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Awesome Hands – part 72

“The judgments” part C

January 14th, 2015

In our previous two studies, we covered the start of what the Lord called His judgments, which started at Exodus 21:1.

In today’s study, we are going to start with chapter 22 and during the next few studies we will cover thievery, seduction, bestiality, witchcraft, worshipping of false gods and oppression as it is spoken about in this same chapter.

What we will see, Lord willing, is that the Lord has laid out for us in the great commandment and the one alike to it, the guidelines we must follow in order to achieve these things.

Neighbor and brother

We know that we cannot possibly Love God if we do not love our brethren and this is just as true if we are unable to love our neighbor how it is prescribed to Love according to scripture.

1Jn 4:19  We love him, because he first loved us.

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Mar 12:29  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Here is what Strong’s Concordance defines a neighbor as being.

G4139

plēsion

play-see’-on

Neuter of a derivative of πέλας pelas (near); (adverb) close by; as noun, a neighbor, that is, fellow (as man, countryman, Christian or friend): – near, neighbour.

Thayer’s defines the same word as:

G4139

plēsion

Thayer Definition:

1) a neighbour

1a) a friend

1b) any other person, and where two are concerned, the other (thy fellow man, thy neighbour), according to the Jews, any member of the Hebrew nation and commonwealth

1c) according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet

Part of Speech: adverb

A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: neuter of a derivative of pelas (near)

Citing in TDNT: 6:311, 872

There is one verse which translates the same Greek word as “near”:

Joh 4:1  When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

Joh 4:2  (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

Joh 4:3  He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

Joh 4:4  And he must needs go through Samaria.

Joh 4:5  Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near (G4139) to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Joh 4:6  Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

Joh 4:7  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

Joh 4:8  (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

Joh 4:9  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

How our brother is connected to us just the same as our neighbor is connected to us, but the way in which a “brother” is connected to us is that they are much more near to us than a neighbor is. A brother is of our own household.

Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

How to Love your neighbor according to God’s OT judgments

I laid out this premise so that we could start off Exodus 22 with the mindset of who our neighbor is for which we are to love.

Often times, things are going to happen to us in the world which will cause us to become angry, bitter, rude, short tempered, etc., but it is how we REACT to those things which are really the SPIRITUAL admonitions we can gain from what we will read in Exodus 22 and the judgments given to us there.

Exo 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.

Stealing and ox or sheep point us to the severity of a theft. Stealing an Ox is not an easy thing to do nor is it easy to hide.

There may not be someone who readily would buy an Ox right away and it isn’t something that could be done easily like picking up a smaller animal. Likewise, sheep are loud and they do not readily follow someone else’s voice.

So the intent in this sort of theft involves some thinking and premeditation. Still, those are not as serious as the next example we read about someone committing burglary.

Exo 22:2  If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

Exo 22:3  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.

Exo 22:4  If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.

If a thief breaks in at night, this could show all sorts of premeditation and also include the concept of wanting to do more than just steal. The night is a perfect time to cover your activities and affords the thief the ability to possibly commit other crimes during the night like murder.

Most likely, the homeowners are going to be home possibly with children, so the crime of breaking and entering at night affords the home owner to NOT be guilty of murder if a thief dies at night while in the act.

However, that same judgment does not apply to a thief that commits this crime during the day. “If the sun be upon him” tells us a lot about the intent of the thief.

A lot of times, burglary during the day is an act of convenience and chance of the home owner NOT being home. If the owner is home, the owner would be guilty of murder because we just read, “there shall be blood shed for him”. In Mosaic law, to be guilty of blood was to also be guilty of murder, which we covered in a previous study.

So, you can see that the punishment met the type of crime i.e. the JUDGMENT met the type of crime and judged accordingly.

Likewise, the spiritual lesson for us is that there are going to be a range of severity of sins committed against us. We should be willing to deal with that sin by forgiving as the Lord makes it possible in our hearts and minds, but we also know that the Lord tells us that vengeance is His.

Depending on the severity of the situation we are dealing with, the Lord will cause the offender to REAP their SOWING.

A minute ago I quoted out of Galatians, and here are a few more verses about doing good to all men ESPECIALLY those of the household of Faith.

How are we to DO GOOD to all men?

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Often times, my mind leads me to thinking about reaping and sowing in the context of it being a NEGATIVE aspect of reaping, but really the focus of the verses we just read is rather to think about and focus on the POSITIVE aspect of SOWING TO THE SPIRIT so that we reap LIFE.

When you consider this, what we are being told about à DOING GOOD ßto all men is telling us to REAP to the Spirit by how we JUDGE the situation in front of us.

This directly plays into the judgments we are covering in Exodus. There are ranges of crime being given to us to show us that there are a range of JUDGMENTS that meet the crime so to speak.

However, what we should always be focused on when judging a matter is whether we are reaping to the flesh by benefiting our old man and his carnal mind i.e. “VENGENCE is MINE!,” or are we reaping to the Spirit so that we can REAP LIFE in Jesus Christ.

Mike has said many times that there are two men being talked about in all of scripture and that is very true. What I will join to that is that with these two men come two MINDS. We want to REAP to the mindset that is Godly Judgment and not one of self-righteousness.

Rest assured that each situation we find ourselves in during our lives is going to afford us the opportunity to exercise both of these minds.

Do what is expedient.

Exo 22:5  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.

Exo 22:6  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.

Exo 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.

Exo 22:8  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.

These examples show us what being expedient is all about. If we love our neighbors as ourselves, then we will want to make right what was wronged. On the flip side of that coin, we will allow room for the neighbor who has trespassed against us, to make restitution to us.

For us today as Christians, we will be seeking to save someone from death (wages of sin = death) by showing them the proper way to make restitution i.e we want to convert a sinner form the error of his way by providing Truth about the matter through word and deed/example

Jas 5:15  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

If it isn’t apparent that these Exodus judgment examples DO apply to us, look who is the example of who it is who is LIKE US.

Jas 5:17  Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

Jas 5:18  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

If you convert a SINNER from the error of his way, then you are saving him from DEATH. Notice, we aren’t strictly speaking about someone who is MERELY our brethren of the household of Faith. If we were, James wouldn’t be pointing out a different group of people earlier in this chapter.

Jas 5:1  Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Jas 5:4  Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

Jas 5:5  Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

Jas 5:6  Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

Who is it  that are labourers who have reaped down the fields of the rich men? Their HIRE, their wage is to be given what their fair share is.

In other words, we have been wronged by the REAPING of another’s field. They have SOWN something that is not rightfully reaped by them but BY US.

In plain English, they have been caused to sin against us in some way which they are not immediately reaping, but the ones who have been wronged are reaping that wrongness.

… and this all happens because the Lord has caused it to be such …. “and He doth not resist you”.

Notice it is nourishment for their hearts to live in this pleasurable mindset and existence, but the Lord calls this a day of slaughter.

What then are we told to think about this? How are we to react to this when we experience the exercising of both good and evil we must ALL endure by our actions and thoughts and the actions and thoughts of others?

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

Jas 5:8  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

We are to be content with what the Lord is doing so that His fruit can come forth from the earth! This is where our heart should be and that is speaking directly of our mindset.

This should give us more insight to what we see the Lord working in His judgments in Exodus 22.

Exo 22:9  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.

Exo 22:10  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:

Exo 22:11  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.

In our walks today, we know that we are not to swear, foreswear or make an oath. Our answer should be yay, yay or nay, nay.

This biblical principle can be seen in that both of the parties involved would have made an oath of the Lord between them and THAT would have been good enough to settle the matter.

For us, that is exactly where our hearts should be. We know that the Lord and His promises towards US is that everyone reaps what they sow and it is NOT our place to decide to take matters in our own hands.

Look at how James 5 concludes what we read earlier about establishing your heart.

Jas 5:9  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

Jas 5:10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

Jas 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Jas 5:12  But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

So then we must be willing to live out what we say we are, Christians, like Christ.

Why then do we look at what happens to us in our everyday lives and look at it as being from the Lord and for our benefit instead of wanting to CONDEMN and not forgive others?

Isn’t so that we ourselves, who owe a great debt, can also be FORIGIVEN by the Lord for our actions and deeds?

If we do not fully LIVE in our conversations / walks the Way, Truth and Life we have been shown, then we fall into condemnation i.e. hypocrisy.

G5272

hupokrisis

Total KJV Occurrences: 7

hypocrisy, 4

Mat_23:28, Mar_12:15, Luk_12:1, 1Ti_4:2

condemnation, 1

Jam_5:12

dissimulation, 1

Gal_2:12-13 (2)

hypocrisies, 1

1Pe_2:1

I am going to end this study with some examples of what we don’t want to be guilty of as the Lord wills.

These are the reasons most are not “converted from their ways to save a sinner from the error of his way.” If they do not see it in the person who is supposed to be like Jesus Christ, then they are not going to BELIEVE it to be possible and their Faith will be made weak and be overthrown.

Mat 23:28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Mar 12:14  And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

Mar 12:15  Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

Luk 12:1  In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

1Ti 4:2  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

Gal 2:13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

What all these verses tell us is that we should be LIVING out the doctrine of Christ and setting the example of our Faith to others.

As with the “judgments” being given to Israel in Exodus 22, we must show proper Godly judgment in all situations realizing why it is we are in the situation to begin with.

In the next study, we are going to continue to learn from the remaining judgments in this chapter how it is we are to do this in a practical way.