Justice in Our Lives
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
For He strengthened the bars of your gates; He blessed your sons within you.
He is the One who sets peace in your borders, He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat,
The One who sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly,
The One who gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes,
Who casts forth His ice as fragments; Who can stand before His cold?
He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow and so the waters flow,
Who declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
He has not done so with any nation; So as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise Yah!
1st Reading
1st Reading
For thus says Yahweh, “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the head of the nations; Make it heard, give praise, and say, ‘O Yahweh, save Your people, The remnant of Israel.’
“Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; A great assembly, they will return here.
“With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.”
Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations, And declare in the coastlands far away, And say, “He who dispersed Israel will gather him And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
“They will come and sing for joy on the height of Zion, And they will be radiant over the goodness of Yahweh— Over the grain and the new wine and the oil, And over the young of the flock and the herd; And their soul will be like a watered garden, And they will never waste away again.
“Then the virgin will be glad in the dance, And the young men and the old, together, For I will turn their mourning into joy And will comfort them and give them gladness for their sorrow.
“I will fill the soul of the priests with richness, And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares Yahweh.
Scripture and Prayer
Scripture and Prayer
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was John.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to what was His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has been ahead of me, for He existed before me.’”
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
TS: Exodus 21 focuses on God's ethical laws for justice, covering Hebrew servitude, personal responsibility, criminal justice (like "eye for an eye"), and care for the vulnerable, revealing God's heart for order and compassion, contrasting with surrounding cultures, and finding fulfillment in Jesus' justice, serving as principles for believers today.
Key themes include limits on slavery, restitution, capital offenses (murder, striking parents), damages from animals/property, and justice for women/children, all building a just society.
Ch 21 begins the social code, laws regulating interactions in the community. In many ways, these were the civil and criminal laws of the nation of Israel. Being a new nation, they needed these laws codified to judge and resolve civil disputes.
Law of the Slave
Law of the Slave
“Now these are the judgments which you are to set before them:
“If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.
“If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him.
“If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.
“But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’
then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. Then his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
“And if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do.
“If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his treachery to her.
“And if he designates her for his son, he shall do to her according to the custom of daughters.
“If he takes for himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.
“And if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
EX: Law of the slave:
This is one of the uncomfortable passages of Scripture. Some use this to attack the Bible
Yes, the OT law includes this section on laws regulating slavery.
However, this is a blanket endorsement of all slavery in all nations throughout all time.
The law of God spelled out limits on time, treatment, and attaining slaves.
This also was Israel’s national law, and was given in a context of a world were slavery was common in all cultures and societies.
Slavery in the biblical world was complex and normally very different than the slavery of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Western world.
Gary T. Meadors
They were not to take each other in slavery
The most common way to be enslaved was in payment of a debt owed.
They became more of an indentured servant until the debt was paid off through their service.
If they entered the household with a family, they could leave with there family.
‘If a brother of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service.
‘He shall be with you as a hired man, as if he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee.
‘He shall then go out from you, he and his sons with him, and shall return to his family, that he may return to the possession of the land of his fathers.
‘For they are My slaves whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold in a slave sale.
Protections:
Guaranteed freedom after a specified period of 6 years.
Exception: if the slave himself desired to become a permanent part of the household provision was made for them to declare that and join the household of their own free will
Perpetual Service (Ear Piercing): A voluntary choice for love of family, marked before God/judges, symbolizing belonging.
Permanent slavery in this context was out of love for the household, not abuse.
Protections were in place for female slaves ensuring they weren’t to be left destitute or even forsaking in the household.
Protection from injury while a slave:
“And if a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and ruins it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye.
“And if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.
AP: I do not see in this ANY endorsement for modern slavery!
It is crucial to note that the New Testament nowhere commends slavery as a social structure. It nowhere roots it in the created order, as if slavery is an institution ordained by God.
Thomas Schreiner
However, there is a lesson to be learned about how we treat others, especially those we supervise..
And masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
Masters, show to your slaves what is right and fair, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.
There should be respect shown for all as fellow image bearers of God
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Law of Personal Injury
Law of Personal Injury
A. Murder and Manslaughter
A. Murder and Manslaughter
“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
“But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee.
“If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him by deceit, you shall take him even from My altar, that he may die.
EX: Life is precious and should be preserved
God put the most severe penalty for murder there is, capital punishment,
After the flood, God instructed Noah and his family on eating meat but not the blood.
He set aside the blood (think about the obvious connection to sacrifices and Jesus’ ultimate one).
In doing that, He gave them instructions of the value of human life.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.
“As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Swarm on the earth and multiply in it.”
2 things are in focus here:
Murder- premeditated taking of someone’s life
This was an automatic death penalty offense
Manslaughter- accidental taking of someone’s life.
An accused to flee to one of several cities of refuge.
If found guilty, they were banished to the appointed place (cities of refuge)
The elders of the city could decide if it was manslaughter and if so, the avenger of blood (near relative of the deceased) would have to not harm the guilty as long as he stayed in the city of refuge.
REFUGE, CITIES OF. Six cities are set aside within Israel as Cities of Refuge (Heb ʿārê mı̄qlāṭ). These are places of sanctuary or asylum where a person who unintentionally kills someone may reside, without fear of blood revenge, until a trial can be held.
John R. Spencer
Today, Jesus is our city of refuge.
Assault
“And if men contend with each other and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but remains in bed,
if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his loss of time, and he shall take care of him until he is completely healed.
Law for pregnant woman
“And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband will set for him, and he shall pay as the judges decide.
B. Family Abuse
B. Family Abuse
This expands upon the command found in Ex 20:12
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
2 specific things are mentioned and the penalty for both was death.
First, striking your parents
“And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
Next, cursing your parents
“And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
Verbal and physical abuse of parents were so serious that they were a capital offence.
MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)
Other ancient law-codes, e.g., the Code of Hammurabi, also respected parental authority and prescribed severe consequences, although not the death penalty.
C. Kidnapping
C. Kidnapping
“He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.
You couldn’t kidnap, nor could you take and sell them.
This was a death penalty offense.
This instruction would include taking someone for the purpose of making them a slave.
D. Lex Talionis ("Eye for an Eye")
D. Lex Talionis ("Eye for an Eye")
A principle of proportional justice, limiting vengeance, ensuring punishment fits the crime, not exceeding it.
“But if there is any further injury, then you shall pay life for life,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.
Justice was measured and proportional
Property & Animal Liability: Laws address negligence (pits, stray animals) showing responsibility for actions/property.
E. Negligence
E. Negligence
“And if an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.
“If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it puts a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.
“If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him.
“Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same judgment.
“If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
“And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
“And if one man’s ox hurts another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide the dead ox.
“Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.
Oxen and pits
The aspect here is on negligence.
In US laws, negligence is the failure to exercise the reasonable care that an ordinary, prudent person would in similar circumstances, resulting in harm or injury to another party, forming the basis for most personal injury lawsuits.
If you had an ox known to gore, you were responsible for its actions if harmed others
If you dug a pit, you were responsible for the safety of others.
God explained yet again how they were responsible.
AP: Justice was restitution oriented
eye for eye, tooth for tooth…
A person had to pay for the crimes and/or carelessness.
Taking responsibility for your actions is a key point to all of these laws.
It is up to use to work to bring justice into our society .
First and foremost, each of us is responsible for how we treat others in our community!
Respect them
Value their lives
Serve on juries/be lawyers/Be judges/etc.
Promote just laws
As Believers, we should be examples of how to love each other.
Cary each other’s burdens
Meet each other’s needs
This is all covered under Jesus’ summation: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Do not waste your time bothering about whether you love your neighbor; act as if you did … When you are behaving as if you love someone, you will presently come to love him.
C. S. Lewis
Conclusion
Conclusion
God have clear instructions on how we treat each other.
These expanded upon the basic 10 commandments.
Remember, love God and love our neighbor is Jesus’ summation of the entire law.
Works cited:
Works cited:
The Outline Bible (Section Outline Five (Exodus 18:1-Numbers 10:10))
