Here there are various laws relating to justice, and some instructions on festivals. The laws on justice make very interesting reading and are just as relevant for society today as they were then.
A primary principle of justice is one of truth. Telling lies in court is an abomination to God, and doing so only helps evil people. We should also beware of crowds. Remember that on Palm Sunday the crowds were acclaiming Jesus, a few days later they were calling for Him to be crucified.
The poor are to be treated in the same way as everyone else. Testimony is not to be slanted in their favour (v3), nor is justice to be twisted against the poor (v6).
v4 and 5 are very interesting, and are a prime example of Jesus' teaching on the Sermon on the Mount being firmly found in the Old Testament as well. Jesus tells us to love our enemies, these verses are an example of how that would work out in practice.
While the death penalty was part of the law, it was only to be used as part of justice. Putting an innocent person to death is reprehensible. Again there is the instruction to treat foreigners properly.
Then there are instructions on the day of rest. Now I am by no means in favour of a legalistic interpretation of the Sabbath, but am whole heartedly in favour of the principle of rest. If we overwork, we wear ourselves out, we also wear others out as well! In fact you are a menace to other people. Nor am I an econut, but we must not over exploit the land. We need times of rest in order to be refreshed. This applies to societies as well. Some countries in Europe, such as Holland or Germany, still very much close down on a Sunday and this can make things very relaxing.
The three festivals celebrated the exodus, the first harvest and the last harvest. They were to always remember the exodus, just as we celebrate the Lord's Supper to continually remind ourselves of the cross and resurrection. Like Abel, they are to give the first fruits of the harvest. We should do likewise. We should make it a priority to give to God, not to see what is left over.
A primary principle of justice is one of truth. Telling lies in court is an abomination to God, and doing so only helps evil people. We should also beware of crowds. Remember that on Palm Sunday the crowds were acclaiming Jesus, a few days later they were calling for Him to be crucified.
The poor are to be treated in the same way as everyone else. Testimony is not to be slanted in their favour (v3), nor is justice to be twisted against the poor (v6).
v4 and 5 are very interesting, and are a prime example of Jesus' teaching on the Sermon on the Mount being firmly found in the Old Testament as well. Jesus tells us to love our enemies, these verses are an example of how that would work out in practice.
While the death penalty was part of the law, it was only to be used as part of justice. Putting an innocent person to death is reprehensible. Again there is the instruction to treat foreigners properly.
Then there are instructions on the day of rest. Now I am by no means in favour of a legalistic interpretation of the Sabbath, but am whole heartedly in favour of the principle of rest. If we overwork, we wear ourselves out, we also wear others out as well! In fact you are a menace to other people. Nor am I an econut, but we must not over exploit the land. We need times of rest in order to be refreshed. This applies to societies as well. Some countries in Europe, such as Holland or Germany, still very much close down on a Sunday and this can make things very relaxing.
The three festivals celebrated the exodus, the first harvest and the last harvest. They were to always remember the exodus, just as we celebrate the Lord's Supper to continually remind ourselves of the cross and resurrection. Like Abel, they are to give the first fruits of the harvest. We should do likewise. We should make it a priority to give to God, not to see what is left over.
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