Let's really win (in Him, following close..) not just say we will.
“A thief who is caught must pay in full for everything he stole. If he cannot pay, he must be sold as a slave to pay for his theft. 4 If someone steals an ox or a donkey or a sheep and it is found in the thief’s possession, then the thief must pay double the value of the stolen animal.
5 “If an animal is grazing in a field or vineyard and the owner lets it stray into someone else’s field to graze, then the animal’s owner must pay compensation from the best of his own grain or grapes.
6 “If you are burning thornbushes and the fire gets out of control and spreads into another person’s field, destroying the sheaves or the uncut grain or the whole crop, the one who started the fire must pay for the lost crop.
7 “Suppose someone leaves money or goods with a neighbor for safekeeping, and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house. If the thief is caught, the compensation is double the value of what was stolen. 8 But if the thief is not caught, the neighbor must appear before God, who will determine if he stole the property.
9 “Suppose there is a dispute between two people who both claim to own a particular ox, donkey, sheep, article of clothing, or any lost property. Both parties must come before God, and the person whom God declares guilty must pay double compensation to the other.
10 “Now suppose someone leaves a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal with a neighbor for safekeeping, but it dies or is injured or is taken away, and no one sees what happened. 11 The neighbor must then take an oath in the presence of the Lord. If the Lord confirms that the neighbor did not steal the property, the owner must accept the verdict, and no payment will be required. 12 But if the animal was indeed stolen, the guilty person must pay compensation to the owner. 13 If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the remains of the carcass must be shown as evidence, and no compensation will be required.
14 “If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it is injured or dies when the owner is absent, the person who borrowed it must pay full compensation. 15 But if the owner was present, no compensation is required. And no compensation is required if the animal was rented, for this loss is covered by the rental fee."
- Property (Exodus 22:1–15)? Who hasn't owned some property? God is there for you.. and with all you have. The stuff I have is really here on loan from Him and I want to use it all..as the Lord guides.. to help people.
Yes, here's a good thought this society today needs to hear: God desires for us all to respect everyone and the personal property of all those around us (even in stores). Say no to yourself crook.. say NO TO any form of looting.. and this includes all you tax-hungry crooks in governmental postions too.
What's the main idea in this context? It is restitution where that is needed (vv. 3, 5, 6, 12). Sure, it is not near enough to admit a crime you commit and then show sorrow over it. Honest confession, faith, repentance (getting right with all injured starting with God), receiving forgiveness, and then restitution is needed.
Yes, it's imperative for each of us to also maintain a readiness to make things right with all relationships. To go and completely address those who have been hurt (Prov. 6:30–31; Luke 19:8). King David in the OT knew that verse 1 and could apply it to others (2 Sam. 12:1–6), but he did not apply Exodus 20:13–14 to himself.
(22:21-27).. “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. 25 “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate."
- Persons (16–27). These multiple laws in these verses reveal the white-hot holiness and purity of God (His righteous Character) along with His strong desire that we live as pure and holy people with Him (v. 31).
Like that pet bird, my pastor Greg Laurie found in his yard.. when obeyed.. these laws protected God's people from all kinds of bad stuff that could happen. Like what? Like from violence, from extortion, from oppression, and from affliction. God really feels for and has compassion on the widows, the orphans, the poor workers (James 5:1–4), and on the strangers among His people. Do we feel and show such?
- Principles (28–31), they matter gobs. Fear nothing but God, believer. Fear no man. I mean serve the Lord wholeheartedly with that healthy (instead of unhealthy) fear inside. Yes, that literally reveres, obeys and respects Him all the way home. Live tight with Jesus going the distance yet wisely.. cautiously.. so as not to hurt any (via sinning) and thus bring down God's discipline to you his beloved child. With a healthy fear of sorts? Yes. The Israelites when they heard God's audible voice feared with the wrong type of fear so Moses had to quickly address this.
- Choose to fear (whole book) God enough without any shortage ever, and put Him first in everything. Prayerfullly crack open His Book, the Bible. Inquire of Christ as Lord first, pause to hear his voice and directives, His warnings etc and obey him in all that you do. Yes, be a doer of the word and not merely a hearer of it -- enjoy him close, His spiritual people close, and his blessings too.
Jesus summarized it all in Matthew 6:33. If we each truly love God with all our hearts, then we will have no desire to hurt others and will pray accordingly. But if God is not first in our individual lives and we put ourselves up on the throne so to speak, then we each who do that will start to walk in the flesh while exploiting other people to get what we want. You are either enjoying a going forward spiritually kind of day, or a going backward spiritually kind of day. Daily sow to the Spirit (not to both the Spirit and to your fleshly nature inside) and then consistently (prayerfully) walk in the Spirit. Diligently edify yourself first in the Bible, in prayer, in church fellowship, in worship and in witnessing (by life, attitude, words and deeds).
God’s civil law shows us a clear picture of a kingdom that reflects God’s righteous character. Have you ever read a law and wondered, “what in the world were lawmakers even thinking?”
- Arizona: you can't have a donkey sleeping in your bathtub after 7 p.m
- Kansas: illegal to serve ice cream on cherry pie
- California: it's against the law to eat an orange while taking a bath
- Alabama: it's illegal to drive while blindfolded
- Arkansas: it's illegal to sound your horn at any place where cold drinks or sandwiches are served after 9 p.m.
- Delaware: it's against the law for a pawnbroker to accept an artificial limb or wheelchair as payment
- Georgia: it's illegal to consume fried chicken by any other means than with your hands
- Louisiana: it's illegal for a woman to drive a car without her husband waving a flag in front of it beforehand
- Maine: it's illegal to bite your landlord
- Kansas: it's illegal to throw knives at men wearing striped suits
- Georgia: it's illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp
2 “You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. 3 And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.
4 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. 5 If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.
6 “In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.
7 “Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.
8 “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.
9 “You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt."
- Consideration (Exodus 23:1–9). We are to properly evaluate judging righteously instead of self-righteously. Treating people fairly, kindly, and justly would seem to be sort of an easy thing to do right? Jesus said my yoke is easy. Okay, do we allow Him to lead as Lord over all?
But the heart is desperately wicked who can trust it. The sinful human heart can lead us astray with falsehoods and rumors (2 Cor. 13:1), by false witnesses, by crowds and huge masses heading in one wrong direction, and by money too if we are not careful. The fact that a person is rich or poor, a friend or a foe, must not blind us to the truth of God's word. Too many are deceived and even self-deceived but Integrity must not be for sale.
(v.10-11 esv) “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard."
- Conservation (10–13). The Sabbath was God’s special gift to His people Israel to mark this nation as His holy chosen people (Exod. 31:13–17). It was also His gift to mankind and to beasts that men used for work.. to provide them with the needed rest. The Sabbatical Year showed His concern for the land and for the poor. It is unfortunate that people today have forgotten these lessons and are destroying creation by their exploitation of resources. But this hyper-earth-focused world system is always pointing the finger of blame at individuals today when some of what we are seeing here is due to Adam and Eve's sin in the garden. We all now live in a sin-cursed world and we can still do our best with our responsibilities here to be considerate of others. No excuses.
- Celebration (14–19). God wants His people to all-out righteously celebrate and rejoice in His goodness. If any of our celebration here ignore the Lord, then guess what.. we like the children of Israel with that golden bovine party.. are guilty of idolatry. (See 1 Tim. 6:17.)
- Consecration (20–33). The nation of Israel would be entering enemy into new territory and many would be tempted to spiritually compromise with the wicked locals of the land. They must not even speak about the false gods (v. 13) lest they would be led to bow down in worship, to serve those gods (v. 24) and to make covenant promises with them (v. 32). Do not get distracted by all the things that have distracted others, please don't over reason in the wrong direction talking yourself into spiritual compromise where you're disobeying God!
Ex 34:6–7 "6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” esv
Deuteronomy 4:5–8 "See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
Exodus 20:12 - “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21esv “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to 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 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Exodus 21:12–14 “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. 13 But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
Ex 21:18–21 “When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, 19 then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed. 20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
Ex 21:22–25 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
So what is the difference between the ceremonial law, the moral law, and the Civil law in the Old Testament?When is civil disobedience allowed for a Christian?
Do Christians have to obey the laws of the land? Don't if it means you sinning by you going against the word of God.
The Apostle Paul says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." Rom. 8:3-5
"READ THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND PAUSE AT EACH ONE, AND CONFESS THAT YOU HAVE BROKEN IT EITHER IN THOUGHT, OR WORD, OR DEED. REMEMBER THAT BY A GLANCE WE MAY COMMIT ADULTERY, BY A THOUGHT WE MAY BE GUILTY OF MURDER, BY A DESIRE WE MAY STEAL." ~"READ THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND PAUSE AT EACH ONE, AND CONFESS THAT YOU HAVE BROKEN IT EITHER IN THOUGHT, OR WORD, OR DEED. REMEMBER THAT BY A GLANCE WE MAY COMMIT ADULTERY, BY A THOUGHT WE MAY BE GUILTY OF MURDER, BY A DESIRE WE MAY STEAL." ~ CHARLES H. SPURGEON CHARLES H. SPURGEON
Man, 600 plus is a whole lot of laws. As a child I thought ten was a lot and now I'm grateful for all of them.
If you've been losing the battle, but come as you are to Jesus today (here and now is good).. or come back to Him just as you are.. but willing to be changed by him. He can do that -- does this every day of the week! God can empower each of us to obey His Word and laws for his glory. He can help us sow to His Spirit and not to the world or to our old fleshly nature inside. Christ was/is victorious and He delights to help us be that way in Him. knowGod.org
Determine this believer, not to become legalistic for we must wisely love all people.
..but spend some time memorizing, musing and meditating upon: God's Top 10 List and his other laws of love in the Bible.
Obedience to God and his will ain't some weird religious test. He's never been that way or mean-legalistic. It's simply his method of giving what's best for us. Yeah, he's thinking about others too.
"When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love Him." ~ Elisabeth Elliot
"Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will." ~ Jonathan Edwards
"Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty." ~ Eric Liddell
Paul said, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience." Romans 13:1-5
Of course there is a proper rebellion that is in full submission to the highest Authority. Yes, there's a place and time for that civil disobedience. Going against the wrong and destructive things that tyrants tell you to do is obedience to God. He is the higher authority with more. Far higher and more than some of the fools leading nations today have.
Let's keep a humble submissive attitude while praying for our leaders, yet without any spiritual compromise.
"But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.'" Acts 5:29 esv
What does the Bible say about obedience?
