The Exodus – Part 34
Laws for God’s People – Part 2
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
Online Audio Files | HOF Church Facebook | Truth Digest Facebook
This document is a Sermon Outline. You may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this and other Full Sermon Audios. For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on Facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church.
SERMON TIMELINE
· The Book of Genesis
· The Book of Exodus
· The First Three Miracles
· The Ten Plagues
o Passover & Feast of Unleavened Bread
§ Instructions for Passover Feast
§ Instructions for Feast of Unleavened Bread
§ The Exodus Begins
o Passover Restrictions
o Consecration of Hebrew Firstborn Sons
o Cross the Red Sea
o The Complaining Begins (continues)
o Manna & Quail
o Water from the Rock
o Jethro visits Moses
o Moses and Mount Sinai
o The 10 Commands
o Idols and Altars
o Laws for God’s People - Part 1
o Laws for God’s People – Part 2
INTRODUCTION
Last week we talked about the three sets of laws given to the Hebrews in the book of Exodus.
We talked about WHY the Lord gave them as well. Moses could not judge and govern over two million people. So, he appointed judges over them, and gave the God’s laws.
People should govern themselves.
Knowing how the Lord expects you to live should be all that is needed, however, people are sinful.
God gave us the 10 commands to reveal our sin and a need for a savior.
He gave us moral laws so we could live at peace with our fellow man.
He gave us ceremonial laws so we would know how to worship Him.
Today we examine the Actual Laws the Lord Gave Moses for His People
We have already talked about the 10 Commands (GOD’S LAW)
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 20 – God’s Law – The 10 Commands
Exodus 21:2-23:9 – The Moral Law – How to live at peace with our neighbor
Exodus 23:10-23:19 – The Ceremonial Law – How to worship God
TODAY'S MESSAGE
I. WHY THESE LAWS
a. God’s Law
i. The 10 Commands, 10 Commandments, Law of God, Moses Law, Law of Moses, etc…
ii. All of these refer to the 10 Commands the Lord gave Moses in Exodus 20
iii. The purpose of them was to reveal our sin and need for a savior
1. God’s laws cannot be “lived by,” “followed,” “obeyed.”
iv. How do we know? Scripture tells us.
b. DAVID BROKE ALL TEN COMMANDS, AND SO HAVE WE
i. “No other gods…”—David allowed his lust to be the god to which he bowed in obedience.
ii. “Not take the Name…”—David took the Holy Name of God in vain as he said he was God’s man and lived like the devil.
iii. “Not make a graven image…”—David engraved the image of naked Bathsheba as she bathed so deeply on his lustful soul, that he forgot even the God he loved for that moment of sin.
iv. “Remember the Sabbath…”—David didn’t keep the Sabbath or any other day holy for God once he allowed lust to rule.
v. “Honor thy father and mother…”—David dishonored them and all his family as he sank into such wicked and premeditated sin.
vi. “Not murder…”—David sent the murder request to Joab, so it was not his sword but the arrows of others that David used–but it was his desire that Uriah be killed.
vii. “Not commit adultery…”—that was the clearest of all David’s lawbreaking.
viii. “Not steal…”—David stole the wife of his neighbor and trusted friend Uriah as Nathan clearly pointed out in the story of the lamb.
ix. “Not lie…”—David’s false response was a lie when the messenger came with the ghastly news of Uriah’s death; and even more, every day David lived in sin was a lie that he deceptively covered.
x. “Not covet…”—David broke this law as he so coveted his neighbor’s wife that he would steal her and kill her husband to lie in sexual sin with her.
xi. Yet, in 1 Samuel 13:14 “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
1. So, we read that King Saul was replaced by David because he did not keep what the Lord commanded him to do.”
a. This is not a reference to the 10 Commands, which we all break. Rather, the Lord gave Saul specific instructions, and Saul did not obey, making Him disobedient.
b. When Saul and his army were under attack and afraid, instead of waiting for Samuel to arrive and make a burnt offering to God, Saul took matters into his own hands and made the offering himself.
i. He had received an express command to wait seven days, and this had been confirmed by appointed signs.
ii. He knew the stake of his kingdom depended on him waiting.
iii. He chose impatience and distrust in God. He probably didn’t mean to purposely go against God’s command but did so because of the pressure he was under. To continue waiting was tedious and uncertain. At any moment, his retreat to the mountains could be cut off. He chose what looked like the prudent thing to do: take matters into his own hands and make the burnt offering himself.
iv. When called out for this disobedience, he made excuses rather than taking responsibility for his actions. He could have confessed and repented.
xii. So, if David broke all 10 commands, how was he a man after God’s own heart?
1. First of all, the 10 commands are God’s Law, we cannot keep them. They are to reveal our sin and need for a savior! God knew eventually they would be broken because that’s what we do.
a. David was a man after God’s own heart because of his FAITH (1 Samuel 17:47 Goliath)
b. His TRUST in God (1 Samuel 24:12-13)
c. His HUMILITY (1 Samuel 18:23)
d. His INTEGRITY for admitting when he was wrong and taking responsibility for his error (1 Samuel 22:9-19)
e. His FORGIVENESS (2 Samuel 12:2; Psalm 51)
f. His WORSHIP of God (Psalm 32)
xiii. Faith and Trust in God, being humble, confessing your wrongs and accepting responsibility for them, forgiving others and proper worship of God will make you someone after God’s own heart.
II. WHAT WERE THE MORAL LAWS
a. Hebrew servants & Personal Injuries
i. These laws covered the fair treatment and protection of servants
1. i.e. on the seventh year the servant may leave
a. Servants are not slaves
b. There ARE slaves, but they are not servants
2. if he brought a wife with him, she is free to leave as well
ii. If he says “I love my master and do not want to go free” then they take him before the judges and pierce his ear to show he is a servant for life.
1. Who would want to be a servant? Let alone for life?
a. Remember we talked about families and clans
b. Some had more than others
c. Patriarchs (family heads) had land, animals, riches
i. Some did not, for one reason or another
ii. Perhaps a man was kicked out of his family
iii. Perhaps he married a woman from a poor family
iv. Perhaps he lost everything through poor management
d. If you had nothing you could ask to serve a clan or family with much
e. Believe me, when you have no where to sleep, nothing to eat, no prospects, especially in the wilderness, being a servant and earning your keep is not a bad gig.
f. If you work for a company today, you are a servant. You are in the employ of another
i. Some people tell you, “I hate my job”
ii. Why do you work there? I have bills
2. If you loved being part of that clan, after serving six years, if you wanted you could be a servant for life.
iii. If a man sells his daughter to be a servant and the master doesn’t want to marry her, he must let her go.
1. Why would you sell your daughter? You cannot afford to take care of her, and no one will marry her…
a. The reason she cannot get a husband may very well be because they are poor
2. If the master won’t marry her, he has no right to sell her
3. If she marries his son, she is considered a full daughter with all the rights
iv. Personal injuries were covered as well.
1. Anyone who strike a fatal blow to a person is to be put to death (we call this murder)
a. However, if it was not done intentionally, they must leave the camp (Manslaughter)
b. But if they scheme and kill someone deliberately, that person is to be taken to my altar and put to death (first degree murder)
2. Anyone who attacks their parents, put to death
3. Anyone who kidnaps someone, put to death (whether the victim has been sold or still in their possession)
4. If you injure someone, whether with stone or fist, and the person becomes crippled, you must pay the injured party for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.
a. And many more, covering treatment of slaves (not servants)
b. punishment for hitting a pregnant woman and the child in her dies
c. If you hit a slave and it hurts their eye, you must set them free
d. If you hit a slave and knock out a tooth, you must set them free
e. Why did God allow slaves? We will read in a moment. Remember, there weren’t jails or prisons in these days…there had to be a way of confining and controlling those who were law breakers and a danger to others.
5. If a bull gores someone to death, it is to be killed and not eaten, but the owner is not responsible
a. However, if the bull had a habit of goring and the owner was warned but didn’t keep it penned, both the bull and the man are to be put to death
6. If a bull kills someone else bull, sell the living one and split the money
a. However, if the owner was warned about his bull, and did not keep it penned, he must pay for the dead bull
b. Protection of Property
i. If you steal an ox, must pay five times its worth
ii. If you steal a sheep, must pay four times its worth
iii. If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed
1. but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.
iv. Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft (welcome to debtors’ prison, you are now a slave)
v. Arson: If a fire breaks out and spreads into thorn bushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.
vi. “If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. 8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property.
vii. And others
c. Social Responsibility
i. If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.
ii. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins. (this is a financial penalty against the man fornicator, as well as a penalty against the female because she is not allowed to marry her boyfriend.)
iii. Do not allow a sorceress to live (sorry witches and servants of Satan, you have no place among the children of God)
iv. Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death (no bestiality, unlike Islam which allows this…they do NOT worship the God of Abraham)
v. Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed (because God’s people worship God)
vi. Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt
vii. Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
viii. If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest
d. Justice and Mercy
i. Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness
ii. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
iii. If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it
iv. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent
v. Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt
CONCLUSION
We need to remember; the 10 Commands reveal sinfulness and the need for a savior.
We, however, can still be after God’s own heart by living obediently to all that Christ commands. We can be like David…the part God loved!
Living with Faith and Trust in God, being humble, confessing your wrongs and accepting responsibility for them, forgiving others and proper worship of God will make you someone after God’s own heart.
God calls the Redeemed to do the Will of the Redeemer
NEXT WEEK
We will look at the Sabbath Laws and Instructions for the Three Annual Festivals
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