2018-07-29 Exodus 22 Love your neighbor
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“You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
“You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry.
My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
“If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.
“If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset.
For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”
(CSB)
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
22 “You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
Who is you neighbor?
Who is you neighbor?
(CSB)
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
22 “You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
Our neighbor is not just who would benefit us, but is often a person we hate.
Our neighbor is not just who would benefit us, but is often a person we hate.
(CSB)
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
22 “You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
Illus: << go through the text an point our different people>>
The common theme across each of these commands is that the people of God should treat others as people created in the image of God. Other human beings should be treated with with dignity.
Deep within our fallen hearts we face the temptation to see foreigners, orphans, widows, the poor and even our neighbor as sub standard people.
Sure when it comes to offering a little charity we might do enough to sooth our conscience.
What if we really began to view the disenfranchised through the dignity and love of God?
We would not see them as lesser people who need our charity, but instead as brothers and sisters, fellow humans made in God’s image.
Restoring dignity and loving our fellow man is a theme reiterated throughout all of scripture.
(CSB)
25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;” and “your neighbor as yourself.”,
28 “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus took up the question and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’
36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”
If God has a heart for every man, so should we.
If God has a heart for every man, so should we.
(CSB)
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
22 “You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry.
Illus: Think about the way God has loved us. Jesus words from the cross were Father forgive them they do not know what they are doing. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus talked with Samaritains and the sinful.
Jesus did not live by the idea that you should treat others well as long as they do right. He did not live by the idea that love should have strings attached.
He loved others sacrificially. He gave of himself often when he was mocked in return.
The way we treat foreigners, widows, orphans, the poor and our neighbor is rooted in the way God has loved us, not the way they respond to us or in what they do.
(CSB)
KNOWING GOD THROUGH LOVE
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice, for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.
What is your responsibility?
What is your responsibility?
(CSB)
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
Every person should be treated with the dignity of being an image bearer of God.
Every person should be treated with the dignity of being an image bearer of God.
(CSB)
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
Illus: Here in our text we are given 2 distinct applications.
1. Don’t charge interest when making a loan.
When you have wealth and your brother does not, how easy is it to benifit off his poverty. You can continue getting rich off his poverty. In many ways you can continue to grow in your wealth while at the same time reinforcing his poverty.
The bible teaches that the way you loan money should seek the best for your impoverished neighbor. your goal should be their wellbeing, not what you can bank off their poverty.
The second is like it: 2. Don’t take what your neighbor needs in order to secure your own repayment.
What the bible is calling you to is to sacrificial living where you seek the welfare of those who are not as fortunate as you. It is teaching to love people more than profit.
Are you living in a way where you get yours, or are you living in a way where you see how blessed you are, and seek to love and support others.
Illus: (after saying that the people’s worship was empty, God commanded) (CSB)
(CSB)
16 “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.
16 “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.
Remove your evil deeds from my sight.
Stop doing evil.
17 Learn to do what is good.
Pursue justice.
Correct the oppressor.
Defend the rights of the fatherless.
Plead the widow’s cause.
A clear theme throughout scripture is that those who are stronger have a responsibility to care for the weaker. We all have a responsibility for the helpless.
A clear theme throughout scripture is that those who are stronger have a responsibility to care for the weaker. We all have a responsibility for the helpless.
(CSB)
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
Illus: We should rejoice. God has blessed us in ways that we often take for granted.
We have wealth, are literate, have air conditioning, have modern plumbing, live in America. These are modern advantages that many throughout the world would dream of.
God has given us our freedom as a stewardship, he has given us our wealth to use for him. He has given us our lives for his kingdom.
How are you serving God with all that He has given you?
All that God has given us is not to be spent on ourselves, but instead to be used to serve God with.
Jesus outlines what that looks like…
(CSB)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels, with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations, will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels, with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations, will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 “ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ :
What has God done?
What has God done?
(CSB)
(CSB)
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
A. God saved us while we were helpless.
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
22 “You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
God saved us while we were helpless.
God saved us while we were helpless.
Illus: We don’t want God to charge us interest on what we owe him. We don’t want him taking what we need when we are in his debt. We don’t want God treating us as strangers or looking down on us in our helplessness.
In fact, God has done more than we know. Our understanding of how we serve others is driven by How God has treated us.
God views us as helpless. He sees us as incapable of moving out of our spiritual poverty. He sees us as in debt to him in sin.
YET when we were the furthest in debt to God, He was the most generous.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
Questions 1:
Do you share God’s heart for the oppressed?
Does the way God has treated you affect the way you treat others?