Daily Thoughts from Exodus: Taking Law into Our Own Hands

“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. 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. But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

“Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.

“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.

“Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

“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, 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.

“When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.

“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. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

“When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.

“When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. (Exodus 21:12-32, ESV)

How shall the law concerning murder be implemented and interpreted for the community? God gives several cases that will help judges determine how to impose justice in this regard:

– Committing murder should result in the death penalty. However, a distinction is made between premeditated murder and what we call manslaughter. In the case of manslaughter (God let the deceased fall into the hands of the killer) immediate imposition of the death penalty shall wait until there can be a hearing in a city designated by God to where the killer may flee and await justice. If it is obvious that it was premeditated, death may be instant.

– Killing one’s parents, even cursing them, results in the death penalty. Patricide and matricide is most despicable.

– Kidnapping is a capital offense. This should have shown Israel that not just actual murder but murderous intent was conceived of in this commandment, as Jesus clearly explains in his sermon on the mount (Matthew 5).

– If murderous intent does not result in the death of the victim, the death penalty is not imposed but the one who injured must take care of and compensate the one injured.

– Killing one’s slave is also a capital offense. Severe injury to one’s slave purchases their freedom from the violent master.

– If a woman is struck during a conflict and delivers prematurely, yet the baby lives, there shall be compensation made as the judges determine, but if the baby dies then the life of the one who caused it is forfeited. The baby in the womb bears the same rights as the one born.

– If an animal kills a human the animal must be put to death, but if the owner of the animal knows that his animal is prone to such dangerous actions and does nothing to prevent this happening, the owner’s life is forfeit (he is guilty of murder). If in mercy the owner is allowed to redeem his life with money he will pay whatever the judge imposes on him. In the case of a slave being killed, the owner of the animal must pay the price of the slave to compensate his or her owner and the animal must be killed.

We see, then, the justification for jurisprudence, the consideration of motives and guilt, as means of making sure that the law is applied correctly and justice is done in a society. God cares about this very much.

Daily Thoughts from Exodus: Sixth Command

The sixth commandment is not properly translated, “You shall not kill.” Killing is not prohibited in every form by God, but only certain forms of killing are prohibited. For example, God commanded Israel in this same Law of Moses to kill the Canaanites in battle and take possession of their land (Deuteronomy 7:17-24).

Capital punishment is also commanded in the Mosaic Law for specific crimes. In Exodus 21 specific applications of the Ten Commandments are made and in verses 12-14 the death penalty is required for anyone who kills someone with premeditation. In verses 15-17 striking one’s parent and kidnapping are said to be capital offenses. These and other instances of invoking capital punishment are in accord with God’s decree to Noah in Genesis 9:5,6 and are obviously not considered “murder,” which is prohibited in this sixth command.

Murder refers primarily to premeditated and even unpremeditated slaying other than in war and civil justice (the Hebrew word is used of both premeditated and unpremeditated killing, Numbers 35:16-31 and Deuteronomy 4:42). The slaying of another, intentionally or unintentionally, other than for capital crimes or war, is prohibited by this commandment. Life is God’s gift and man is made in God’s image, a very precious gift indeed (Genesis 9:5,6). To steal that gift from another is a violation of God’s moral will. Every society on earth views it as such.

But this commandment should be viewed from a positive, more inclusive perspective. To state this command positively would be to say something like, “Preserve life.” It has application not only to personally refraining from violence but also to being one who doesn’t just stand by when life is in danger, but who gets involved to preserve the lives of others.

How might we be more that bystanders when an alcoholic neighbor gets in the car and drives away intoxicated? How do we help the pregnant girl who sees abortion as her only option? What application does this commandment have to preventing a depressed individual from committing suicide? How about when we know a parent is abusing children? Or when in war there are obvious atrocities, what do we do? All these situations and others are opportunities for us to live out the depth of this commandment and not remain bystanders.

There are difficult ethical questions bound up in this command. Is self-defense that results in the death of another considered murder? Is pulling the plug on a terminal patient wrong? Is careless driving that results in death worthy of severe punishment? Is there a justifiable war these days? Different parts of the body of Christ have given different answers to all these questions. Each must seek to honor this law of God.

Lessons From the Old Testament: Total Depravity

Cover of Heart of Darkness (Hesperus Classics)

The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. (Genesis 6:5)

Where does the Old Testament stand on the condition of human beings?  Are we basically good people?  Are we basically bad?  Without doubt there are tales in the Old Testament of some pretty amazing people who live extraordinary lives.  Some, like Joseph, son of Jacob, seem to demonstrate flawless attitudes and behavior.  But by and large, even our greatest examples of faith and obedience have feet of clay and betray a remarkable penchant for foolishness and wickedness (Just think of Abraham twice telling everyone his wife is his sister and nearly losing her and the promised seed to a pagan).

Incredibly, though, this part of the narrative of history we have in Genesis 6 describes a time when every single human being except Noah and his family could be described as all evil all the time.  How is this possible?  Interestingly, after the flood that destroys this wicked generation, God puts in place some new restraints against such wickedness.  He, in essence, invests human government with some sharp teeth.  He requires men who murder to lose their lives also.  He imposes the death penalty (Genesis 9).  He separates the nations into factions of foreign speakers who cannot understand each other and thus cannot unite to create sinful chaos.

Apparently, without restraints on our behavior human beings will become as evil as possible without exception (except for the grace of God).  As in Joseph Conrad‘s Lord Jim and  Heart of Darkness (or the movie based on this same concept, Apocalypse Now), the further we get away from civilizing forces the more corrupt we become.  God’s testimony to this reality is stated in Jeremiah:

The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
(Jeremiah 17:9)

Apparently God uses the pressure of punishment, conscience and other human beings acting in righteousness to keep our wicked hearts from being evil continually.  What we think is our superior wisdom and righteousness is really God’s constraint of the image of God in us being put to evil use.  If we put the gifts God gave us  (our reason, emotions and will) to good use with His power, we can do amazing good ( like Joseph did).  But without God’s influence in our lives we will always put His gifts to selfish and abominable use.

David says,

Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
(Psalm 51:5)

His individually destructive sins of adultery and murder had their origin at conception.  He was born a sinner and remained a sinner throughout his life, but especially yielded to sin when he felt he was in a place of no restraints.  He was the king of the land.  Who would hold him to account?  Of course, God did through Nathan the prophet.  God brought restraint to David’s life in the form of a righteous man, Nathan, and the workings of David’s own conscience:

When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
(Psalm 32:3,4)

We are totally depraved people, according to the Old Testament.  That doesn’t mean that we are all completely sold out to sin and incapable of doing anything good.  What it means is that apart from God’s restraining influence in our lives we are all completely sold out to sin and incapable of doing anything good.  Any good we do is a testimony to God’s restraining work in our lives.

Related Articles

• How did people in the Old Testament get saved? (askthepastors.wordpress.com)
• God, His Truth, and Our Lies (pastoralcounselingsupportarticles.wordpress.com)

The Ten Commandments — You Shall Not Murder

The sixth commandment is not properly translated, “You shall not kill.”  Killing is not prohibited in every form by God, but only certain forms of killing are prohibited.  For example, God commanded Israel in this same Law of Moses to kill the Canaanites in battle and take possession of their land (Deuteronomy 7:17-24). 

Capital punishment is also commanded in the Mosaic Law for specific crimes.  In Exodus 21 specific applications of the Ten Commandments are made and in verses 12-14 the death penalty is required for anyone who kills someone with premeditation.  In verses 15-17 striking one’s parent and kidnapping are said to be capital offenses.  These and other instances of invoking capital punishment are in accord with God’s decree to Noah in Genesis 9:5,6 and are obviously not considered “murder,” which is prohibited in this sixth command.

Murder refers primarily to premeditated and even unpremeditated slaying other than in war (the Hebrew word is used of both, Numbers 35:16-31 and Deuteronomy 4:42).  The slaying of another, intentionally or unintentionally, other than for capital crimes or war, is prohibited by this commandment.  Life is God’s gift and man is made in God’s image, a very precious gift indeed (Genesis 9:5,6).  To steal that gift from another is a violation of God’s moral will.  Every society on earth views it as such.

But this commandment should be viewed from a positive, more inclusive perspective.  To state this command positively would be to say something like, “Preserve life.”  It has application not only to personally refraining from violence but also to being one who doesn’t just stand by when life is in danger, but who gets involved to preserve the lives of others.

How might we be more that bystanders when an alcoholic neighbor gets in the car and drives away intoxicated?  How do we help the pregnant girl who sees abortion as her only option?  What application does this commandment have to preventing a depressed individual from committing suicide?  How about when we know a parent is abusing children?  Or when in war there are obvious atrocities, what do we do?  All these situations and others are opportunities for us to live out the depth of this commandment and not remain bystanders.

There are difficult ethical questions bound up in this command.  Is self-defense that results in the death of another considered murder?  Is pulling the plug on a terminal patient wrong?  Is careless driving that results in death worthy of severe punishment?  Is there a justifiable war these days?  Different parts of the body of Christ have given different answers to all these questions.  Each must seek to honor this law of God.