Rights with People and Property

Footnotes

[1] 21:2 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles; also verses 5, 6, 7, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32 (see Preface)
[2] 21:8 Or so that he has not designated her
[3] 21:17 Or dishonors; Septuagint reviles
[4] 21:23 Or so that her children come out and it is clear who was to blame, he shall be fined as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he alone shall pay. 23If it is unclear who was to blame . . .
[5] 21:32 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[6] 22:1 Ch 21:37 in Hebrew
[7] 22:2 Ch 22:1 in Hebrew
[8] 22:3 That is, the thief
[9] 22:15 Or it is reckoned in (Hebrew comes into) its hiring fee

Hugh Stephenson

GM Rowe!! What a joy it is to see you on today’s Journey! Love your link to laws creating order. These are BOOM! questions. Slap-in-the-face-what-are-you-really-doing questions. I love them. I need them. 1995-ish. On the ADD questionnaire I was 27/27. Explained a lot. Good news/bad news. Good news- hyper focus on the task at hand. Bad news- I could walk into brick wall and not know it was there until my nose hit the bricks. Q1. BOOM! Hyper focus draws me away from constant focus on Him, (Hebrew’s 12:1-3.) Pre-dawn gratitude prayer walk helps. Q2. BOOM! Yes. But, minor irritations like tech support/customer service draw my focus from major blessings. Q3. BOOM! “Trying harder?” Yes. Too often. Bible study and worship music snap my focus back. Q4. BOOM! BOOM! Head gives me B+ for knowledge and desire. Heart gives me C- for letting God Big-Hugh Small get reversed, (Luke 9:23).

Hugh Stephenson

Does Genesis 1:26-28 come into each of the 1,189 chapters? It often seems so. In chapter 21 I see the constant link to us being made in God’s image; as His “Image Bearers”. In the comments on Proverbs the ESV SB summarizes the call to “…a quiet ordered life of covenantal faithfulness.” I love that. In trust, obedience and surrender, God shows me the path to this life. In this, I can reflect this image of God; He can be seen through me. A recent message noted, (paraphrasing), “To show Him you have to know Him.” Verse by verse I see laws that call us to kindness, benevolence, divine justice, fairness, honor, teaching etc. “The ordinances in these chapters were not laws, in the usual sense of that word, but actually the rights of those living within Israel. The Book of the Covenant (20:22-23:33) was Israel's Bill of Rights.” (Constable)

Hugh Stephenson

Importantly, several offenses called for the death penalty- Constable edifies- 21:15-17 "Life, in essence, is the property of God; the possession of it is leased to human beings for a number of years. This lease can be extended or contracted in accordance with God's will. (Cf. 1 Kings 21:27-29; 2 Kings 20:1- 6; Job 1:12-19.) When a man arrogates to himself the right of ownership in the life of human beings and interferes with the right of enjoyment of life by taking it away—that is, killing it—he has violated one of the essential laws of God and therefore forfeits his own right to the possession of life."

Michael Sisson

Re: Ex 22:2 Scriptural grounds for “Caste Doctrine” laws. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_doctrine A WORD OF CAUTION TO MY FELLOW CHRISTIANS REGARDING THE LAW: We gentiles, who are “in Christ,” would do well to soberly examine our (conscious and unconscious) attitudes towards the Law (Torah). Unchecked, they can lead us to make statements like this regrettable, 2016 quotation made from the pulpit by a well-meaning, Dallas area pastor. "The (Mosaic) Law was a >>>necessary evil<<< because of the reality of sin in our life." We gentile Christians who know what he was TRYING to say may not think much of such ham-handed statements, but recognize such statements place nearly insurmountable stumbling blocks between Jews and the Gospel. Moreover, they perpetuate the “FALSE” and “BLASPHEMOUS” testimony leveled against Christ, Stephen, and Paul. (See Acts 6:11-14; Acts 21:21-24,28) Remember the Psalmist consistently characterizes the Torah (Law) as: A “delight” (Ps 1:2; Ps 40:8; Ps 119:70; Ps 119:77; Ps 119:82; Ps 119:174) “Perfect” (Ps 19:7) “Truth” (Ps 119:142) “Better than gold and silver” (Ps 119:72) Remember also the Law is enduring, not temporary. (Isa 40:8) Yeshua (Jesus) was the Torah made flesh. (Jn 1:14) Moreover, Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) Himself said He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. (Mt 5:17-19) Note the Church’s earliest Jewish believers remained Torah observant. (Act 21:20) They did not believe Messiah had done away with the Torah (neither in part, nor the whole), AND they recognized gentile Torah observance was an entirely separate question to be decided by the Jerusalem Council. (Acts 15:1-35; If they had concluded as JEWISH followers of Yeshua they were no longer to observe Torah, then the question of GENTILE Torah observance >>>would have been moot, and there never would have been a Jerusalem Council.<<<) We should not confuse “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5) among Jewish believers with the struggle against a perversion of Torah observance that we today call “legalism” (a term most scholars agree did not exist in the first century). Even after coming to faith in Christ, nothing Paul wrote suggested anything but positive regard for the Law. Paul himself characterized the Law as “the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth….” (Rom 2:20) Paul unequivocally states that salvation through faith did NOT annul the Law; rather it “established the Law.” (Rom 3:28-31) Moreover, he went to considerable trouble to demonstrate he continued in his own Torah observance and taught other Jews to do so. (Acts 21:20-26; 1Cor 7:17-20; Acts 16:3) Lastly, consider when Jeremiah announced the New Covenant to come, he did not say the Torah (Law) would be annulled, but rather that it would be written on our hearts. Jeremiah 31:33 (NASB1995) “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, >>>“I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.<<< It should be further noted in doing so, Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled a statute of the Law and thus affirmed His deity. Deuteronomy 17:18 (NASB1995) “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.” If King Yeshua writes a copy of the Torah (as prescribed in Dt 17:18) on our hearts (Jer 31:33), then He IS G-d. See also Ezk 36:24-26.

Chris Landry

Thanks for the journey today, Rowe. I am also from Louisiana… Geaux Tigers, Gumbo, and Large crawfish boils. :) Reading these 41 laws reminds me of the apostle Paul's teaching that these laws are like a school master for our heart. Teaching us that there is no one righteous, no not one. That Jesus alone is righteous and the exacting propitiation for our shortcomings through His life, death, and resurrection. Deeper dive would say the law is more like an imprisoning warden. - "The word is paidagogos, (pedagogue.) In the ancient world, the pedagogue was one who had charge of the underage heir, and the responsibility to keep them out of trouble. But the pedagogue was not a kind teacher." - "In Romans 5:20, he is even more explicit. “the law came in to increase the trespass.” - "The images of imprisonment and captivity that Paul uses in Galatians 3 reinforce the fact that the law was temporary in purpose, and only until Christ came." Source: http://gentlemantheologian.com/2018/06/27/is-the-law-our-tutor/

Sue Bohlin

Thank you, Rowe! I loved learning today (thanks to Dr. Constable) that the world into which God gave HIS laws and regulations to Moses for the nation of Israel, already had laws and regulations in place--but His were better because they honored the image of God in people. That meant that when people heard God's standards for behavior in a society, they would compare them to what was already in place (such as the Code of Hammurabi, which would come along later but which most of us have heard of), which would shape their response to and respect for God's standards. (Like how we react to a change in posted speed limits. When you're driving country highways where the limit is 65 and you approach a town and have to drop to 40, it's a drag and you feel suppressed. But when you've been tootling along at 45 and suddenly you see the limit is 70, you feel young and free and life is good! It's all about comparison.) For example, slavery was practiced widely in the ancient world, but God instituted protections for slaves because He loved them as people made in His image, not living tools to be (mis)treated as property. Lots of people resent God for instituting slavery (which He didn't) or not outlawing it (which He will, but not yet)--but in reality, He was setting the bar higher than any other society. I love that the section on slavery starts with the jaw-dropping rule that the maximum service time for Hebrew slaves was six years, as they were to be freed in the seventh year. The other laws and regulations keep drumming home the same message: people and property matter. Caring for them well is how you obey the second greatest commandment, to love people.

Amy Lowther

1. I remind myself of the gospel everyday. I thank Jesus for the sacrifice He made for me everyday. 2. Knowledge of the gospel improves my daily routine so I get things done, feel good, and stay organized. 3. Salvation is a gift. I appreciate and value it. 4. I follow God’s commandments because I want to be a good person and because obedience with Him gives me healthy options in life to use.

Michael Scaman

Lot's of laws about equity even for servants. Spoiler alert! In Leviticus will be a surprising law about slaves that's a 3 parter. (and kinda like the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost prodigal son) First. If there is inanimate lost property and it is found it should be returned ) Second, If an animal runs away and someone finds it they should return it Third, if a slave runs away you shall... wait for it... not send him back but let him dwell with you ... for you were slaves in Egypt.