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Exo 22:16-31 Laws Regarding Social Justice

[Study Aired September 5, 2022]

Exo 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.
Exo 22:17  If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
Exo 22:18  Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Exo 22:19  Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
Exo 22:20  He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
Exo 22:21  Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Exo 22:22  Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
Exo 22:23  If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
Exo 22:24  And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
Exo 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. 
Exo 22:26  If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
Exo 22:27  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.
Exo 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. 
Exo 22:29  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. 
Exo 22:30  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. 
Exo 22:31  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.

The second part of Exodus chapter 22 focuses on social justice laws of Moses. It deals with various issues, such as lying with a maid who is not betrothed to a man, not entertaining the practice of witches, lying with a beast, treatment of a stranger, widow or the fatherless child, not charging interest when lending to the Lord’s people and setting apart the first fruit, first born ox or sheep and the firstborn son for the Lord.  These supposed carnal laws have deep spiritual truth about how we are to live as His elect with our brothers and sisters. As our eyes are being enlightened to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, we come to appreciate the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Exo 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. 

When Israel left Egypt, they were like a maid who was yet to be betrothed to the Lord Jesus. However, they were seduced and therefore ended up engaging in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab.

Num 25:1  And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 
Num 25:2  And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
Num 25:3  And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

Our story is not any different from that of the Israelites. As destined to be maids of Christ, we were all seduced first by the enemy, the devil, before we were rescued by the Lord to become the true maids of Christ. The man who seduced a maid in verse 16 is the devil. As a result, we all come under the rule of the devil. In other words, we become his wife and therefore, one flesh with the devil. Being one flesh means that we share in his carnality.

1Co 6:15  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!
1Co 6:16  Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 
1Co 6:17  But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

Mat 19:5  and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

Joh 8:44  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The statement in verse 16 that “he shall surely endow her” means the man must pay the bride-price for her. This is another way of saying that the devil has sold his whole life to make the maid his wife (one flesh) by deception. That is why we are admonished to be sober-minded and watchful.

1Pe 5:8  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Exo 22:17  If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

The father here is the Lord Jesus Christ who utterly refuses to give His bride, the church of the firstborn, to the devil. As indicated in verse 17, the devil is therefore required to pay the bride-price. However, the devil has nothing to offer. Therefore, the Lord paid with His life to set us free from the devil. In the fullness of time, the Lord will also refuse to give our brothers and sisters in Babylon to the devil as his wife as the Lord’s sacrificial offering (bride-price) will also be available to all humanity including the devil himself.

Isa 59:15  Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. 
Isa 59:16  And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Exo 22:18  Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

A witch is a sorceress. In the Bible, rebellion against the Lord is the same as practicing witchcraft. In this sense, we were all sorceresses or witches who are not permitted to live, as we have rebelled against the Lord at a certain period of our lives. As a result, we are required to die. This death here is the death of our old man through the Lord’s judgement.

1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Exo 22:19  Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. 

As we are aware, we are all beasts. Lying with a beast here means being of one flesh with the beast which implies being under the control of the beast and therefore having the same nature of a beast. The beast here is the same as the old man or the flesh. If we are to inherit the kingdom of the Lord, then our old man or the flesh within us that dominates us must be put to death. It is through this death that we become overcomers of the flesh and therefore destined to avoid the second death which is the lake of fire.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

1Co 6:15  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 
1Co 6:16  Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Exo 22:20  He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

Sacrificing to any god is the sin of idolatry, which is the same as being stubborn as shown below:

1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

What this means is that we have all been idolators at a certain point of our walk where, in our stubbornness, we refused to submit to Christ. We are therefore to be utterly destroyed. This means that our old man or the flesh must be completely put to death in our lives. The judgment we are facing in this life is designed by the Lord to put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Exo 22:21  Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The question is, “What does a stranger signify spiritually?” The following verses show us who is a stranger in this world:

Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 
Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Heb 11:11  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Heb 11:12  Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

The verses above show us that the elect are strangers in this world. We are therefore to make sure that we do not oppress or vex the members of the church of the firstborn as we are all strangers in this world. To oppress means to keep under subjection and hardship, especially the unjust exercise of authority. As the body of Christ, none of us must exercise unjust authority over one another since we are all strangers in this world and children of God. The whole church system of this world is characterized by pastors keeping under subjection the people of God. This is what the Lord Jesus has to say about this:

Mat 20:25  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
Mat 20:26  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Mat 20:27  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Mat 20:28  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Paul, Peter and Solomon also said the following regarding this matter:

2Co 1:24  Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

1Pe 5:3  Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

Ecc 8:9  All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.

To vex means to make someone feel annoyed, frustrated or worried. When our message focuses on what we are required to do without bringing forth the enabling power of the Lord to assist us to do what He wants, we become frustrated or worried since we see that we do not have the capacity to do what is required. Our time in Babylon was characterized by frustration because we thought that everything depended on us. One of the verses which has been abused is that of working out our salvation with fear and trembling in Philippians 2:12. We were always mentioning this without knowing that it is the Lord who does the work in the next verse.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Exo 22:22  Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
Exo 22:23  If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

A widow or a fatherless child are the same in the spiritual sense. On a positive note, a widow represents the church of the elect who in this world is a desolate woman who trusts in God and continues in prayer and supplication night and day. This woman is contrasted with another woman who has glorified herself and lives deliciously and says that she is no widow and shall not see sorrow.

1Ti 5:5  Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

This assertion of who a widow is, is affirmed by the fact that Jerusalem which is above is also described as having no husband and desolate. The adjective “desolate” is also what is used to describe the widow in 1 Timothy 5:5.

Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

1Ti 5:5  Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

If we do anything to hurt a member of the body of Christ, we are hurting the church or the widow and invariably hurting our Lord Jesus Christ.

Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Verse 23 says that the Lord hears us when we come to Him in our affliction. That is another way of saying that when we are being tempted and we cry to the Lord, He will always provide a way out such that we can bear the temptation.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Exo 22:24  And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. 

All of us in our time have afflicted or hurt the Lord’s elect when we resisted those who brought the truth of the word of the Lord to us. In doing so, we were actually hurting Christ and as a result, He has come into our lives to deal with us in His wrath with the fire from His mouth which is the sword or words.

Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

As stated in verse 24, the result of dealing with our old man or flesh is that our wives become widows and our children become fatherless. As indicated earlier, widows represent the church of the elect when viewed from a positive perspective. Thus, our wives becoming widows means that through the Lord’s chastening, we become part of the church of the firstborn. Children are the result of the union between a husband and a wife. They represent our works whether under Christ or the devil. In time past, we were basically the wives of the devil as we were one flesh with him. Our dead works were the result of our union with the devil. The Lord making our children fatherless is another way of saying that our dead works under the devil are destroyed. These dead works are the works of the flesh which are as follows:

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 
Gal 5:21  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.
Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Exo 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. 

The heavenly resources that the Lord has given to us, which refer to His words, are such that we must also be prepared to minister His words to our brothers and sisters. However, we are not to charge interest (usury) on what we give to our brothers and sisters. In other words, we are not to benefit financially from the heavenly resources of His words that we make available to others. This is because, freely we have received and freely must we give.

Deu 15:6  For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.

Deu 28:12  The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

Deu 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:
Deu 23:20  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.

Mat 10:8  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 

Exo 22:26  If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 
Exo 22:27  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.

We are to avoid exposing the nakedness of our brothers and sisters as much as possible when they are not able to use the heavenly resources of His words committed to them. The statement “thou shall deliver it unto him by that the sun goes down” in verse 26 is another way of saying that love covers over the multitude of sins. This pleases the Lord who hears their cry.

1Pe 4:8  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Exo 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. 

We are not to revile God and curse the ruler of our people. The reason that we are not to curse the ruler of our people is that they are ordained by the Lord and therefore, criticizing them means criticizing God.

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 
Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 
Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 
Rom 13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

Exo 22:29  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.

We, His elect, are the first of humanity to be presented to God as ripe fruits. Being ripe means that the bride of Christ is ready to be offered as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Although verse 29 is cast in the sense that it depends on us not to delay our presentation before God, we know that our timings are all ordained by the Lord. This means that the Lord is the one who will not delay in offering us as a living sacrifice to God. The liquor from the ripe fruits represents the product from the winepress of the grapes. The liquor therefore speaks of our judgement which produces righteousness. The elect are also the firstborn sons who are dedicated to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Rom 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

Rev 14:17  Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 
Rev 14:19  So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

Exo 22:30  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.

As we have indicated several times, we are the beast represented in verse 30 as the oxen and sheep. A more understandable version of Exodus 22:30 is as follows:

Exo 22:30  You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me. 

Our mother in verse 30 is Jerusalem which is and is in bondage with her children. The seven days refer to the complete period of our lives when we were in Babylonian captivity. The number eight signifies a new beginning, and therefore being presented to God on the eighth day means that after our exit from Babylon, we begin our new walk with Christ as we are dedicated to the Lord. That is the period that our light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon us.

Isa 60:1  Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
Isa 60:2  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 
Isa 60:3  And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 
Isa 60:4  Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. 
Isa 60:5  Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

Exo 22:31  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.

As the elect of the Lord, we are to be offered to God as holy, without any blemish. What is required of us to maintain our holiness is to avoid eating flesh torn by beasts in the field. We know that the field represents the world, and so the beasts here signify those who are not given to know Christ.  The flesh that is torn by the beasts of the field symbolizes the false doctrines and the wisdom and traditions of men which are perpetrated by our brothers and sisters in Babylon. These false doctrines serve as food for the dogs which signify the assembly of the wicked or evil workers as shown in the following verses:

Psa 22:16  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Php 3:2  Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. 

May the Lord deliver us from false doctrines in our heavens and guide us to know more of His truth which is able to save us!! Amen!!