Exodus 23

Study Guide 12: Exodus 20-24 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Overview Law is one of the most important biblical concepts. But its nature and purpose must be clearly grasped. Law reveals the character and the standards of God, and marks the way in which human beings can express love for God and for each other. But Law also condemns, for no human being except Jesus Christ has ever kept its requirements. The Law reveals something of the righteousness of God. But Law has never been able to produce righteousness in human beings. In Exodus 20:1-26 God’ s moral Law is crystallized into Ten great Commandments. Nine of these are expressed as life principles in the New Testament. The Ten are followed by several pages of “ case law” — illustrations of the principles as they are to be applied in specific cases (chaps. 21-23). We will survey the Ten and glance at the case law. And then give our attention to understanding the unique nature of Law and the role it played in Old Testament times, as well as the role it plays today. KILL. The Hebrew word in this commandment is more properly “ murder.” Old Testament Law makes distinctions between justifiable homicides and unjustifiable murder. RIGHTEOUSNESS. Hebrew terms emphasize conforming to a norm. A person is “ righteous” in a limited sense when his or her personal and interpersonal behavior is in harmony with an established moral/ethical standard.

Commentary For many people “ Law” seems terribly restricting. And standards designed to apply to everyone seem cold and impersonal. So some years ago the idea emerged that rules were unnecessary: all an ethical person needed to do was, in any situation, simply determine the “ loving thing to do.” It’ s an attractive notion. But just how does a person tell what is “ loving” ? How can we, fallible as we are, look ahead and determine the results of our possible choices, and select the course which will lead to our own and others’ good? Still, these folks do have a point. The Bible itself says that love sums up the whole Law (Romans 13:8-10). Love is at the very foundation of Law. Love is at the root of its restrictions, just as love is at the root of the rules a good parent imposes on a toddler too young to know what is best for him. The difference is that rather than you and me looking ahead to determine the loving thing to do, God has looked ahead for us! And in the Law He has expressed principles of morality that lead us to what is good. For instance, Deuteronomy 15:4 promises that if Israel will only obey the Law “ there will be no poor among you.” The Law God gave Israel was to produce a just society and eliminate poverty! Yes, God does know “ the loving thing to do.” And we can never separate His Law from His love.

Ten Commandments Exodus 20:1-26 contains the 10 basic moral laws God revealed to Moses for Israel. The laws on the first tablet of the Law focus on human relationship with God. The laws on the second tablet focus on our relationships with each other. We can glance through them, and see the purpose in each.

Relationship with GodRelationship with others

1. No gods before Me5. Honor father and mother
2. No idols6. Do not murder
3. Do not take My name in vain7. Do not commit adultery
4. Do not steal
5. Keep Sabbath holy9. Do not give false testimony
6. Do not covetEach of these deserves comment, for they lay the moral foundation for a holy community and help us grasp the importance of personal relationships in biblical thought. 1.No other gods (Exodus 20:3). God has exclusive claim to our allegiance. No rival is to exist for the believer. 2.No idols (Exodus 20:4-6). We are to respond to the Word and Spirit of an invisible God (cf. Deuteronomy 5:8-10; Isaiah 40:18-20). 3.Do not take name in vain (Exodus 20:7). Yahweh means the One Who Is Ever Present. To take His “ name in vain” means to consider the name empty or meaningless: to deny or doubt His presence and power. 4.Keep Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8-11). The day of rest honors God (cf. Exodus 16:23) and is to benefit God’ s Old Testament people (Exodus 16:29). To keep the Sabbath involved remembering God. This is the only commandment not repeated in the New Testament. 5.Honor father and mother(Exodus 20:12). Respect of parents leads to knowing God. 6.Do not murder (Exodus 20:13). The right of every person to life is protected. Any act which might rob another of life is included in the prohibition. 7.Do not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). The value of faithfulness in personal commitments is stressed. Sex is not an “ animal function,” but an expression of deep, personal commitment between one man and one woman. 8.Do not steal (Exodus 20:15). Respect for persons extends to their property. We do not “ use” people for gain. 9.Do not give false testimony (Exodus 20:16). An individual’ s reputation is to be guarded with his life and property. 10.Do not covet (Exodus 20:17). We are to care for persons, not property. God’ s value system is to be our own. Someone has suggested that we might visualize the Ten Commandments in terms of protection: protection of health in man’ s relationship with God, and the protection of health in man’ s relationship with other men. How do the Ten Commandments protect relationships with God? First, we’ re taught that He alone is to be recognized as God, and that He is to be worshiped in ways that are appropriate to His nature as Spirit. What’ s more, we are to forever affirm the meaningfulness of Yahweh’ s name as the One Who Is Always Present, never taking it as an empty symbol. Finally, we are to build into our lives a weekly reminder of God: a day of rest on which God’ s works of Creation, rest, and redemption can be recalled. “ Protection” is also a theme of the commands dealing with interpersonal relationships. The parents’ role, the sanctity of life, the institution of marriage, the right of property, and to expect fair treatment from others, all provide protection for man in society. The final commandment, however, goes beyond all comparable law codes, and implies protection of the individual from himself! The prohibition against coveting strikes at the root of what motivates us to violate the rights of others. It warns us to look within, and deal immediately with stirring motives which might lead us to sin. As for external standards, then, the Ten Commandments excellently perform the function for which they were designed. Looking to this Law, an Israelite could come to know more about his God, and see in the words of the Law the divine heart of love. For God has expressed in the Law His concern for the rights and the integrity of each individual. At the same time an Israelite could receive immediate feedback on himself. He could know, from the first stirrings within to their expression in action, any thought or behavior which was wrong. For Israel, the fear of the Lord and the commands of the Lord truly were vital as a beginning to obedience.

Case Law: Exodus 21-23 In our culture we’ re used to dealing with abstract ideas and concepts. “ Love,” for instance, is a term we like. Yet for all our familiarity with the abstract, we are likely to misunderstand the real meaning of such terms. If God had only said, “ Love,” we might have been hard put to know what to do! The Bible is practical. And so in Scripture God is careful to take abstract ideas and cast them in ordinary situations. Essentially, God provides in the Law multiple illustrations. This is the best way to understand the “ case law” we find in Exodus 21-23, which follows immediately after the Ten Commandments are stated in Exodus 20:1-26. The great “ thou shalt nots” thundered from Mount Sinai provide the framework for a moral lifestyle in Israel. They set boundaries, showing clear limits. But now in the multiplied cases that follow, God gives insight into the freedom provided within those limitations. What freedom? Why, the freedom this people was to have to love. The freedom to grow. The freedom to live in harmony with God and with each other. This is what we all want when we ask for “ freedom.” We want room to expand. We want freedom to become all we can be, and to achieve it without harming others or being harmed by them. This freedom, true freedom, is exactly what God provided for Israel within the framework of the limits established by the divine Law. A positive lifestyle. The Ten Commandments provided a framework within which a positive lifestyle could be developed. Case law describes and illustrates that lifestyle, so no one can miss the practical implications of the Ten. What is the positive lifestyle like? Here are some examples. *Exodus 21:2. A Hebrew forced to sell himself as a slave shall be freed in six years. *Exodus 21:18-19. A man injured in a quarrel is to be paid for the loss of his time and for required medical treatment. *Exodus 21:33-34. A man leaving an open pit shall pay for another’ s animal that falls into it. *Exodus 22:1-4. A thief will repay what he has stolen — and repay at least double! *Exodus 22:16. A man seducing a virgin will marry her if the family of the girl is willing. *Exodus 22:21. A Jew shall not wrong an alien: the Law’ s protection extended to strangers. *Exodus 22:26-27. A man taking another’ s garment as a pledge for a loan shall let him have it nights; he may need to sleep in it for warmth. *Exodus 23:3. In court, judges are not to be partial to the poor, but to consider only justice. These are just a few examples in the Old Testament describing the freedom God intended to bring to His people through the Law. It was freedom too, because under this Law each person was protected from wrongs others might commit against him, and then was charged with a responsibility for others’ welfare. The Old Testament Law was given to Israel by a loving God. Its very provisions constantly reveal God’ s love in action. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Have your group members read through either Exodus 21-23 or Leviticus 19:1-37, both of which contain examples of case law. Remember, these cases illustrate how the Law principles expressed in the 10 are to be applied. From that reading, each should select two or three items and note (a) how they express love, and (b) how they apply 1 of the basic 10 to a specific situation. Have your group members form teams of five or six persons, to share what each has found, and to develop a group list of at least 10 items. Cultural relevance. In reading the Old Testament, some have missed the spirit of love that infuses the Law. They have instead noted the fact that “ slavery” was still permitted to God’ s people. They have been upset that the murderer is to be executed rather than “ corrected.” They have felt it unfair that women do not seem to stand here as “ equals.” How, they ask, can such a primitive moral code as these passages reveal be considered a divine revelation — and how can the laws ever be understood as loving? There are several answers to this kind of question; answers we need to consider carefully. (1) Whose standards do we accept? Capital punishment is a good issue to illustrate this problem. It’ s popular to decry capital punishment as “ cruel and unusual” treatment, and something which brings the state down to the level of the murderer. “ Forgiveness,” we hear, “ is a Christian virtue that supersedes the archaic vengeance motive of the Old Testament.” It’ s appropriate, before we accept such arguments, to ask, “ Who has the best and most accurate understanding of what is moral? Modern man — or God?” I certainly would hesitate to affirm that my own moral judgment is more sensitive than His. If we do not take seriously the notion that God might have moral insight beyond our own, it then seems appropriate to ask why capital punishment was instituted, and is stressed in the Law. Is it really from some “ primitive vengeance motive” ? Without belaboring the point, it seems that far more than vengeance is involved. The prohibition against murder and the command to execute the murderer are first stated in Genesis 9:6. They are associated with the affirmation that man is made in God’ s image. Capital punishment is ordained not for vengeance, but as necessary affirmation of the value and worth of human life. Where life is cheap in people’ s eyes, justice is impossible. There is no adequate response to murder but the death penalty, for there is no other way to affirm the ultimate value of each human individual. (2) What world do we live in? This question raises the issue of culture. The Jews of the Old Testament lived in their own culture and time — not in ours. In that culture slavery was a way of life. So Old Testament Law guided the Israelites to live God’ s way in the world that existed then — not in the world of today. There is no doubt that freedom for all men under God’ s rule is the divine ideal. But that ideal did not exist in the ancient world. The divine Law thus showed Israel how to express God’ s love in the real world. Strikingly, the Law demonstrates unusual compassion for slaves — and for women — foreign to the laws of other contemporary cultures. In both these areas, disenfranchised people by the culture were lifted up and given rights that reflect more of their worth and value as human beings. We might note a modern parallel. You and I would probably agree that Communism is “ less Christian” than our free-enterprise system. Does that mean, if we were living under Communism, that we believers should commit ourselves to the overthrow of that way of life? Or does it mean that we should commit ourselves to live as Christians within the system? I think the answer, in Romans 13:1-14, is clear. We all live within our cultures. In our own here and now, each of us is to live a life marked out by love. A life that reflects the humane and good principles expressed in the Ten Commandments of our God.

The Mosaic System We’ ve seen some of the uniqueness of the Law given at Sinai. That Law was spoken to a nation in its infancy; to a people whose every response to God was childish and harmful. What the Law did for Israel was, first of all, to reveal something of the moral character of God. Second, it laid out clearly what God expected from Israel. The Jewish people now had a standard against which to measure their thoughts and their actions. But Israel had even more! In the Law Israel had been given a framework for freedom and for blessing. The way of life that Law describes would bring the growth and the joy which human beings long for. Law was to guide Israel into joy, by defining clearly those responses to God and to others that would make for a fulfilling life. A conditional covenant. Yet, for all its benefits, the Law was a distinctly different kind of covenant than that made earlier with Abraham. And different from the later covenants, the one made with David and the New Covenant announced by Jeremiah. The Covenant of Law announced what God would do — conditioned on the behavior of Israel. At the first God had said, “ If you will obey My voice and keep My covenant” (Exodus 19:5). The blessings the Law offered to Israel would depend on the people obeying that Law. Israel had accepted the condition. The generation that stood before Mount Sinai heard, and responded: “ We will do every thing the Lord has said” (Exodus 19:8). This was repeated after the 10 had been communicated, and case-law descriptions of their meaning provided. Again the people said, “ Everything the Lord has said we will do” (Exodus 24:3). A mutually binding pact had been made. A pact in which, for the first time, God’ s commitment to act in the life of a particular generation of Abraham’ s descendants was to be conditioned by the people’ s response to Him. A basis for discipline. For God, this willing entry of His people into the Law Covenant provided a basis on which He could exercise necessary discipline. Before the Law wrong actions did not receive punishment, for punishment would have no corrective value. But when Israel knew what was right, and then rejected God’ s guidance, punishment might teach the importance of return to His ways. Hebrews tells us God’ s chastisement is always purposive, always geared to stimulate growth in holiness (Hebrews 12:10). LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Tell your group the story of eight-year-old Matthew, who kept running outside to play in his stocking feet. His mom and dad repeatedly told him not to go outside without shoes, but it did no good. Finally Dad told Matt that he would be fined $1, to be taken from his savings, every time he ran out to play without his shoes. From that time on, Matt never “ forgot” again! Ask: “ How do we explain the change in Matt’ s behavior? Why wasn’ t just knowing what was right enough to help him change? Why did the threat of a $1 fine make such a difference?” Then look back into Israel’ s history. Law provided a basis by which God could justly discipline His people. Compare how God reacted to the same acts before and after the Law was given. Compare Exodus 32:25-35 and Numbers 11:1-21, Numbers 11:31-33 with Exodus 16:1-12; Numbers 15:32-36 with Exodus 16:23-30. What do we learn about Law from these comparisons? About God? About Israel? An existential covenant. There is one more important thing to realize about the Mosaic or Law Covenant. Its focus is entirely on the present experience of a living generation of Israelites. In this too it stands in contrast with the other biblical covenants. The promises given to Abraham, to David, and in the New Covenant look ahead to the distant future for their fulfillment. Thus these tell what God will do at history’ s end, when His purposes will be finally fulfilled. But the Law Covenant said to living Jews, “ If you obey Me and keep My Law, then you will experience blessings, now.” Covenant renewal. The fact that the Law’ s purpose was to guide the present experience of living generations, and that its blessings and punishments were to be experienced by them, is reflected in the way new generations of Jews were invited to “ enter” that covenant relationship. One of Moses’ last acts as a leader was to call a new generation before the Lord and, setting out the blessings and the curses associated with Law, to invite them to “ enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day” (Deuteronomy 29:12). Still later, Joshua called yet another generation to him and demanded, “ Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). And the people responded. They committed themselves to serve the Lord and obey His voice (Joshua 24:24). That generation too entered the covenant. Even to this day individual Jews agree to accept and abide by the relationship with God defined by the Mosaic Covenant. The infant is circumcised on the eighth day, indicating that his parents choose to bring him under the covenant with Abraham, and to affirm his identity as a Jew. But then, at 13, each Jewish boy makes a personal decision. At his bar mitzvah (Aramaic for “ son of the commandment” ) he repeats ancient words, accepts the obligations the Law spells out, and by his own choice commits himself to live under the rule of God’ s Law.

What the Law Is . . . Not If we miss the unique nature of the Mosaic Law we are all too likely to fall into the same errors which plagued later generations of Jews, and have warped the lives of many Christians. If we miss the uniqueness of the Law, we’ re likely to misunderstand the nature of our redemption and the role of faith, both in salvation and in our subsequent Christian life. In the Law, Israel had a sharp and clear portrait of the moral character of her God. In the Law, men could see love and righteousness blend, and could understand God’ s commitment to do right by all persons. The Law’ s revelation of morality also served as a standard by which men could measure themselves. God had announced, “ Be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). The Law’ s careful delineation of holy behavior let people match their deeds to the standards which God presented as right and good. But when God’ s people did measure themselves against the Law, a striking message was heard! The men and women who had experienced redemption from Egypt discovered that they were not holy. Law demonstrated their sin. The Law, even when first given, did not produce righteousness. Instead it revealed human unrighteousness. Through the Law men had the opportunity to discover their true state; to become conscious of the reality of their sin and need. This role of the Law continues today. It is stressed often in the New Testament. “ We know,” says Paul, “ that whatever the Law says, it says to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law; rather, through the Law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:19-20). Law, then, was never intended to produce righteousness. It was instead designed to help us see our need of forgiveness, and lead us to search out a righteousness that comes through faith. But this message has often been missed. People come to the Law, but fail to see in it either God’ s heart — or their own. They miss the heartbeat of love that the Law reveals, and they treat it as a mere rule book. They treat the divine revelation as though it were a set of do’ s and don’ ts through which a person might gain God’ s favor, and earn His approval. Isaiah cried out against such a distortion of Law’ s message, and against reducing righteousness to rule-keeping. In the Law, Isaiah reminded Israel, God had spoken and had said: “ This is the resting place, let the weary rest” ; and “ This is the place of repose” — but they would not listen. So then, the Word of the Lord to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there — so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured. Isaiah 28:12-23Men ripped the commandment from its context, and tried to build from God’ s revelation of righteousness a system of regulations by which they might feel themselves to be righteous. Missing the heart of the Law, and missing its function, they fell backward. They were broken, snared, and taken. In the Letter to Titus, Paul writes of God, “ He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy” (Titus 3:5). The apostle here adds nothing to our knowledge of God. Salvation has always been a gift, flowing from God’ s heart of mercy. Salvation was never based on “ righteous things we had done.” Even father Abraham was acceptable only because his faith was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:1-25). As Paul argued so strongly, and as every Jew knew, “ it was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith” (v. 13). No one who knew the history of Israel and the Old Testament revelation should have misunderstood this basic point. Righteousness comes through faith — not by Law. And yet many did misunderstand. Generation after generation of the Jewish people tried to reduce the Law to a rule book, and righteousness to do’ s and don’ ts. By their own efforts they struggled to develop (or to pretend) a righteousness which they simply did not possess. They refused to let the Law condemn them, that forgiveness might make them alive. And this mistake was fatal. “ All who rely on observing the Law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘ Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’ Clearly no one is justified before God by the Law, because ‘ the righteous will live by faith’” (Galatians 3:10-11). How clear it all seems. If you and I want to be righteous, we must look away from ourselves to God. God’ s perfect standards have shown us how imperfect and how at fault we are. If we admit our sin, we are free to surrender to God and to throw ourselves on His mercy. If we are to become righteous, it must be through the work of God Himself in our lives, as we abandon ourselves and learn to live by faith.

Old Testament Law Summary THREE KEY CONTRASTS Other CovenantsLaw Covenant

1. God only Maker1. Each generation/individuals enter it with Him
2. Future in view2. Present experience in view
3. Unconditional promise3. Conditional, with promises and warnings Law’ s Functions
4. To reveal God’ s character
5. To reveal individuals to themselves in contrast to the pure standards of God
6. To guide the believer’ s faith-response to God by specifying His expectations
7. To provide a basis on which God can discipline His people Teaching Guide Prepare If you have questions about the relationship between Law, faith, grace, and righteousness, see the units on Romans and Galatians before teaching this lesson.

Explore

1. Discuss: “ In what ways do people today try to make Christianity into a ‘ legal’ system? Have you experienced any effects of this effort?”
2. Or write Leviticus 19:9-10 on the chalkboard: “ When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien.” How does this show love? How does it provide for freedom? How does it show sensitivity to the poor and to the wealthy as well?

Expand

1. In a minilecture discuss the specific role and the uniqueness of the Mosaic Law. Summarize the Ten Commandments, but also show the special and limited function Law was to have for Israel. You may want to use the chart above as a visual.
2. To look at the Law as a basis for God’ s discipline of Israel, do the study suggested in “ link-to-life” above.
3. Or involve your whole group in direct Bible study, discovering how biblical case law illustrates basic principles in the Ten Commandments. Use the approach suggested in “ link-to-life” above.

Apply

1. The Law did not provide a way of salvation. It did not make a person righteous. Instead, a person who was made righteous by faith would express his love for God by keeping the Law. How did the true believer view the Law? Read aloud Psalms 19:7-10 or Psalms 119:33-48. How does the attitude of David reflect the attitude of the Christian today to God’ s Word?
2. Read and meditate together on Christ’ s words in John 14:23-24 : “ If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. . . . He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching.”