Exodus 23:10-19 comments: feasts to remember by

23:10 ¶  And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11  But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. 12  Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. 13  And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. 14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 15  Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) 16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. 17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. 18  Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. 19  The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

The Hebrews were to have a sabbath for the land, not harvesting in the seventh year and permitting the poor and animals eat freely. This also applied to grapes and olives. 

Leviticus 25:1 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, 2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. 3  Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; 4  But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. 5  That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. 6  And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, 7  And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.

The sabbath of rest for the seventh day of the week is given: a day of rest also for animals, servants, and foreigners who worked for the Hebrews.

In a world filled with idol worship and devil worship and all under the pretense of worshipping gods, little g, the Hebrews were not to even mention their names.

There were three feasts they were to keep in a year; the feasts of unleavened bread, of harvests, and of ingathering. These three times in the year all males were to appear before God in a place appointed and to keep a feast.

The feast of harvest is also called the feast of weeks.

Exodus 34:22a  And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest…

The feast of ingathering, when everything is brought in, is also called the feast of tabernacles.

Deuteronomy 16:13  Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:

Deuteronomy 16:16  Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:

There are specific instructions given later for these feasts. It is interesting to note the three feasts, the three times they were to come before the Lord. Three times in the Bible the phrase come up hither, meaning ‘come up here,’ is used in different contexts.

Proverbs 25:7  For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Revelation 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Revelation 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Three times in one verse the pre-Flood patriarch, Enoch’s, translation from earth to God’s presence is mentioned.

Hebrews 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

It is interesting to imagine that the translation of the church, popularly called ‘the rapture’, a word not found in the Bible, takes place in three steps with Christ and those who were resurrected at His resurrection being first.

Matthew 27:52  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

And then two more times mentioned in Revelation of the pre-Tribulation saints and then of those who come to Christ during the Great Tribulation. However, we have enough to do with the clearer statements in the Bible regarding our relationship with God in His ministry of reconciling man to Himself, things that we are not doing, to spend time arguing about the more obscure doctrines of the Bible.

However, several early church “fathers” like Hermas, Cyprian, Victorinus, and Ephraim the Syrian spoke of the church being removed before God’s wrath is poured out at the end of time.

Christians today who do not believe in the Translation of the church, popularly called ‘the rapture,’ will say that preacher of the early 1800’s, John Nelson Darby, invented the doctrine. He did popularize it in opposition to a world that regarded evolutionary progress as truth and that mankind and Christians in particular were headed toward a ‘golden age’ of righteousness and peace.(6)

But, he obviously did not invent the doctrine, merely gave it his own twist. As John Reeve wrote  two centuries before Darby’s, in the 1600’s, “Then shall the Elect, by the Decree or Voice of Jesus Christ, the Archangel, first appear out of the Graves, and, in the twinkling of an Eye, with all the Elect that are then living, as one Man, with a glorious Shout, shall, with distinct immortal Bodies, like unto their God, ascend to meet the Lord in the Air, and with him and his mighty angels, as swift as Thought, enter into that vast new Heaven and new Earth above the Stars….(7)

My intent here is not to approve of any preacher’s particular doctrines or idiosyncrasies or even personal opinions or heresies but simply to show that the doctrine was not invented by Darby, as some would say. Only the timing of when it would happen, before the Great Tribulation mentioned in Matthew and Revelation, during, or at the end of it were in contention among those that believed in it. Although I have not read his work there is supposedly another pretribulation rapture commentator named Morgan Edwards from the century prior to Darby.

Other references to the idea of the church being physically removed are from such diverse preachers and commentators as Jesuit priest, Francisco Ribera, in 1590, Puritan Cotton Mather in the 1600s, and John Gill in the 1700s.(8)  In the first decade of the 1700s Matthew Henry even uses the phrase, “rapture in the clouds,” in his commentary on 1Thessalonians 4:17 which is so commonly free on the internet I don’t need to give you directions here.

Darby’s view was that what he called “the rapture” must take place before the return of Christ. The Bible seems to say that then there is the thousand year reign of Christ and the general judgment follows.

My point in bringing all of this up is to only say that a doctrine can exist in the Bible and either be misunderstood, not be known by most believers, or that those against it or for it may misrepresent it to justify their own beliefs. The Jews believed that Israel would be restored to its past greatness, not seeing the Cross or the Resurrection of their Messiah. Many Christians of the 1800s, the age of the so-called great revivals, were Postmillennialists and believed they would turn the world over to Christian principles and values without Christ present so, no rapture and Christ’s rule coming after we had perfected the world. We must always remember that our understanding is incomplete until we stand before our Saviour.

Early eighteenth century Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, reported, apparently from older Jewish authorities, that it was common for the Gentiles to boil (see Ezekiel 24:5 for seethe as to boil) a kid (goat) in its mother’s milk and sprinkle that over fields to ensure a good harvest in the future. God forbade such magical nonsense. What is important here is that God has set up three feasts for the Hebrews to remember events by, to commemorate what has happened.

(6) J.N. Darby, “The Rapture of the Saints,” in The Heavenly Hope, or, What is the Hope of the Christian? What is the Hope of the Church? (Dublin: Dublin Tract Repository, 1844).

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16305370W/The_Heavenly_hope_or_What_is_the_hope_of_the_Christian_What_is_the_hope_of_the_Church_A_letter_from_   

(7) John Reeve, “An Epistle to a Kinsman,” in Joyful News from Heaven (London: Francis Cosinet, 1658), 60.

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL245574W/Joyful_news_from_heaven_or_The_last_intelligence_from_our_glorified_Jesus_above_the_stars

(8) Mal Couch, ed., Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996).

Exodus 23:1-9 comments: oppression forbidden

23:1 ¶  Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 2  Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: 3  Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. 4  If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5  If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. 6  Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 7  Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. 8  And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. 9  Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Here begins with a warning not to bear false witness as stated in the list of ten earlier. Another admonition against following wicked and evil people follows. The book of Proverbs gives warnings against following the sinful ways of others. To wrest judgment is to pervert judgment, a corrupt thing to do. Here, in context it is referring to abusing the poor and backing the powerful in a way that perverts judgment.

James 2:6  But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

Verse 3 is difficult because of the archaic use of the word countenance as a verb. It does not necessarily mean, ‘to favor,’ as some commentators insist, stating that you should not support a poor man just because he was poor. In Baret’s 1574 dictionary, referenced earlier, you can find one meaning as to deny, refuse, or forbid. Other dictionaries at the same general time frame, and you can verify this by accessing the early modern English website previously mentioned, also suggest the possibility of the false pretense of justice by putting a good face on it but the reality not being so. So, here it is forbidden to refuse a poor man equitable judgment and put a false, hypocritical honest face on it. This is an archaic meaning of the verb but one that is readily accessible to anyone interested. This meaning fits well in the context of other Biblical admonitions against abusing the poor. It is not the proverbial ‘rocket science.’ Just look for the meaning of a difficult word used rarely in a particular form in the Bible around the time that this Bible was translated. The information is there. Do you really want to know what the Bible says?

Verse 4 mandates kindness, as taking it on yourself to return another’s straying beast back to him. Verse 5 requires you to render assistance to a beast struggling with a load he is having a hard time supporting even if the owner of the beast is someone you know doesn’t like you and you probably don’t like. This calls for compassion for an animal regardless who owns it.

Verse 6 reinforces verse 3 and 7 verse 1. Clearly, the context of these judgments is a fair and equal treatment regardless of someone’s social status and an attitude of mercy and compassion regardless of your difficult relationship with others. Verse 8 denies bribery or oppressing the politically powerless or weak.

These are important principles that are often not followed. It may be helpful to offer examples that are easy to understand. If you do not get along with someone or even have a feud going and their dog escapes from their yard you would return the dog regardless of your feud as an act of righteousness.

 Although we use mechanical ‘beasts’ of burden now in that time if a Hebrew were to see another man’s donkey struggling under a burden he would be compelled to ease the burden of the poor animal. The fact that these are listed under the Law given to Moses for the Hebrews shows us that matters of personal responsibility were coded into the civil regulations. You could be held responsible for not being a good neighbor even to a neighbor you didn’t like.

Bribery was forbidden.

Deuteronomy 16:19  Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

Proverbs 17:23 ¶  A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.

Our government is corrupt today because of lobbyists for even good causes who put money, desirable vacations, and even luxurious homes in front of our lawmakers to pervert judgment.

There is a tie-in here with doing right regardless of another’s social status and following the law regardless of your relationship with another person. There is an absolute standard here that rises above your petty selfishness. There is compassion for the weak that goes beyond your hatred or contempt. The righteous man does right regardless of the enticement to pervert judgment or ignore the suffering of another. From the point of view of God another person’s social status or your relationship with them should not be affected by your doing what is right in obedience to God and not doing what is wrong.

Exodus 22:25-31 comments: Usury to scavenging

22:25 ¶  If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 26  If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27  For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. 28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. 29  Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. 30  Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. 31  And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

A usurer lends money at interest.

Leviticus 25:36  Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. 37  Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.

This wasn’t our current understanding of usury of excessive interest but as it stood in pre-Capitalist Christian nations and in Islam the charging of any interest at all as a profit on money. The interest on money lent was a great source of social unrest in Ancient Rome as farmers would go further and further into debt to ease the burden of bad harvests until they lost their farms. In this way, and others, large landowners could accrue massive landholdings. Our modern banking and finance system would not exist without charging a profit or interest on money lent.

This is not like investing in a merchant’s trip to a foreign country and expecting a share of the profits but the bondage of being constantly in debt to interest charged. In America, during the colonial era before there were any commercial banks, most loans were private arrangements between individuals.

So, the difference is, if I invest in your farm or your business and expect to share in the profitability that is not usury. If I loan you money and expect a profit on the return of that money that would have been considered usury, for instance, in England before Henry VIII’s rule in the 1500s. Economics, particularly finance, can be quite complex so I apologize for oversimplifying the subject.

Hebrews were forbidden to charge interest to each other. Imagine that. They could charge foreigners, though.

Deuteronomy 23:19  Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: 20  Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

I’ve read that other ancient Near Eastern cultures permitted the charging of interest allowing for wealth to be consistently gathered into fewer and fewer hands. Here represents another distinct separation of the Hebrews from those around them.

The common person had few articles of clothing and would often have to sleep in the clothes they wore during the day. Keeping collateral on a loan, if it was a person’s only outer clothing they needed for warmth at night, was not permitted past sundown.

Verse 28 is very significant. It is quoted in the exchange between Paul and his accusers.

Acts 23:1 ¶  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 2  And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. 3  Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? 4  And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? 5  Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

It is also important as it acknowledges that there are spiritual beings that exist and are allowed a certain power; like the gods of Egypt.

1Corinthians 8:4 ¶  As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5  For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

A Christian would do well not to curse or challenge Satan, the god of this world as per 2Corinthians 4:4. We are to resist him as per James 4:7. We would look well to the Biblical example of requesting God to rebuke him.

Jude 1:8 ¶  Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9  Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

We would do well not to curse or revile beings whom we do not know or understand. The preacher who openly challenges Satan virtually pleads for his congregation to be attacked by him. The Christian who pleads some power against Satan would do well to depend on and trust in God as we know from the book of Job that Satan can do nothing without God’s permission constrained by the limits set forth by God. Even if Satan were bound and inactive we would still have our flesh trying to dominate us. Satan is not the author of your sin. You are.

The Hebrews were to give the first of the produce of the land, the juice extracted from it, and to consecrate their firstborn to God. There will be more on this in Exodus but notice the following.

Deuteronomy 26: 1 ¶  And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; 2  That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. 3  And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. 4  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. 5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6  And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 7  And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: 8  And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: 9  And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10  And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: 11  And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

    12 ¶  When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13  Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: 14  I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. 15  Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

We saw in chapter 13 that the firstborn were to be sanctified.

Liquor simply means juice. The juice of a fruit is its liquor as defined in the Early Modern English of the King James Bible era. John Baret’s 1574 dictionary entitled An Alveary or Triple Dictionary, in English, Latin, and French has the following entry;

 “Juice – all kind of liquor whether it be wine or water, oile or other…” (5)

The offering of oxen and sheep was to take place after eight days with a beast’s mother. The eighth day is a significant time in Bible reckoning for sanctification and offering, setting something or someone apart for God. The Hebrew week was seven days, God’s number of completion after the seven days of creation.

Note the following verses;

Leviticus 9:1  And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel…12:3  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised…14:10  And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil…14:23  And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD…15:14  And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest…15:29  And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…22:27  When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD…23:36  Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein…23:39  Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

Numbers 6:10  And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…7:54  On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh…29:35  On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein:

1Kings 8:66  On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

2Chronicles 7:9  And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days…29:17  Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

Nehemiah 8:18  Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

Ezekiel 43:27  And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.

Luke 1:59  And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

Acts 7:8  And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

Philippians 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

The Hebrews were also not to be scavengers, eating the carcasses of animals, carrion, that had been killed by other beasts and left in the field. Dogs were to have that, not human beings, certainly not Hebrews.

Deuteronomy 14:21a  Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself…

Leviticus 17:15  And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.

(5) Ian Lancashire, ed., Lexicons of Early Modern English (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017), http://leme.library.utoronto.ca/. 

Exodus 22:1-24 comments: theft, seduction, witchcraft, and other laws

22:1 ¶  If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2  If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. 3  If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4  If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. 5  If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. 6  If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

Laws regarding theft, including theft of growing food and damage to property are covered here. Again, this was to be the law that governed the Hebrew people. This can be thought of in the context of God’s  standard set forth in the Ten Commandments, further defined and illuminated by Christ and by the apostle, Paul. This is part of the law for governance of these people on a day to day basis but it does further illuminate God’s standard in the Ten Commandments of not stealing, on a practical level.

    22:7 ¶  If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double. 8  If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods. 9  For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. 10  If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: 11  Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. 12  And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 13  If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn. 14  And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good. 15  But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.

Here are laws of responsibility and accountability for using the property of others.

    22:16 ¶  And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. 17  If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. 18  Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. 19  Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. 20  He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. 21  Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22  Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. 23  If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; 24  And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

If you remember the fierce and treacherous vengeance enacted by the children of Jacob over Dinah’s rape we can see a modification which would prevent vendettas and blind retribution. Remember that custom dictated that such a crime was against the family, the tribe, and the idea of the rights of the woman were not necessarily part of it.

A man who seduced an unmarried woman was required to ‘make it right’ by marrying her. If her father refused the offer of marriage he had to pay a dowry. It appears from another context that the dowry was a price paid to the father.

1Samuel 18:25  And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

Verse 18 has to do with the treatment of witches. First, suffer in this context means to allow or permit. See an earlier example;

Exodus 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

A witch, in the Bible, is much more than a folk herbalist or some suburbanite American teen who plays with sticks and worships nature. A witch in the Bible was someone who communed with spirits, tried to speak to the dead, and did other idolatrous things that were in opposition to God’s will that He alone should be trusted and relied upon. Note here the context in the following verse as synonyms to witch are presented.

Deuteronomy 18:10  There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11  Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

So, we see a witch is linked with those who offer human sacrifice, or read the guts of a dead animal to tell the future, a conjurer who looks for special times like when the stars are lined up or some type of combination of dates and portents in the sky making a desired thing propitious like today’s fortune-teller, someone who uses chants and spells to try to attain a desired end, or who tries to consult with spirits of ancestors dead or other spirits to learn information that is not available to others. God regards these occultic practices as opposed to our acceptance of His sovereignty alone.

This can be extended to us today in regard to a Christian seeking special power of his own, trying to exercise a “gift” he or she pretends to, seeking power for themselves to glorify themselves. Beware of the Christian who emphasizes a special and powerful gift that is unique to them placing them on a higher level than others, which, while we all have our own special gifts, none of them make us more important than another. We are none of us shamans or wizards. See Romans 12. For instance, beware of the person who insists they can tell by a handshake if a person is saved or not or the one who just knows in their heart, they say, your spiritual condition just by meeting you without you saying a word or doing a thing. The witch or wizard seeks power, special spiritual power for themselves, apart from God even if they use God as an excuse to hide their wickedness behind.

God also likens disobedience to Him as witchcraft.

1Samuel 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Witchcraft is also linked by association, for Christians, for everything from rivalries based on envy, emulations, to a party person, or reveler. It is a work of the flesh, not appropriate for Christians although we aren’t called to kill anyone for such things.

Galatians 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Remember that what is shown here in Exodus is the civil Law and the ceremonial Law for the ancient Hebrews, not God’s commands for the Christian after Christ’s resurrection. No Christian is justified in killing a witch.

Verse 19 showed that bestiality was forbidden. This being stated reveals to us that it was practiced. Not only did ancient Canaanite religion promote heterosexual and homosexual temple prostitution apparently bestiality was not uncommon.

Leviticus 18:23  Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

Leviticus 20:15  And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.16  And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Deuteronomy 27:21  Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

There are Hindu depictions of bestiality, for instance, on the temple complex at Khajuraho, implying sex with gods who have taken on the form of animals although some Hindu scriptures forbid such practices.

Some authors have pointed out that cave drawings indicate that bestiality was not uncommon among primitive man. We who believe the Bible know that any cave dwellers were part of the dispersal of families around the world initiated by God at the attempted building of Babel, as well as temporary necessity in time of trouble.

Ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Rome all had proscriptions against it while, at the same, time regarding such practices in their mythologies and perhaps some religious practices. Ancient Greece did not have restrictions against it. Some Arab tribes practiced it as a cultural custom.

Verse 20 condemned idolatry. For the Christian, the Holy Spirit goes even further to say that covetousness in the context of sexuality is a form of idolatry.

Colossians 3:5 ¶  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

So, you can see the link between covetousness, idolatry, adultery, and fornication as the dissatisfaction with one’s own mate is a sign of a wicked heart and even, if you will, false worship.

Mercy and acting charitably toward foreigners, widows, and orphans: the politically powerless, was an essential standard. So it is the basis of religious practice for the Christian as far as God is concerned.

James 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

A stranger is a foreigner or alien.

Genesis 17:8  And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God…12  And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

Genesis 23:4  I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Exodus 2:22  And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

Exodus 12:19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

You can see by God’s threat here that He is adamant that such people as these not be abused in any way lest His wrath be incurred on the abuser.

Exodus 21:22-36 comments: ancient Hebrew civil laws

21:22 ¶  If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23  And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24  Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25  Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. 26  And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. 27  And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake. 28  If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. 29  But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. 30  If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. 31  Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. 32  If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. 33  And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; 34  The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his. 35  And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide. 36  Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.

Verse 22 shows that accidentally causing a miscarriage of a pregnancy that does not also result in the death of the mother is not punishable by death. It also underscores, under ancient custom, the fact that women had few rights on their own but that their treatment was an extension of their husband’s rights. We saw how Dinah’s rape in Genesis was avenged because of the disgrace it brought on the family, not because it was a crime against Dinah. The woman had few rights apart from her relationship with her father or her husband. In a tribal society, the sense of self-identity and self-worth of many people is swallowed up in the identity and worth of the group.

Punishment was to be equal among Hebrews of any rank; an eye for an eye. However, disturbingly, the exception was that if a servant was injured they must be set free, extended even to knocking out a tooth. There is nothing here about a servant being treated on an equal footing with a master.

A domestic animal that killed a person was to be killed itself. However, if the owner knew the animal was dangerous the owner is also put to death although he could ransom his way out of the sentence. It did not matter if the victim was male or female, an equal value was placed on a woman’s life. If his animal injured another man’s servant he had to pay restitution.

If an animal fell into a pit a man dug he had to pay the owner for it if it died. If one man’s animal killed another man’s animal the living animal must be sold and the money divided between the two as well as the carcass of the dead animal. But, if he knew the animal was dangerous he was required to pay for the dead animal.

Laws of responsibility, blame, guilt, and punishment are controlled vengeance. It would not be hard to imagine this wandering group of ex-slaves descending into nothing but vendettas and anarchy without order or any future. God providing standards, modifying existing customs, and making the Hebrews accountable to His law could provide a stable base for society.

I’m going to avoid the many sermons that this passage brings to mind in order not to slow down the narrative but just think of parallels in the world of the spirit. Do ordinances and commandments for this world reflect anything that is going on in the spiritual world, do you ever wonder?

Exodus 21:12-21 comments: the civil law

21:12 ¶  He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. 13  And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. 14  But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. 15  And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. 16  And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. 17  And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. 18  And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed: 19  If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. 20  And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. 21  Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.

This passage begins with laws regarding murder, slavers, those who curse their parents, mutual combat and compensation for injuries resulting, and striking a servant. These are God’s commands for civil law for the Hebrews. This gives you a rough idea of the nature of civil protections at that time, certainly shocking by our standards today. God modified existing standards so you can see what must have been accepted practice.

Remember in Genesis how Abraham and Isaac were afraid of being murdered so some ruler could steal their wives, so they lied? That showed us the likely conditions of the time with regard to a powerful man simply taking a less powerful man’s wife for his own sexual purposes. In the same way these Laws given to Moses for the children of Israel must reveal the conditions of the time.

According to some sources the death penalty in Egypt was unevenly applied to those who killed another person and there was no distinction between premeditated murder and unpremeditated manslaughter. God created consistency with His edicts as the standard rather than an official who could be bribed as a matter of accepted practice.

In Egypt, the Pharaoh, as a living god, was the source of justice bound by tradition and convention but with himself and his ministers being able to apply justice as their position and power allowed rather than based on an absolute standard. God is laying down a standard.

The much older so-called Code of Hammurabi, which most certainly was not a body of laws but more a commentary on law or a philosophy of law as there is no evidence it was ever put into practice, had the death penalty for over 30 offenses. For instance, giving refuge to a runaway slave was to require the death penalty. But, it was uneven in that the punishment for a crime depended on the social status of the victim and the perpetrator. Bible skeptics make much out of the “eye for an eye” standard but that only applied between people of equal rank. God is creating an equal standard for everyone as, at this point, there is no aristocracy outside of the leader of a tribe and Moses and his assistants in enforcing God’s Law. They were held to the same standard.

Verse 12 gives us the meaning of the commandment Thou shalt not kill as Jesus defines it in Matthew 19:18  as do no murder.

Matthew 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

Verse 13 suggests the cities of refuge ordered in Numbers, chapter 35, where an unintentional killer could run to in order to keep from having family vengeance enacted on him. It also shows again God’s hand in events as the accidental victim was delivered into the hand of the killer by God.

Verse 14 shows that committing murder and running to God’s altar for protection will not save you someone from punishment.

1Kings 2:29  And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. 30  And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. 31  And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. 32  And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. 33  Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. 34  So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

Verse 15 requires death for someone who strikes one of his parents. Also note verse 17. Other interesting verses on this subject include the following;

Proverbs 20:20 ¶  Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

Proverbs 30:17  The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

1Timothy 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Rules against disobedient and disrespectful children include;

Leviticus 20:9  For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

Deuteronomy 21:18 ¶  If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19  Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20  And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21  And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

With regard to verse 16 and more modern times it is interesting the kind of man who would have engaged in the slave trade, at least the part involving kidnapping innocent people in Africa and stealing them to sell into North or South America, was doing great evil. One can only imagine a depraved beast of a human being engaging in such wicked trade, particularly if he regarding himself as a Christian.

Verses 20 and 21 modify existing customs on treatment of slaves and servants. There were various customs, laws, and traditions in the Ancient Near East regarding slaves and servants but it was a fact, God’s modifying the institution’s customs and standardizing the treatment of slaves, notwithstanding.

Do not make the mistake of Christians who unified state and church into a monster of oppression into believing that God modifying a cultural practice means that He approves of it or ordains it. In addition, the Hebrews were being given not only their religious law but their civil law, as well. 

Christians aren’t given that structure. We are not 12-15^th century BC Hebrews. We’re not even justified by the Law but only by faith in Christ. We cannot hide behind the Law given to Moses or use it as an excuse for our own selfish wickedness. Some fundamentalists act like they would enjoy nothing better than bringing back stoning and slavery.