Sermon Tone Analysis

Exodus 22

Exodus 22 (NKJV)

1 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

2 If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.

3 If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed.

He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

4 If the theft is certainly found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall restore double.

5 “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

6 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

7 “If a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double.

8 If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.

9 “For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

There is a principle that is reflected in this law consistently, and that is the restoration of what has been lost or stolen in double fold to the owner.

So if one claims that anothor has stolen what is his, or that another has lost what was given to him by the owner.

The owner would come before the Judge and whomsoever the Judge condems shall pay double.

This is important principle that aplies to us when he restores something that we have lost.

Job 42:10 “10 And the Lord restored Job’s losses [captivity] when he prayed for his friends.

Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

If we have lost something if the enemy has stolen something from us, let us go to judge and plead our case.

He will condem our adversary and restore double to us.

10 If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it,

11 then an oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good.

12 But if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it.

13 If it is torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

14 “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good.

15 If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.

16 “If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife.

17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the bride-price of virgins.

18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

19 “Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

20 “He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

We must only sacrifice to the only true God and not any other.

21 “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

22 “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.

23 If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry;

24 and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

25 “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.

26 If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down.

27 For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin.

What will he sleep in?

And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Don’t insult God, or curse that is insult revile the ruler of any people.

29 “You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices.

The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.

30 Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep.

It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

31 “And you shall be holy men to Me: you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Exodus 23

Exodus 23 (NKJV)

1 “You shall not circulate a false report.

Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

You must not gossip or speak about other people things that is not true.

2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.

We must not pervert what is true because of the pressure of the majority, or of the popular opinion of the masses.

We must be courages to speak the truth even if it is goes against the popular opinion of the crowd.

3 You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.

4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.

5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

The principle laid out here is overcoming evil with God.

One evil should not induce another.

When you repay evil with evil, is you are being overcome by evil.

However you should overcome evil with good.

Roman 12:20-21 “20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

6 “You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute.

7 Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous.

For I will not justify the wicked.

8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

9 “Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10 “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce,

11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat.

In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12 Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

13 “And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

circumspect means to be careful and cautious:- in other words God is saying pay careful attention to all that i have said to you.

Take careful heed to what i am saying

This is an attitude that we need to have towards the words of God, because the salvation of our soul depends on it.

Proverbs 19:16 “16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.”

Carelesness can lead to death.

14 “Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year:

15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty);

16 and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

17 “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.

18 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning.

19 The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.

You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Don’t make what is an instrument of life to be an instrument of death.

Milk is to be life giving source to the kid by which he grows and matures.

However when you use milk to boil the kid, you are making the milk to be instrument of death.

1 Pet 2:2 “2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,”

1 timothy 1:7-8 “7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,”

20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.

24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

25 “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water.

And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.