The Subject of Violence

The Subject of Violence Exodus 21:12-27 • We took an extended break from our study through the book of Exodus, but we’re going to pick it back up today. • Last time, we looked at the law concerning servants, and the ways we are servants of Christ. • We saw that servants are not permanent servants, servants are given a choice, and servants are not disposed of. • We applied it to ourselves as Christians because we are servants of Christ on this earth, but our earthly bodies are temporary… • One day, we will have glorified bodies, and will be with Him forever. • We also saw that every person has a choice to make, whether to follow Jesus Christ, or reject Him. • We also saw that Jesus will never cast us away…we are His forever, and our salvation is permanent. • Today, we’re going to look at the law concerning violence. • From this passage, we can see that God had very specific rules for His people about violence. • That’s because violence has been a reality in our world ever since the beginning, when Cain murdered his brother Abel. • So let’s look at 3 things about violence that we can see in this passage, and look at how we can apply it to our lives as Christians today. I. God cares about the act • When I was in the Army, we learned how to use our bayonets in Basic Training. • We attached a huge Kabar knife to the end of our rifles. • Then, we practiced different ways to thrust it forward. • There were a bunch of huge tires in front of us, and we had to practice stabbing them with our bayonets while yelling at the top of our lungs, “Kill!” • The idea was to train us to be ready to fight with our bayonets in case we ever ran out of ammunition. • Then, when we were at the shooting range, the targets we shot at were silhouetted in the shape of a person. • It was done this way so we’d get used to shooting at enemy combatants without hesitating. • There were a bunch of other ways they trained us how to kill. • It was quite violent, but necessary training because we had to be ready to take human life on the battlefield. • That being said, every military in the world has to fight according to the laws of the Geneva Convention. • That means our armies can’t go around shooting whoever they want to… • There are very specific rules about when to engage the enemy and how to treat Prisoners of War, and a whole bunch of other laws. • That’s because the nations of our world realized the importance of fighting honorably. • These rules of conflict seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities… • This includes the sick and wounded of armed forces on the field of battle or at sea, prisoners of war, and civilians. • Just like the civilized world cares about acts of violence on the battlefield, God also cares about acts of violence, not just on the battlefield, but in all of society. • Here in vs 12-27, God lists specific acts of violence that should not be ignored, and for this point, I want to focus on the act of murder. • We won’t go into detail about the punishments for these acts until our next point, but I want us to understand the amount of detail God gives here because I want us to understand the sanctity of life in the eyes of God. • Remember, He’s already given the Israelites the 6th Commandment, which is “Do not murder.” • Now, He’s providing this list, among which several of these acts of violence are considered murder. • First, there’s assault on a person which results in their death. • In some cases, this was intentional, premeditated killing, and in others, it was accidental or in self-defense. • In both cases, a life was taken and there were consequences. • Here’s what I want you to understand, though. • In both cases, the person who lost their life was valuable to God. • That’s because He created them, and He’s the One who gave them air to breathe, and strength and health to live. • Regardless of whether they were righteous or unrighteous, God knew them before they were born, He knew the hairs on their head, and He knew everything about them…their thoughts, their personality; everything! • So, when a person deliberately murdered someone, they were taking the power of life into their own hands. • They were placing themselves above God… • Remember, when Cain killed Abel? • God immediately knew, and it says in Genesis 4 that God said to Cain, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground!” • So God cared so much about the life of Abel that He took notice, even of his blood that was running on the ground. • On the other hand, when a person unintentionally killed someone or killed them in self-defense, it was different. • They weren’t murdering the person… • So in the eyes of God, they were innocent… • However, there were still consequences because the person who died had family members… • That meant they were leaving behind a family that loved them, a family they provided for or nurtured, a family that would need to move on and survive without them. • In most cases, family members would want to avenge the death of their loved one. • As we’ll see in the next point, God provided protection for the person responsible for the death because even though it was tragic, it was not done intentionally. • Vs 15 and 17 present an interesting scenario. • If a child struck their parents, they were to be put to death. • The word for “struck” here means to “kill”, and it applied to whether a child either murdered or attempted to murder their parents. • On top of that, vs 17 equates cursing or threatening your parents with murder. • This was a heart attitude, and the child was basically saying, “I wish you were dead!” • Can you imagine hearing that from your own child? • How painful that must be! • It also could mean a serious breach of the child’s duty to their parents. • One example would be neglecting their duty to care for their parents in old age…just giving up on them and allowing them to die. • Not only was this breaking the 5th commandment, to honor your parents, but God also considered this to go hand in hand with murder… • Think about it…your parents brought you into this world, nurtured and cared for you, taught you, loved you, provided for you… • To just toss them off to the side and leave them to die would be a horrible thing to do! • That’s why Jesus gave the Pharisees such a hard time in Mark 7 for teaching the people to set aside money for the Temple offering instead of using it to take care of their elderly parents. • It was wrong, and God takes it seriously. • Vs 16 is another interesting scenario. • Kidnapping a person… • This was when a person kidnapped someone and sold them into slavery in a foreign land. • It was evil because the person was being taken and sold as property…they weren’t being treated as a human being. • They were being taken away from their family and their friends, probably never to be seen again. • Even though God had given them liberty, this person was taking it away from them. • It was like this person was taking the place of God, stealing the gift of liberty God had given to His creation. • On top of that, if the person was an Israelite being sold into foreign slavery, they were being taken away from their fellow Jews who worshipped the One True God and taken to a pagan land where many gods were worshipped… • The Jews considered that to be spiritual death. • So, God considered this to go hand in hand with murder. • Vs 20 and 21 deal with a master beating his servant, which in this case was a Gentile slave. • Basically, the servant belonged to the master, so he had the right to punish him with the rod. • One Jewish Commentator says, “The rod was the instrument customarily used … to secure obedience from the rebellious slave, but not to injure him severely. The master was allowed to chastise his slave, but not in a brutal manner so as to endanger his life.” • That being said, there’s a difference between using the rod to correct and using the rod to beat a person out of anger. • If the master lost his temper and beat the servant to death, that was considered murder, and he would be punished. • However, if he hit the servant with the rod to correct or teach him, but the slave was still alive for 2 or 3 days before he died, that showed that the master didn’t intentionally beat him to death… • It wasn’t murder because it was a mistake, and in this case, since he lost a servant, that was considered penalty enough, since it was a financial loss to the master. • There are some other acts of violence listed here, but we’ll look at those in our last point. • As you can see, God cared about the act of violence, so much so that He gave these very detailed examples…this was for the Israelite’s benefit. II. God cares about the punishment • When I was a kid, I learned that if I did something wrong, there were going to be consequences. • If I cheated on a test and got caught, I was going to get a failing grade, and maybe detention. • If I disobeyed or disrespected my parents, I was going to get grounded. • If I broke the law, I was going to be arrested. • I remember when I was in the 5th grade, I used to get into trouble a lot. • Outside of the guidance counselor’s office, there was a chair. • It was called the thinking chair, and when we got into trouble, that’s where we were sent. • It was called the thinking chair because the guidance counselor would make us wait, at least 5 or 10 minutes, before calling us into his office. • He did this so that we’d have time to think about what we’d done before he talked to us about what we’d done. • Nobody liked being sent to the thinking chair. • There’s always a punishment when we’ve done something bad. • In the Bible, it’s no different, and from these verses here, we can see that God cares about the punishment inflicted for the act of violence. • But even before God gave these instructions to the Israelites, He had already addressed the topic of punishment for murder. • Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” • So, God makes clear that there must be a punishment when a person commits murder. • The most obvious punishment is that the murderer must be put to death. • I know that many in our society look down upon capital punishment, but the fact is that God’s Word is clear… • If you murder someone, you must be put to death, because you’ve taken the power of life into your own hands, and God has not given you that right. • Vs 14 presents an interesting scenario, though. • “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.” • What’s that all about? • Well, in the ancient world, the custom was for religious altars to be places of sanctuary against justice or vengeance. • So, if a murderer could make it to an altar, he would find safety. • God says here, “Nope, I’m not going to allow that to happen. If you intentionally murder another person, you deserve death, and I’m not going to protect you!” • Later, in the book of Numbers 35, God would say, “Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death… So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.” • So there was no protection for murderers, and if they were allowed to live, they were a pollution to the land. • According to the Jewish Talmud, “Even if it was a priest who officiated at the altar, he was not to escape his punishment, if his act was other than unintentional homicide.” • God cared about justice, and there was no mercy for cold-blooded murderers. • What about the punishment for accidents, or self-defense, or anything that resulted in the unintentional death of another person? • In the book of Numbers, God will explain to the Israelites the concept of cities of refuge that will be established once they’re settled in the Promised Land. • These were cities where a person could flee to in cases of manslaughter and be protected until their case could be heard by the judges. • At this point, those cities were not yet established, but God wants the Israelites to know about them because He wants them to know He views unintentional deaths differently than intentional murder. • They are not the same thing. • Obviously, when a person died, it was tragic, and family members would want revenge. • However, as long as a man made it to a city of refuge, he was safe from their avenging hands until he could go before the elders for a trial. • If he didn’t flee to a city of refuge and a family member killed him, that person was guiltless because they were an avenger of blood. • That being said, if a person guilty of intentional murder attempted to flee to a city of refuge, they were not protected, and it was the duty of the Israelites to execute them. • So, whether it was premeditated murder of a stranger, murder of parents, murder of servants, or just any intentional killing of another person, the perpetrator was guilty and the punishment was death. • What about today? • In my opinion, if you murder someone, you should be executed. • No ifs, ands, or buts about it. • Unfortunately, over the years, the laws of our land have become more complicated, and many times, murderers are either given a light sentence, or they’re given a life sentence… • A life sentence might sound fine, but with that sentence, they are allowed to live out the rest of their days with a place to sleep, 3 meals a day, health care, and no bills to pay. • That’s because a lot of states do not have the death penalty, so murderers don’t have to worry about being sentenced to death for their crime. • I know this can be a controversial issue, because not everyone agrees with the death penalty, but I’m going to point us to a Scripture where the Apostle Paul addresses this very issue. • In Romans 13:3-4, he says, “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to [execute] wrath on him who practices evil.” • According to that passage, the government bears the sword to avenge and execute wrath on the person who practices evil. • That’s not leniency…that’s justice! • I will say that thankfully, we live in a land where you are considered innocent until proven guilty. • However, once proven guilty of murder, I believe the Bible justifies the government sentencing a murderer to the death penalty. • So, God cared about the punishment, but He also cared about justice… • That leads me to think about the punishment we deserve because of our sin. • When Jesus hung on the cross, He wasn’t just put there by the Jews and the Romans… • He was put there by you and me. • Your sin, my sin, He took it all upon Himself and bore the penalty for our sins. • 1 Peter 2:24 says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” • 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” • So, every single person who has ever lived deserves death because of our sin. • We don’t deserve mercy and grace, we deserve hell. • Yet in Ephesians 2:4-8, it says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” • So, you and I were dead in our sins, none of us were innocent, we all were guilty. • On our own, we stood condemned. • But God! • God loved us so much that Jesus willingly died on the cross, paying the penalty for our sin. • Those of us who have given our lives to Christ are no longer condemned…we are forgiven and cleansed, by Christ Jesus our Lord. III. God cares about the victim • When I was a kid, I remember my dad loved to watch hockey. • He loved the excitement of the players skating back and forth, whacking the puck as hard as they could, trying hard to score a goal. • But the favorite thing my dad loved about hockey was the fist fights that often happened. • One player would get upset with a player from the opposing team, and instead of letting it go, they’d throw their gloves off and start punching away. • I remember when I was about 3 or 4, I saw the replay of one guy getting pounded in the face, and there was blood everywhere… • It wasn’t the blood I noticed though. • It was the look on the player’s face… • He looked like he was in so much pain. • Since I was a little child, I started to cry because I felt so bad for this guy. • My dad loved to watch boxing as well, and I remember him cheering away at each match as 2 men punched away at each other. • A lot of those fights looked really painful! • As a matter of fact, I’ll never forget watching the fight with my dad when one of his favorite boxers, Mike Tyson, bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear. • I could see the pain in Holyfield’s face, and I felt pity for him. • I was disgusted and wondered why someone would do such a thing over a simple sport, especially when both boxers were making a lot of money by just being in the ring together. • So, I hated the violence, and that’s part of the reason why today, I don’t care for hockey or boxing. • Just like I felt pity for and cared about that hockey player and for Evander Holyfield, so too does God care about the victims who have either been murdered or seriously injured. • We’ve already seen how God wanted the Israelites to deal with murderers. • Now, He gives several instructions on what should happen when someone is seriously injured but isn’t killed. • In vs 18 and 19, the scenario is given of 2 men who are fighting with each other. • One of them is so seriously injured that he’s unable to work. • Because of that, this man won’t be able to provide for himself or his family. • It would be wrong to just forget about him and let he and his family starve to death. • So, God told the Israelites that the man who was fighting with the injured man would be responsible for compensating him and his family for the time he lost at work. • On top of that, he had to pay for the medical expenses incurred by the injured man. • So God was ensuring that the Israelites would take care of one another, even when there was a feud that caused an injury. • Vs 22 and 23 give us another interesting scenario, and I believe it is one of the passages we can use to defend our pro-life view against those who support abortions. • Two men are fighting, and a pregnant woman gets hit, either accidentally or on purpose. • She might be the wife of one of the fighters or she might be an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time. • Either way, we’ve got 2 victims here…the woman and her unborn baby. • Vs 22 says, “…so that her fruit depart from her…” • This is referring to the fruit of her womb, meaning her baby. • So, if she gets hit in the process of the fight, and her baby is prematurely born, but doesn’t die, then the offender needs to be punished. • The husband gets to choose the punishment, but the judges must approve of his choice of punishment in order to ensure it was a reasonable punishment. • It usually was a fine that was paid to the husband. • With a premature baby, there would be extra medical costs and extra living expenses to take care of the baby since it was born early, so part of the fine probably covered these expenses. • However, vs 23 tells us that if harm does follow, then the punishment will be life for life. • That means if the woman has a miscarriage caused by the fight, the man who hit her was responsible for the baby’s death. • That is the equivalent of murder, and the penalty for murder was death. • Also, if both the woman and her baby died, then the man was responsible for 2 deaths, and the penalty was death. • I strongly believe we can conclude that this passage shows the baby in the womb is considered a life, no matter the age, and deserves the same protections as any person. • It’s clear that God cares about the life of His creation, whether it’s the baby, her mother, or her father. • Vs 24-25 gives us the principle of retaliation. • Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. • Just to be clear, God didn’t give this list so that people could get revenge. • If there were the case, there would have been a lot of one eyed, toothless, one handed, one footed people walking around. • God gave this list so that there could be justice. • Of course, before justice could be carried out, the offender must be brought before a judge. • The judge determined the monetary value of the injury, not whether or not they were going to literally take an eye for eye or tooth for tooth. • For example, let’s say a soldier in Israel’s Army got into a fight with someone, and got a black eye, but instead of healing, it got infected and he lost his vision in that eye. • Obviously, he wouldn’t make a very good soldier anymore without one of his eyes. • So, the principle of eye for eye would apply here. • But instead of taking the other man’s eye, he would have to compensate the soldier whatever amount the judge decided. • The judge would take into consideration the loss of the soldier’s career, and other factors that had to do with the future of his livelihood and loss of wages. • So, God cared about His people, but what about their Gentile slaves? • Vs 26 and 27 explain that if the master harms his servant in one of these ways, instead of compensating them with money, the master was supposed to let the slave go free. • This ensured that slaves were treated fairly. • A master couldn’t go around mercilessly beating his slaves and causing serious harm. • If he did, he would be the one with the loss, because the slave would go free. • So, as you can see from all of this, God cared about the victims of violence. • I believe the same thing still holds true today. • God cares about victims of violence. • But wait a minute…didn’t Jesus say something about this principle…eye for eye, tooth for tooth? • Yes, He did. • In Matthew 5:39-42, He said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” • The Pharisees had taken this principle and applied it to everyday personal relationships. • So, according to them, it was perfectly fine to seek personal revenge. • If someone punches you, punch them back; if someone insults you, throw an insult back at them…things like that. • They were taking this Old Testament principle and abusing it because it was only supposed to be for judicial purposes, not for someone to use on their own with the people they encountered. • So, Jesus addressed this in the Sermon on the Mount. • Jason Meyer explains it well in his book “Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology.” • “In giving this “new” command, Jesus is not nullifying the Old Testament law...Rather, He is separating the responsibility of the government (to punish evildoers justly) from the responsibility we all have on a personal level before God to love our enemies. We should not seek retribution for personal slights. We are to ignore personal insults…Christians are to be willing to give more of their material goods, time, and labor than required, even if the demands upon us are unjust. We should loan to those who want to borrow, love our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us…Enforcing “an eye for an eye” is the magistrate’s job; forgiving our enemies is ours. We see this played out today every time a victim stands up in court to publicly forgive a convicted criminal—the forgiveness is personal and real, but the judge still justly demands that the sentence be carried out.” • It’s important for us to understand that God still requires justice, and that’s why the judicial system in our country is so important. • It’s also important for the judicial system to operate according to God’s standards, not man’s because man’s standards are flawed. • Unfortunately, we’re seeing our judicial system failing in many areas, and I believe that’s because it’s not operating according to God’s standard. • In closing, I’d like to point out how Jesus wants us to live today. • The Apostle Paul summarizes it well in Romans 12:10-21…please turn there with me and I encourage you to mark it if you have a pen or highlighter… • Unfortunately, violence is a reality in our world, and it will be until the Lord comes back. • But you and I are called to live peaceably in this world… • That means loving our neighbors, loving one another, serving our community, and sharing the love of Christ with all who will listen. • Are you doing that? • If not, I encourage you to do so. • What about those who don’t know Christ? • No matter what a person has done, they are still within the reach of God’s mercy, if they turn to Him before they die. • He died for all mankind, even those who have committed murder and other acts of violence. • Let’s close in prayer.