women above all other nations and their laws, not only in the ancient near east, but in the entire ancient world. Our Lord sees women as those who need to be protected, cared for and secure, regardless of their status. This echoes how Christ treated women in the NT, He was echoing the Lord’s heart through a right application of the law. How do we treat those who are outside the church but come into our home at CBC. May we endeavour to treat everyone as Christ would have us treat them.
The law concerning restitution shows compassion and understanding by our Lord, Ex 19:18-22. Modern laws concerning care for the underprivileged or those that have suffered from the actions of others have their foundations in OT law. Christ’s grace brings them more into force where he says rather than give with restitution or payment, just give and trust that the Lord will bless and take care of your needs, Mt 5:40-42, Mt 6:25-34.
In the Sermon on the Mount dealing with anger and retaliation Jesus quotes Ex 20:24 by saying “you have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say…:. God the father says that vengeance is His. Let’s be done with wanting to get even or pay people back for wrongs done to us. Loving people with the truth and returning good for evil heaps hot coals on a person’s head. That sounds pretty bad to me. Let’s love no matter what the cost.
When Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house and Zacchaeus gets converted Jesus says he is a true son of Abraham after Zacchaeus says he will restore fourfold. In doing so he was fulfilling Ex 25:1. The law of Christ upon the heart makes the commandments easy and not a burden.
Look at the social justice laws in Ex 22:16-31. All are very practical and not really open to interpretation. The point of them is that the Lord’s people are to be holy and reflect His character. The surrounding nations may have embraced some of these laws, but only the people of Israel were defined by all of them. Sometimes those in general society show acts of mercy or kindness, but they can never fulfil the ultimate purpose of keeping His character because at the heart they revile God, vs 28. God of course will not be mocked. Honour Christ not only with your actions, but also with your words so people see and know the difference.
Vision Point for Cell groups
CBC's Vision "To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission".
Cell group questions from Sunday morning’s sermon “Feb with bread and water” Ex 15 & 16.
1. The Israelites had experienced a mighty deliverance from the Lord by passing through the Red Sea. Can you think of a time when the Lord delivered you from a stressful situation?
2. After the Red Sea passing they were fed miraculously with Bread (manna) and Water. This was not the same diet that they were used to in Egypt. Even though they were slaves they enjoyed a good variety of food. Have you ever gone through lean seasons in your life, but you knew you were being sustained by the Lord’s hand.
3. Moses begins a long journey where the children of Israel begin to complain. Discuss how it was possible that after the Red Sea parting, the miraculous Manna and water and the enemies of the Lord being fearful that they were on their way to inherit the promised land that they quickly forgot and departed from the Lord. Discuss why you believe this occurred. Do we/Can we do the same things? In what ways do we forget the Lord?
4. Christ said in John 6 that He was the Bread and Water that was given to the Israelites in the wilderness. What did he mean? What did he mean when He said eat my body and drink my blood, John 6:54-56.
5. Pray for new folk that have recently joined us that they be joined into the fellowship of the church. Pray for each other, our city and country.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for new people who have been visiting our church.
2. Pray for people returning from holidays and back at work this week.
4. Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6. Sunday’s messages. The message this week – “What’s with the stones” Exod 28, Doug Horne.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. New visitors and worship on Sunday. Thank you Dan and Suzanne.
2. Finances continue to be maintained.
3. Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thank you Jesus.
4. Blessing Beirut ($1500). Thank you!
5. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
6. Praise God for all those who serve at CBC.
Announcements
1. Prayer meetings back this week. Tuesday and Thursday mornings at church 5:30am – 6:30am.
2. One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed on YouTube. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we have an overflow in the cafe.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Kids Church back in the house this week when the message is on.
