Exodus 21 -- The Laws

Exodus 21:1 “These are the laws you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
12 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. 13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate. 14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.
15 “Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death.
16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.
17 “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.
18 “If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, 19 the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.
20 “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, 21 but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.
22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26 “An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.27 And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. 29 If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death.30 However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded. 31 This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. 32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.
33 “If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.
35 “If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. 36 However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.

I am not sure what to do with the law passages.  It is they way the Israelites were supposed to live their lives. They were to obey all of the laws set forth by God, with no exception.  Breaking these laws meant disobeying God.  We, today, do not live under these laws.  We have Christ, the fulfillment of the law.  As Christ said, we are to:

Matthew 22:37“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

All of the laws will be obeyed if we truly love God and our fellow man the way we should.

Exodus 20:22-26 -- Untitled

Exodus 20:22 Then the Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 You must not make gods of silver to rival Me; you must not make gods of gold for yourselves.

These verses seem to echo the first two commandments, to not have any other gods or to make idols to those other gods.  This chapter both begins and ends with this, so we ourselves must know it is important.  In Hebrew, important ideas are repeated though out the text to signify their importants.

Exodus 20:24 “You must make an earthen altar for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats, as well as your cattle. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause My name to be remembered. 

These verses are instructing the Israelites to sacrifice and make alters to the Lord.  We know that sacrifice has been instituted since the beginning, starting after the first sin in the garden.  The Lord killed an animal to cloth Adam and Eve with.  The animal was a sacrifice for their sin in the garden.  They would continue to sacrifice and build alters, so this command should not be new to the Israelites.  Just look through Genesis to see that the forefathers did these things regularly.

Exodus 20:25 If you make a stone altar for Me, you must not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.

Why this command?  Well God formed the stones.  He does not want them altered by sinful hands but placed in on the alter how He formed them.

Exodus 20: 26 You must not go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.

After reading this you may think about how God initially created humans naked, and wonder why He would not want their nakedness to show on his alter from beneath their garments.  Go back to Genesis, when the first sin occurred:

Genesis 3:6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

The first thing that Adam and Eve realized when they ate the fruit was that they were naked.  They sensed it was wrong and shameful to be so and they created cloths for themselves.  Our nakedness is the revelation of our sin.  He does not want our exposed sins to defile his alter, like they defiled his garden.  Before sin, Adam and Eve did not need anything to hid behind.  They did not need clothing to cover themselves with because they were sinless.

Exodus 20:18-21 -- Scared People

Exodus 20:18 All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance.19 “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”

The people of Israel were afraid of approaching their God.  It is understandable.  What if they sinned in his presence?  What if they were not respectful enough?  I can see why they would be scared to go near their Lord.  They knew that death would await anyone who disobeyed what God had said.  The loud noises also scared them.  They could hear God speaking.  Just think about when people see angels in scripture.  They must be told, "Do not be afraid."  Think of how much more frightful God is when he is so much higher than angels.

Exodus 20:20 Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear Him and will not sin.” 21 And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Here Moses does tell the people to not be afraid of God in this moment.  He has not come to pass judgement but to give them the law by which to live.  The people understood at that time that they could not approach God on their own and needed someone to speak for them.  This is why the Israelites needed priest, and we have Christ today.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God
and one mediator between God and humanity,
Christ Jesus, Himself human,
6 who gave Himself—a ransom for all,
a testimony at the proper time.

Christ is the mediator between God and the church.  Just look at the prayers we normally pray?  We always begin with "Dear God" or some other form of greeting, but always directed to God the Father.  Our prayers usually end with "In Christ's name, Amen." We pray to the God the Father through His son, Christ.

Exodus 20:17 -- Do not Covet

Exodus 20:17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Do not covet.  Do not become jealous of what your neighbor has.  If you do, it could lead you into more sin.  If you covet your neighbor's wife, you may want to commit adultery with her.  If you covet his slave or animals, you may want to steal them.  When you covet, your heart desires the things you cannot have and will eventually seek a way for you to obtain those things.

Joshua 7:20 Achan replied to Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: 21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon, 200 silver shekels, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the money under the cloak.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there was the cloak, concealed in his tent, with the money underneath. 23 They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out in the Lord’s presence.
24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? Today the Lord will trouble you!” So all Israel stoned them to death. They burned their bodies, threw stones on them, 26 and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

The above story is about a man who coveted, and as a result he took things he should not have.  As a result of his disobedience, he and all his family and possessions were killed and destroyed.

Having desires and wants is not wrong in and of itself.  It is wanting those desires so much that you are putting them before God and you are willing to sin to get those desires.

Exodus 20:16 -- Do Not Lie

Exodus 20:16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.

In other words, do not lie.  Do not say something that is not true.  When you lie, you cause yourself to become untrustworthy.  Some people seem to think that lying isn't that bad.  Other sins, like murder or adultery are worse that telling a lie.

This is what the Bible has to say:

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all. 11 For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder.

The one who said those things also said to not lie, so we must obey or we are just as guilty as the murderer or the adulterer.

Marriage and the Church

Marriage is a beautiful thing when understood rightly and in the context of  the Christian faith.  Today, the definition of marriage has been twisted and perverted and made to be something it was never intended to be all in the name of "equal rights."  A marriage is so much more than two people who love each other.  You need more than just love to make a marriage work, and work well.  A marriage needs some sort of unifying force.  Something greater than the sinful and imperfect love of humans.  For the Christian, that is Christ.  Any marriage that is truly centered on Christ and Christ alone will not falter.  Yes, there will be ups and downs, but the bond between the couple, if centered in Christ, will not break.  A marriage that falls apart is due to the sinful desires of one or both partners, so the marriage that fails is not centered on Christ but sinful human desire.

Revelation 19:6 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying:
Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty,
has begun to reign!
7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory,
because the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His wife has prepared herself.
8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.
For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: Those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb are fortunate!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who have the testimony about Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

This passage describes the marriage of Christ to his church.

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, 23 for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of His body.
31 For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.
32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

These verses further the link between marriage of a man and a woman with Christ and his Church.  A man is to be the head of the home as Christ is head of the church.  He is to love his wife as Christ loves the church.  He is to keep her pure and clean and keep pointing her towards Christ.  Likewise the wife is to submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ.  For this purpose, men and women leave their childhood homes and become one flesh in marriage, a marriage that unifies them in Christ.

I know that submission is something that many women have issues with, but I think it is because it is misunderstood.  Just think of submission to your husband this way.  If you, as wife, are supposed to represent the church and your husband is supposed to represent Christ, then imagine that your husband IS Christ.  So if your husband, who is supposed to represent the Lord Jesus Christ looked at you and said, "Honey I don't think we need new curtains or a new whatever.  I think we can use that money in a better way."  What is your first reaction?  "But I really want it!" You grumble and complain against your husband for being denied something you WANT.  While you are grumbling against your husband, you are grumbling against Christ. Against Christ!!!  The one who loved you in such a way that he went to the cross and died the most horrible death to save you from the depths of hell.  He died, sacrificed himself, so you could have the most wonderful future with God and himself in the everlasting kingdom of God. When you do not submit to your husband's authority, then you are therefore not submitting to Christ.  Now, I am not saying that you must obey EVERYTHING your husband would want for you. Remember, he still sins.  He must represent Christ, but as a man, he is still under the sin nature and will not perform that duty perfectly.  You must use your own judgement to discern when your husband is requesting of you in Christ or requesting of you through sin.  If what your husband request of you would lead you, your husband or your family to sin, then, you have every right to speak to your husband and refuse the request by explaining why you will not fulfill it.  It does not have to be an argument.

I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who does his best to represent Christ.  We have only really had one real argument in the seven years we have been married.  We had just moved away from home, almost 10 hours away, the first time I had been away from home.  We had to use a laundry mat to wash our cloths, first time for that too.  Well, my husband was supposed to get quarters for us to use the machines.  He did not because he did not know where the machine was.  (It was located in another building that was not near the laundry mat)  Well, we only had enough to wash one load and we had 3 or so.   I made a comment to him that was something like "you were supposed to get the quarters or we should have gone to find the quarter machine" and I; not sure why my husband  got mad, I do not really remember, but he did.  He said something not so nice, again I don't remember exactly what, and he proceeded to leave the laundry mat and leave me by myself.  Of course I burst into tears, which my husband melted at and the argument was over.  He stayed and we had quarters every week from then on.  From then on, we have not really argued to the point of getting mad at each other.  If fact, there are very few people who have EVER seen me mad, and my husband has never see it, truly.  I was not mad above, just hurt.  Instead of arguing every time there is a disagreement or misunderstanding, you both need to sit and discuss it.  See what the Bible says about the issue.  Why do you want it this way and why does he want it another.  Sometimes the situation just needs some clarification or explanation that cannot be given if you two are yelling and angry.

Now a woman may say, "but my husband is not a Christian, so he cannot represent Christ, because he does not know Christ."  Well, the Bible says this:

1 Peter 3:1 In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the Christian message, they may be won over without a message by the way their wives live 2 when they observe your pure, reverent lives.

Even if your husband is not saved, you should  submit to him in so much that he does not hinder your walk with God.  If you continue to live as Christ would have you live, you my be able to win your husband to Christ without saying a word, but by the way you live your life and treat him and your family.  Just because your husband is not saved, doesn't mean you do not have to submit.

Marriage is so much more than "I love you."  It is a way of life in which you and your husband demonstrate Christ's love for his church through the way you live, in loving, caring, submitting, and every other good and pleasing thing to God.

Slow to Speak

James 1:19 My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.

This describes me pretty well.  I feel as though I am quick to hear and slow to speak.  Most of the time I do not get angry, and I rarely speak out of anger.  I tend to hold it in.  If you cannot tell from the first sentence, this will be a very personal post.  It will be a lot of information about me and how I work, why I do what I do and don't do what others think I should.

Earlier this week, I was accused (using the word lightly. I was not offended in anyway by what was said, because it was all true and is something I need to work on) of being too quite and unwilling to open up, particularly to those in my Bible Study group.  They are right.  I do not speak much in public.  I do not speak much in groups, unless I am close with every person in the group.  In just about every Sunday School class or Bible Study I have been in, I just sit.  I listen.  I do not volunteer answers.  If I am asked my opinion, I will usually give it if I have one.

Proverbs 23:12 Apply yourself to discipline and listen to words of knowledge.

Again, this is something that describes me.  I am the youngest person in my Bible Study.  I am the one who has the shortest marriage, the youngest child.  I know I am not the newest Christian, but given my background and the church I grew up in and the shape of that church's theology at that time (It has improved since then!) I did not know much of anything about a real life in Christ until about 4 years ago when my husband and I went to Kentucky for him to attend Seminary. (I do feel I was saved before then, just did not have an environment that encouraged growth.)  We learned then what a real Christ fearing church was supposed to be like.  Anywho, what I am getting at is that I view the other women in my Bible Study as having more experience in certain areas of life that we are specifically discussing and feel as though what they have to say will benefit me more than me opening my mouth with my inexperience in those areas.

I am also the type of person that must thoroughly think through what I want to say before I say it, especially if it is something that should require thought, like my position on certain theological issues or my opinion on certain things within the church.  I want to make sure I say what I want and I want to make sure I make sense in what I say without having to clarify or restate.  I mentioned to one friend that I express myself better through writing down what I want to say.  Even though this is true, it does not mean that writing down my thoroughly thought out responses to Bible Study questions will make me more inclined to speak and read what I wrote.  I am not very confident in what I say and write.  Yes, I have this blog, but I have not shared it with anybody I actually know, except my husband.

Another thing I thought of, is PLEASE do not look at me and say "You don't talk much" or "You are too quiet" because it makes me want to show you just how quiet I can be.  I put up a wall, as though I am being told that not talking or being quiet is a bad thing.  I get defensive about it, but instead to talking and arguing about it and showing my defensiveness verbally, I close up and hide behind myself.  I do not like to be argumentative.  I will simply smile at you and nod and not say one single word.

So, if you want to get to know me, I must first be let into your space.  I don't make friends well. I do not approach people I do not know unless I am with my husband.  (I will sometimes initiate a conversation with someone I do not know, but if I see them time and time again and they never approach me, then I tend not to go and start up more conversations with them, and I am talking more than a "Hey, how are you?" as they walk by, but a real sincere "how are you?"  One where you want to spend a while and talk.).  Most of my friends were people who first came to me and started conversations with me or as a result of befriending my husband first.  My husband and I love to have people into our homes and treat them to a meal.  I always have my husband ask people over.  I tell him to choose anyone he wants, and sometimes I tell him to choose a couple we do not know well, just for the purpose of getting to know them.  You will find, once inside our personal space, I open up a great deal more. One of my friends was told one time that I never speak to anyone, and her response was, "get her in a room alone with you, and that girl will talk."