Exodus 21-25
21.
More laws (and the strict punishment) are given to the Israelites, including on how to deal with wives, servants, and the like. The punishment for murder is death, but so is the punishment for beating and abusing parents, stealing and selling another individual (or having such intention). Generally, it is life for life, tooth for tooth, eye for eye, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe. These laws, with their strict punishment, are designed to limit lawlessness, and not to encourage a harsh society.
22.
This chapter specifies the punishments for stealing, cheating, bestiality, witchcraft, worshipping other gods, xenophobia, afflicting widows and orphans, as well as laws on borrowing and lending. God also prohibits cursing rulers, and doesn’t like giving Him delayed gifts- so basically, we must deliver if we ever promise/vow to Him.
23.
There’s more here about what God dislikes:
- raising false reports
- providing false witness
- communing with the wicked
- following the mob/peers and doing evil
- espousing an unjust cause
- being malicious to the enemy or a stranger (instead, we should help them)
- being evil to the poor
- slaying the innocent and the righteous
- accepting gifts (for gifts blinds the wise and makes us unrighteous by influencing us unfairly)
- referring to other gods.
Although v.31-33 refers to non-Israelites, this could be valid in the case of Christians too, i.e. too much of detrimental non-Christian environment might influence a Christian to stray and sin against the Lord and serve other gods (which could be, in modern terms, money, career, etc).
A sabbatical is to be taken every 7th year (which makes sense in agriculture, for one year of no cultivation will accumulate nutrients in the fields) and a Sabbath on every 7th day.
The Lord sends an angel in front of the Israelites, to guide them to the place which God prepared for them. They are to obey and follow God’s commandments. When we serve the Lord, He will bless our food and water, will remove all sickness (v. 25), give us fulfilling days, and make our actions productive.
24.
The covenant between God and the Israelites is established, and signified by the sprinkling of blood (v.8). The elders see God’s feet (v. 10), and Moses goes into the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (the number seems to be significant).
Gumbel writes of how “the prophets foretold that one day there would be a new covenant written not on tablets of stone but on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-32). Under this covenant it is possible for all of our sins to be forgiven (Hebrews 9:15) and for us to have a relationship with Jesus that goes on forever (Hebrews 13:20)”. As explained to his disciples in Mark 14.24, this new covenant was made possible through the blood of Jesus (‘the mediator’ of a new covenant- Hebrews 9: 15), and through Jesus we are ministers of a new covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6). The old covenant ‘came with glory’ (3:7), as seen in Exodus 24:16-17, when the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai and looked like a consuming fire. St Paul writes: ‘will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? (2 Corinthians 3:8)… And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
25.
God wants our offerings to be from the heart.
More laws (and the strict punishment) are given to the Israelites, including on how to deal with wives, servants, and the like. The punishment for murder is death, but so is the punishment for beating and abusing parents, stealing and selling another individual (or having such intention). Generally, it is life for life, tooth for tooth, eye for eye, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe. These laws, with their strict punishment, are designed to limit lawlessness, and not to encourage a harsh society.
22.
This chapter specifies the punishments for stealing, cheating, bestiality, witchcraft, worshipping other gods, xenophobia, afflicting widows and orphans, as well as laws on borrowing and lending. God also prohibits cursing rulers, and doesn’t like giving Him delayed gifts- so basically, we must deliver if we ever promise/vow to Him.
23.
There’s more here about what God dislikes:
- raising false reports
- providing false witness
- communing with the wicked
- following the mob/peers and doing evil
- espousing an unjust cause
- being malicious to the enemy or a stranger (instead, we should help them)
- being evil to the poor
- slaying the innocent and the righteous
- accepting gifts (for gifts blinds the wise and makes us unrighteous by influencing us unfairly)
- referring to other gods.
Although v.31-33 refers to non-Israelites, this could be valid in the case of Christians too, i.e. too much of detrimental non-Christian environment might influence a Christian to stray and sin against the Lord and serve other gods (which could be, in modern terms, money, career, etc).
A sabbatical is to be taken every 7th year (which makes sense in agriculture, for one year of no cultivation will accumulate nutrients in the fields) and a Sabbath on every 7th day.
The Lord sends an angel in front of the Israelites, to guide them to the place which God prepared for them. They are to obey and follow God’s commandments. When we serve the Lord, He will bless our food and water, will remove all sickness (v. 25), give us fulfilling days, and make our actions productive.
24.
The covenant between God and the Israelites is established, and signified by the sprinkling of blood (v.8). The elders see God’s feet (v. 10), and Moses goes into the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (the number seems to be significant).
Gumbel writes of how “the prophets foretold that one day there would be a new covenant written not on tablets of stone but on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-32). Under this covenant it is possible for all of our sins to be forgiven (Hebrews 9:15) and for us to have a relationship with Jesus that goes on forever (Hebrews 13:20)”. As explained to his disciples in Mark 14.24, this new covenant was made possible through the blood of Jesus (‘the mediator’ of a new covenant- Hebrews 9: 15), and through Jesus we are ministers of a new covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6). The old covenant ‘came with glory’ (3:7), as seen in Exodus 24:16-17, when the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai and looked like a consuming fire. St Paul writes: ‘will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? (2 Corinthians 3:8)… And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
25.
God wants our offerings to be from the heart.
posted by sann2282 at 3:50 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home