Exodus 20:18-21:27

Jeff Johnson did an amazing job teaching us about Jesus being the Vine, and we are the branches. He spoke about the fat that the there comes a time of pruning of those branches that brings discomfort and pain to the believer, but that pruning is important for growth and the health of the plant.

Starting the new year, we spoke about the race set before us, and finishing it well. We told the story of Horatio and Anna Spafford, do you remember the song they wrote? It Is Well, With My Soul, right? What were the circumstances of how that was written, do you remember? They had a family of 5, his son died of scarlet fever, then they lost their 4 daughters in a ship that went down with their mother in the Atlantic.

When Anna made it to England, she sent a telegram with the words “Saved alone, what am I to do...” In her dispair, she waited for her husband to cross the Atlantic, and as he was crossing, the captain of their ship called him to the bridge to let him know the point where his daughters were lost in 3 miles of water. He went below, and wrote the song, which started with:

When peace, like a river,

Attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot,

Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul.

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

But their problems weren’t over then, were they? No, when they made it back to America, they had another son, and 2 other daughters. At age 4, their other son died, also of scarlet fever. They struggled with what to do next, so In August 1881 the Spaffords left America with 16 other church members and settled in Jerusalem. There they served the needy, helped the poor, and cared for the sick, and took in homeless children. Their desire was to show those living about them, the love of Jesus.

They were known as the “American Colony” and they had purchased a home that today is a hotel, called the American Colony Hotel. They then started an orphanage, which would become a children’s hospital where they served the most vulnerable, serving Arabs and jews alike, uniting Isaac and Ishmaelites under the banner of Christ.

It’s hard to live when we can’t see God’s plans. I’m sure, if you had told Horatio and Anna what it would cost for them to be used mightily by the Lord to testify to the nations they’d have bowed out. To take 6 of their children, tragically. Both boys were taken by scarlet fever. But they had faith in Jesus that those 10 years would not be wasted.

They had nothing left but hope when they left for Jerusalem...and in 1825, the Spafford Children’s Hospital, in the old city of Jerusalem, still stands and operates 101 years later, serving Jewish and Arab children alike, under the banner of Christ.

With that story, we talked about our 2025 and how hard it was for us all. But we can all have hope that the dawn is coming. Soon, the Lord will reveal why we had to struggle, why we had to hurt...but more than that, why we needed each other thru it all.

This year, I feel like the Lord has a plan for us, a mission, a place. He’s going to reveal things in all of us that will allow us to be the church here in Rapid City. It was shortly after that message, Hollie and I were approached by some friends of ours that were moving on from church ministry and asked if we’d like to come and view their location. After the message, we’ll talk a little bit about this new endeavor for us, please continue in prayer for all of us, because there could be some uncomfortable times for each of us, as we will find that people will be stretched into new roles that they never thought they could handle before. I’m excited for our church, I’m excited for all of you. Being the church, means understanding that every joint, every part is important and plays a role.

Let’s get back into Exodus, and then we’ll talk a little bit about our possible future.

Last time we were in Exodus, we went thru the 10 commandments. It’s important for us to remember, God made sure not only Moses heard the law given by God. The people heard it too. God wanted to let His people know, in person, what He was saying. The law was God’s gold standard for heaven. Yahweh told the people: You must be this tall to ride my ride.

What was the purpose of the law? It was to prove to each person we were in need of a savior. We can’t possibly keep all of the law, all of our lives. Only one person did that. But God is making sure the people understand, if you break the law, there must be blood atonement. That word atonement - or another way to pronounce it is at one ment, means to make something broken whole again.

The only way for the law to be forgiven was if a life was exchanged for a life. This is why Christ had to come, to set the captives free. To set US free, all of us who are slaves to sin and in bondage to this world. If there is no bloodshed, there is no redemption. This was the point of the law being given, The Law came down like a hammer on the people of this world, and the grace would be poured out of the Savior, one perfect sacrifice for all. Every drop required to cleanse us of our sins.

Now, do you remember how long the Israelites would stay here at Mt. Saini? They would be close to the mountain for about a 11 months and a few days, and then in the vicinity for another year. From Exodus 19 to Numbers 9. 58 chapters, where God hands down the Law, the layout of the Tabernacle, and how to worship the Lord. Pretty amazing fact ahead of us...With that said, we left off with verse 18 of chapter 20 of Exodus, let’s pick up right there.

Exodus 20:18–20 NKJV

18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”

Now, I know it’s been a long time since we discussed what was going on. What’s important to know, is that God was revealing Himself to the Israelites. If you remember from chapter 19, God told Moses to bring the Israelites closer, and when they came closer, the thunderings started, and a loud trumpet blasted for a really long time. It started to scare the people.

Who blew the trumpet? God did. He was calling the people to attention. Then, the 10 Commandments were given within earshot of all of the people of Israel. God wanted them all to hear His voice.

Now, God was blowing the trumpet again and it’s scaring them again, why? Parents, when we get loud with our kids, what are we doing? We’re reminding them “Listen to me.” Right? God has come to test them. the Hebrew word can mean to prove them. God bookended his bar for heaven with a trumpet.

Trumpets are jarring, aren’t they? They make your teeth rattle in your mouth. But, it facilitated in another thing people wanted to make sure God did for Moses...it made the people acknowledge they would listen to Moses.

Exodus 20:21–26 NKJV

21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. 22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. 25 And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. 26 Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’

Imagine the movie moment...Moses walking alone, up the mountain, into the scary darkness, approaching the Lord, and the Lord spoke with him. After the commandments, God gave his first instruction to Moses, and it was about sacrifice.

Why an altar of earth and not stone? Mainly because the Canaanites used stones for sacrifices, and they performed profane acts on those altars as well. Something here calls back over 800 years. Noah was commanded to make an altar, and he made it of earth. God is going to the beginning, and saying, start with the sacrifice. Don’t worry about making anything, you’re going to be moving around a lot, Moses. Don’t let the people make anything for me yet. I need to lay down some guidelines.

Nobody else could hear God now, but Moses. God had instructions for the judges of Israel, the 70 men who would help Moses govern. After the worship, now he starts out with this:

Exodus 21:1–2 NKJV

1 “Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them: 2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing.

First thing out of the gate, buying a servant. Slavery...people point to this scripture as part of proof that the Bible promotes slavery. That’s wrong, it does not. The rest of this chapter, and most of the next is considered the “case law of Israel.” What I believe God isn’t saying, here are my laws. What I do believe He’s saying: Here’s your answers for the things they’ve brought to you, that you brought before me.

What does Jesus say is the greatest commandment? Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, That is the greatest commandment. AND, to love others as you do yourself. God is saying: I know you are going to want to handle things the way the Canaanites and Egyptians did, because you already have started that. Here is how you handle this issue: You treat those who work for you well.

Start with this: 6 years worth of labor will pay off almost any debt, take that and set them free on the 7th. Hebrew numbers have deep meanings, what does 6 mean? Grace, specifically God’s grace. What does 7 mean? Rest and Holiness. You can probably pull more and more out of knowing exactly that from verse 2 alone. Think from Genesis to Jesus, 6 days, 6 years of work, then the Sabbath rest.

God speaks more about this subject, again, because these would have been things the people asked him:

Exodus 21:3–6 NKJV

3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the servant 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 the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

This isn’t bondage, most times when this was enacted, it was to settle a debt for someone that couldn’t be paid. They would indenture themselves, much like washing dishes used to at restaurants way back when. My dad used to threaten me with that all the time. He also used to point out which server was in charge of the big paddle in the back of the restaurant, did your dad ever do that to you? He’d pick out the ugliest person and whisper “There he is. I’ve heard the paddle he has, has 3 holes in it to make it quiet.” Then he’d find him later on walking around with a smug look on his face and say “Yep, he got one, that’s the look right there...you’d better behave.”

My parents were geniuses to get my brother and I in line. I’ve got 5 kids, and I can’t get one over on them. I didn’t know my dad was spinning a yarn on me. My kids say: “Dad’s a pastor, he can’t lie...” They catch me in a surprise, and it’s not a “That was great dad...” It’s always “Dad, you lied, you’re a pastor now!”

Back to the verses, though, the servant can elect to stay if he has a great boss. I’d like to think I’m a great boss. We have a few employees that have been with us over 20 years. That’s special. For a person to stay working, there would have to be a special relationship, AND the judges would have to sign off on it.

Those were righteous men, God fearing. They would know if there was scincerity there. And they wouldn’t let it go on if it wasn’t favorable treatment for the servant, but let’s continue on here:

Exodus 21:7–11 NKJV

7 “And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights. 11 And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.

Selling a daughter, this would be another extreme poverty move here too, BUT, look at the instructions, in those times there was a bride price, and the daughters were often matched and marriages were arranged by the father and a suitor. Again, these must have been things that the people asked Moses about

These women would come in as workers, and if they became wife material they received even more protection by the law. It would be closely monitored. If things didn’t work out, she would be allowed to be bought back by her family.

If she becomes a wife, or the wife of a son, she is to be given all of the privileges of family, or they forfeit what they paid for her.

Verse 10 especially frustrates me, again, God is not saying men can have more than one wife. He’s saying IF a man takes another wife, he will now have to provide 2x the duties. He can’t split them, he’s got to keep both wives at their main status. He makes it hard on those wanting to have multiple wives, but they will lose the initial investment if they mistreat her.

I liken some of these things similar to the tag on the hair dryer that says “don’t use in the shower.” What it doesn’t say is: some idiot did, and now we have to warn you about it. God has to address the things people are doing and trying to make it right.

Exodus 21:12–14 NKJV

12 “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 14 “But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

God says if you take a life, life will be required as payment. If the death is accidental, there is a place where those people can stay and be safe. BUT, if it’s murder, there’s nowhere to hide, come and get him from My altar and put him to death.

God takes life seriously. He takes evil seriously. All life is important to the Lord. It’s important we recognize that.

Exodus 21:15–17 NKJV

15 “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. 16 “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death. 17 “And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.”

This does NOT mean that kids should be put to death if the back talk, or if they act up. Another hysterical overexaggeration by people who don’t want to understand what God’s Word says.

The word strike means to cause great bodily harm to a person. That means you attacked your mother or father and tried to kill them.

Cursing your parents means bringing great shame to your family. It’s not so much to be the punishment fitting the crime, as it is a deterrent to the 5th commandment. We should have respect for our parents.

Sandwiched in between is something I think we, as a society should look harder into...I believe there should be harsh punishments for crimes against children like kidnapping. I believe if there were harsher punishments, we’d have less of those crimes. I’m living proof of what happens when you are allowed to hit the bottom and get back up again. We also wouldn’t be here if we enforced the laws of our land properly either.

Continuing on:

Exodus 21:18–21 NKJV

18 “If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, 19 if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed. 20 “And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.

Again, here, God is trying to handle hypotheticals, If, then, If then...and we’ll see that a lot in the future. The Lord makes it sure that the the judges understand that if you hurt someone, you need to make it right by them. We should strive to make them whole.

As for the servants, again, the NKJV even seems to make some light about this subject. The word punished is also translated avenged, which merits the death penalty. If they don’t die, he’s not put to death BUT, we’ve established, now is when the laws governing the treatment of those servants would come into play.

We can get caught up in the words, and the neuances. The Bible as a whole is clear about these things. It’s times like these that it’s good to have tools to help you find the meanings of words. If you don’t have things like that, let me help you with tools.

Here are the final couple of verses for today

Exodus 21:22–27 NKJV

22 “If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if any harm follows, then you shall give 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 “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

Do you think the Lord is concerned with an unborn child? He sees fit to include it in these instructions. That punishment is imposed by the HUSBAND, imagine how dangerous that is in today’s society. Luckily, the judges of Israel should get involved in that decision.

As men fight though, harsh punishments were to follow. Again, these punishments are more of a deterrent than an actual punishment. It should be enough to understand, if you want to break the law, you are expected to pay the fine.

ELEMENTS

In these first verses after the 10 commandments are delivered, God establishes his worship, and then addresses interpersonal conflict. How we love God, and how we love others. The Lord wants us to live in harmony. He wants His children to get along. We should really consider that.

Something else we need to think about as a society too, is that we need to stop rescuing people from the punishment of their crimes. It IS sad when we see those we love that are going down the wrong path. There are times, though, when we need to see the fact that, the best place for them to be is incarcerated. They need to feel the full weight of their actions. It’s the only thing that’s going to change their hearts or minds.

Proverbs 19:19 NKJV

19 A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

We are seeing that in our society today, aren’t we?

Paul takes things a step further in 1 Cor 5:5

1 Corinthians 5:5 NKJV

5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Now, in context, Paul is talking about a man who was having an inappropriate relationship with his step mother, AND THE CHURCH KNEW ABOUT IT and were doing nothing about it. Paul is saying LET THE PUNISHMENT FOR THIS PERSON BE SEVERE. If they don’t repent and accept Christ on this side of eternity, once they are dead, they don’t get that chance.

The best thing for us is to face justice on this side of heaven, than to die in our sin without a redeemer and face God at the judgement and be cast into the lake of fire. My wife says it all the time, she prays for the offenders she encounters. She prays that there will be radical conversion for people in their lives. Paul was a murderer, and we know he’s in Heaven.

What does that mean for people who have done the most heinous things? What I do know is, I know is I’m not their judge. I know the Lord is clear about His standards on certain subjects. I know He is merciful. I know He is God and I’m glad I’m not.

What’s important, is that you can be saved from the penalty of your sins if you repent, which means turn away from your sins.

Second, you must aknowledge that Jesus is the Lord, that He gave up His life on the Cross to pay the penalty for your sins, and mine, and that he rose out of the grave, showing He has power over death.

It took the precious blood of Jesus to pay that price. We can see price in the things we purchase, but we don’t understand the cost all the time. I learned price vs cost when I was shearing sheep. I knew how hard I had to work to buy a big mac. It was a sheep and a half. 5 minutes of sweat to pay that price. Was it worth it? I don’t think so…you’re not getting a whole lot of meat with it.

Jesus knew the price He had to pay for your life. He knew it would cost him His life. His body, and His blood. The sins of the whole world would be set before Him, and it was His joy to tell the whole world, I accept this from those who accept Me. His body, represented by the wafer of bread we are about to take together, was broken and pierced, nailed to a wooden cross for us. Just as the ear of the servant who would serve his master forever was pierced on a wooden door. Lord, we thank you for your body, broken for us, a representation of us being humble as we come to you, broken.

As He hung for us, he saw fit to continue to teach. Speaking to the man next to him, who was guilty in this world of his crimes, repented to the Lord and aknowledged Him. He was never baptized, never confirmed, never a part of a Bible study group or a church. A simple man who recognized this was not a crazy man, but He was the God Man. Lord, thank you for the blood applied to our hearts, that is the only sacrifice that gains us access to you in Heaven.

If you wrestle with where your heart stands with the Lord, I can tell you with certainty, as far away as you think you are, He’s calling you home. Bring those parts of your life you see as tattered and useless and bring them before the Father, the creator, the master carpenter. Watch how He can restore and make new what we have shattered. Become a part of a greater fellowship of people, who will help you become whole again. Hear my words today, because Jesus said it when he stayed on that cross: “You were worth it. Come home.” Let’s pray.