The Law Concerning Violence

Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death. If it was not premeditated, but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee. But if someone willfully attacks and kills another by treachery, you shall take the killer from my altar for execution. Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death. Whoever kidnaps a person, whether that person has been sold or is still held in possession, shall be put to death. Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death. When individuals quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist so that the injured party, though not dead, is confined to bed, but recovers and walks around outside with the help of a staff, then the assailant shall be free of liability, except to pay for the loss of time, and to arrange for full recovery. When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment; for the slave is the owner’s property. When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine. If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. When a slaveowner strikes the eye of a male or female slave, destroying it, the owner shall let the slave go, a free person, to compensate for the eye. If the owner knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, the slave shall be let go, a free person, to compensate for the tooth. (Exodus 21:12-27, NRSV)

This is a passage that gets quoted a lot, with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But do we use that passage correctly?

Do we understand what it means?

It means and this whole passage attests to, you can seek no more from a person than what they took from you. If a person cut off your hand, you can not kill them, or take their arm. The most you can do according to this passage is take their hand. The same hand. If they took you non-dominant hand, you can’t take their dominant hand, you have to take their non-dominant hand.

It is for justice. And not divine retribution. You can not take more than was taken from you.

It is not about getting even in the way we think of that today, but a way to make sure that people pay for what they have done by doing to them what they did to someone else.

Justice.

Are you just in your dealings in the world?

The Law Concerning Slaves

These are the ordinances that you shall set before them: When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s and he shall go out alone. But if the slave declares, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person,” then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost; and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life. When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out without debt, without payment of money. (Exodus 21:1-11, NRSV)

You shall keep the Hebrew slave for 6 years, but in the seventh year, he shall be set free! No long-term slavery. Unless he chooses to after he is released.

Then the master takes him to the post and drives an awl through his ear and gives him a ring and he becomes the master’s slave for life. The male slave likes his place there so the master puts a ring on it!

That is what I tell people happened to me, that I loved serving God, that God pierced my ears!

Has God pierced your ears?

Commandments to Honor Others

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:12-16, NRSV)

This is the first 5 commandments or words from the second tablet which is all about the horizontal relationship. We think these words or commandments are about how we are to act towards God, or how we are to live for God. Really these commandments or words are about others. They really are not about your life. They are not to be followed so that you can have your best life here and now. These guidelines or words are given so that you can help others have their best life now.

Do not steal, do not kill, do not bear false witness, do not commit adultery, all of these are things that hurt others. By doing them you are tearing another down. We are to lift others up out of the muck they are living in.

When Jesus said, Love your neighbor as yourself” He was quoting Leviticus 19:18. This is not a new concept and was instilled in God’s people from the start. Yet it is the hardest thing for us to do because it is about focusing on making someone else’s life better, not our own.

How can you be a spreader of God’s love and work to make the world a better place?

Sabbatical Year and Sabbath

For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild animals may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard. Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your homeborn slave and the resident alien may be refreshed. Be attentive to all that I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips. (Exodus 23:10-13, NRSV)

6 days God worked in creation and on the 7th day God rested. So it is with us, we work for 6 days and on the 7th we should rest.

And we are also told to let our fields rest every 7th year. Work them for 6 but the 7th let them go and allow those who are in need to feed off of their crops.

Do we do this?

Do we rest?

Do we rest the land?

The Law Concerning the Altar

The Lord said to Moses: Thus you shall say to the Israelites: “You have seen for yourselves that I spoke with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. You need make for me only an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones; for if you use a chisel upon it you profane it. You shall not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.” (Exodus 20:22-26, NRSV)

Do not make silver or gold idols, or use those things to build an altar. Build an altar out of the earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings.

So what is your altar made from?

The People Feared God

When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.” Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:18-21, NRSV)

Do not be afraid for God has come to test you and to make you fear Him and will not sin.

So if you are afraid to come close to God, you are not alone. But God is not a God that should be feared for what He will do to us, God should be held in awe, or reverence, which is a holy fear.

This is the fear parents want their children to have of them. Not that you want your children to be afraid of you, so they know they can come and talk to you about issues and what is happening, but you want them to respect you and wonder what might happen if they do not follow the rules. That is what God wants from us. Awe and respect.

The People Consecrated

So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. The people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.” When Moses had told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses: “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.” So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said to the people, “Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman.” On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently. As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to the Lord to look; otherwise many of them will perish. Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves or the Lord will break out against them.” Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not permitted to come up to Mount Sinai; for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy.’“ The Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you; but do not let either the priests or the people break through to come up to the Lord; otherwise he will break out against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them. (Exodus 19:7-25, NRSV)

Some of these readings are hard to understand. Like here we have the Lord saying to Moses to go and get Aaron and bring him up the mountain with you, but if you let anyone else come up the mountain the Lord will break out against them. The Lord speaks of Himself in the third person…

We would not do this, as it is not proper for us to do that. But the Lord can because the Lord can do whatever the Lord wants!

But here in this reading the Lord also consecrates His people. He washes them and makes them His.

All who are a part of the Israelites is a part of His people.

We too can be a part of that people. When God washes us and consecrates us for His work, then we are His people.

How do you do the work of the Lord?

Jethro’s Advice

The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do. You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace.” So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any minor case they decided themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went off to his own country. (Exodus 18:13-27, NRSV)

You don’t have to do it alone!

God created us to work with each other and use our gifts for the betterment of all society.

So understand the advice of Jethro and find some people who can help you. They are all around you, if you will only look you will find them.

So know you don’t have to go this alone!

Moses Reunites with His Wife

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro took her back, along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been an alien in a foreign land”), and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God, bringing Moses’ sons and wife to him. He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, with your wife and her two sons.” Moses went out to meet his father-in-law; he bowed down and kissed him; each asked after the other’s welfare, and they went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had beset them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them from the Egyptians. Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from the Egyptians, when they dealt arrogantly with them.” And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. (Exodus 18:1-12, NRSV)

After God led the people out of Egypt using Moses and Aaron, then the celebration can begin!

We need to tell everyone all the things that God has done for us and for all of God’s people. God will bring us the victory and will give us mercy and grace as we go.

Our job is to tell the world what God has done and celebrate those moments as we go.

Commandments to Honor God

you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. (Exodus 20:3-11, NRSV)

How many commandments did you count here?

And is it really about keeping rules?

Don’t do this, don’t do that…

Don’t, don’t don’t.

I heard another pastor recently talk about the 10 Commandments as Godly Play does, as a better way.

You see life is happening all around us and sometimes the crap of life gets in the way and we want a better way to live and to do things.

And here, after God brought the people out of slavery, God gives them a better way. A better way to think about how they should live.

These 3 commandments in our Lutheran understanding are all about the vertical relationship with God.

And what they really say is focus on God and let nothing get in the way of that. God needs to be first and we need to love God. And if money gets in the way that is bad.

If possessions get in the way that is bad.

If religion gets in the way that is bad.

if anything gets in the way of loving God, then that is bad.

So do you love God above all else? and put God first?