Exodus 19
1 In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
(Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites made it to Sinai.)
2 And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.
(Israel would stay in the wilderness of Sinai until Numbers 10. There were over 57 chapters of scripture dedicated to what happened to Israel in the year they camped at Mount Sinai.)
3 And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
(Moses went up to God.)
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine:
(Notice, God used an if/then statement. It was up to the people to obey God's Voice and keep His Covenant in order for them to be God's own people. Here was the background on covenants:
In the Old Testament, the word for "covenant" was "beriyth" (#1285). The entry in Strong's Concordance stated: "from #1262 (in the sense of cutting [like #1254]); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh): - confederacy, covenant, league."
There were five parts to a covenant. For the complete explanation, look at Genesis 9:17. The first part was "passing through." In Exodus 14, we saw Israel passed through the Red Sea. The second part of a covenant was "agreement" where both parties must state they are in agreement with the terms of the covenant.)
6 and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him.
8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah.
(Covenant Part 2: The people agreed to the deal with God. The third part of a covenant was "sharing.")
9 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto Jehovah.
10 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments,
(Moses was told to sanctify the people.)
11 and be ready against the third day; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
13 no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, he shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
(Setting "bounds" meant to set a boundary for the people.)
14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments.
15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not near a woman.
16 And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled.
(It's no wonder the people trembled in response to this powerful event. This experience would have greatly affected their senses: thunders and lightnings - hearing and seeing; thick cloud - feeling and seeing; exceeding loud trumpet - hearing.)
17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
18 And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
(Remember, during Abram's Covenant with God in Genesis 15, a smoking furnace passed between bloody, furry flesh. This may have even affected their sense of smell, causing the impact of this event to be even greater.)
19 And when the voice of the trumpet waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
20 And Jehovah came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount: and Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
(Moses went up to God again. Was Aaron with Moses? Did Moses still need a spokesman?)
21 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish.
22 And let the priests also, that come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them.
(God told Moses to warn the people not to force their way through to see the Lord. Even the priests had to be sanctified before they could approach God.)
23 And Moses said unto Jehovah, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou didst charge us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
24 And Jehovah said unto him, Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto Jehovah, lest he break forth upon them.
(Aaron would join Moses the next time but no priests or other people would be allowed in God's presence.)
25 So Moses went down unto the people, and told them.
(Moses continued to obey God. Would the people?)
Exodus 20
(Exodus chapters 20-23 documented the third part of a covenant: God "sharing" the Law. The fourth part of a covenant was "death.")
(Verses 2-17: the Ten Commandments.)
(Verses 1-3: the First Commandment.)
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(Verses 4-6: the Second Commandment.)
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me,
6 and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
(Verse 7: the Third Commandment.)
7 Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
(Verses 8-11: the Fourth Commandment.)
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;
10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
(There were a lot of don't-s. The first three commandments focused on God and the individual. In verse 10, the word "gates" was the Hebrew word "sha `ar" (Strong's #8179) which came from the root word "sha `ar" (Strong's #8176) which meant "to think." Proverbs 23:7 used this word for "thinketh" in: "For as he thinketh within himself, so is he..." The point was that no one from the believer's house could do what the believer thought on the Sabbath. Everyone associated with the believer could only do what the Law told him to do on the Sabbath. There were no loopholes for the believer to be a first cause on the Sabbath. God, via the Law, was the first cause on the Sabbath.)
(Verse 12: the Fifth Commandment.)
12 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
(Verse 12 recorded the only commandment that was a principle and gave a value. This commandment focused on the individual and specific people: mother and father. It did not tell people how to honor their father and mother because every father and mother is honored in a way unique to them. A principle presents an objective (what) with a benefit (why), however, it does not state specifically how to achieve the objective. That was left to the uniqueness of the individual.)
(The rest of the commandments were laws. A law states a what/how NOT to do and threatens a penalty (why). You do not gain anything by following a law. A law treats everyone the same; it denies uniqueness. The purpose of laws are to prevent chaos and destructive behavior, which was what the righteous in the Book of Genesis constantly encountered.)
(Verse 13: the Sixth Commandment.)
13 Thou shalt not kill.
(Verse 14: the Seventh Commandment.)
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
(James 2:11 referenced the previous two verses.)
(Verse 15: the Eighth Commandment.)
15 Thou shalt not steal.
(Verse 16: the Ninth Commandment.)
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
(Verse 17: the Tenth Commandment.)
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.
(The last six commandments dealt with relationship and community.)
18 And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
(People asked Moses to speak with them instead of God. This was a critical moment in the history of Israel. God wanted to deal directly with the people. The people asked God to have Moses act as the "middleman." The people wanted to deal directly with Moses as their leader. Was this because they could not threaten and/or try to control God? Obviously, Israel was not mature enough to be led directly by God.)
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not.
(Moses told them that God had come to help them not sin. The Law ought to have been a benefit.)
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make other gods with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you.
(God wanted no images of Him. He is the real Being, not an inanimate creation of man. Man was made in the image of God. Worshipping an image of God is the same as worshipping man, which is idolatry.)
24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in every place where I record my name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee.
25 And if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
(God wanted an altar created without the use of a man-made tool.)
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.
(The rest of the chapters that covered the third part of a Covenant (sharing) focused on specific rules for community. This was a "forced" community. Notice, everyone (regardless of hierarchy within the community) was required to equal out Justice as soon as possible. The members of this community did not have the freedom to determine how or when to respond.)
Exodus 21
(This chapter focused on interactions between individuals.)
1 Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.
(Ordinances meant "judgment; art of deciding a case." These were the laws used to help the Israelites judge between themselves.)
(Verses 2-4: the general law concerning Hebrew servants (indentured servants).)
2 If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3 If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master give him a wife and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
(There were four basic ways that a Hebrew might have become a servant to another Hebrew:
1) in extreme poverty, they may sell their freedom (Leviticus 25:39)
2) a father might sell his children into servitude (Exodus 21:7)
3) in a case of bankruptcy, a man may have become a servant to the people he owed (2 Kings 4:1)
4) if a thief had nothing of which to pay restitution (Exodus 22:3-4)
5 But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6 then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
(People could choose to remain a bond-servant and a ceremony was conducted for such an event.)
7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.
8 If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
(The wife could not be sent out of community to a strange nation. The wife was in the greater community (Israel) if she was in community through marriage with an Israelite.)
9 And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
(If a man took another woman as wife, it must not negatively affect the first wife.)
11 And if he do not these three things unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money.
(If the man broke this Covenant because he did not do his part, she could end this Covenant, and she was free to go.)
12 He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death.
13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14 And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
(This verse banned slavery: selling people against their will.)
17 And he that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
(Cursing your parents resulted in your death.)
18 And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed;
19 if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
(This sounded like what we today call "short-term disability.")
20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall surely be punished.
21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
22 And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow; he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
(The classic statements like, "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" really support the fact that the Dispensation of the Law was meant to equal out Justice immediately (here on Earth). The principle is Justice, the same principle being used when Jesus expanded doctrine in His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus stated this in Matthew 5:39, "but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
People often think this is a contradiction between the Old and New Testaments. The misinterpretation here comes from not understanding the underlying principle. Both the Old Testament "eye for eye" statement and Jesus' "turn the other cheek" were founded in Justice. The Law was meant to equal it out now, Jesus intended to help people gain more for their Long Term benefit. Jesus did not say it was wrong to follow "eye for eye" but that it would be better Long Term, in relation to Justice, to "turn the other cheek.")
27 And if he smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
(How often were the servants being struck? Enough where God made laws concerning this. It seems that striking a servant was one way that Justice was immediately being equaled out.)
(Verses 28-32: laws that determined guilt when an animal killed a human.)
28 And if an ox gore a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
29 But if the ox was wont to gore in time past, and it hath been testified to its owner, and he hath not kept it in, but it hath killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
30 If there be laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
31 Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32 If the ox gore a man-servant or a maid-servant, there shall be given unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
(Verses 33-36: more laws concerning negligence and restitution.)
33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein,
34 the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money unto the owner thereof, and the dead beast shall be his.
35 And if one man's ox hurt another's, so that it dieth, then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it: and the dead also they shall divide.
36 Or if it be known that the ox was wont to gore in time past, and its owner hath not kept it in, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his own.
(Some very specific cases of Justice being equaled out.)
(This post covered the first three parts of God's Covenant with this reborn nation of Israel. The third part (sharing) consisted of God's introduction of the Ten Commandments and other laws.)
Day 24
Is there a particular verse that begins the 5th dispensation? It seems like these covenant verses may be part of it but I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteExodus 19:15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not near a woman.
ReplyDelete-What does this verse mean exactly? Come not near a woman?
I believe Israel being delivered from Egypt was the Final Judgment of the Fourth Covenant. There was a Salvation (saved from slavery) and a Reward (plunder) Judgment.
ReplyDeleteIf we look at the Fifth Covenant like a Biblical Marriage, then Israel got engaged when they were taken out of Egypt and the Covenant was officially cut (wedding night) during these Covenant verses. Remember, in the Bible, the bride and groom are referred to as husband/wife (married) after engagement and before the wedding night.
Likewise, I think the verses about not getting near a woman refer to intercourse because the nation of Israel was supposed to be focusing on their wedding night as a nation.
Why do you think this verse was only addressed towards males?
ReplyDeleteBecause males are the ones with the God-given sex drive. Males are also the ones who may have been less in tune with the Spirit during these events...
ReplyDeleteScott thanks for asking the questions I was going to :) And thank you JGL for the responses...a lot to think about. I agree so far though especially because God was a smoky cloud like a furnace on top the mountain and is similar to the smoking furnace that was went in between flesh in the convenant with Abram and Sarai. Could it be that this covenant to is God (smoking furnace) passing through flesh by manner of the law? These laws would definitely literally and figuratively cut/pass through the flesh
ReplyDeleteNathaniel Wayne
now. i understand the difference between the dispensations, but it seems some laws were carried over to the 6th. such as don't kill another.
ReplyDeleteare there others like this? or are the ones carried over only the ones that are moral to obey?
depending on the answer there is another question.
"23 Ye shall not make other gods with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you.
(God wanted NO IMAGES of Him. He is the real Being, not an inanimate creation of man.)"
if this were carried over would the image of christ crucified on the cross that most churches have in the area of worship be against this law? (if this law is of no effect now a days, then no, obviously. but in the situation where it would be valid to this day, would this have been a sin? having a man made image of jesus upon the altar?)
The Law was focused on NOT doing a Wrong WHAT. Jesus fulfilled the Law. Jesus NEVER did a Wrong WHAT.
ReplyDeleteNow, grace is focused on a Right HOW/WHY. The Right HOW/WHY are causes and will always lead to the Right WHAT through causality.
It is possible to have the Right WHAT with a Wrong HOW/WHY...which is deception.
So, to answer your question, it would depend on HOW/WHY the image of Jesus is on the altar. For example, if God told them to put it there, then it is right. You would have to ask the people who do these things HOW/WHY.
so in some extreme case, if the how/why is right, then is the what also right? i don't know of an example. (and i surely don't have a right how/why for this) but would it be possible to fornicate in the grace dispensation and it NOT be a sin? (i highly doubt i would ever have a right how/why for this. curious, not looking for a loop hole)
ReplyDeleteYes. That is what I wrote. We will see in I Corinthians, Paul gave an example of HOW/WHY eating meat sacrificed to idols would not be a sin.
ReplyDeletealright, thanks john! clears a lot up in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI have a question related to Exodus 20:7.
ReplyDeleteI’ve heard recently a theory about “taking the Lord’s name in vain.”
This theory says that while it isn’t a good idea to run around using His actual name (Jehovah, Christ) as commonplace swear words as happens today, this wasn’t the intent of that verse.
It says the intent was that a person did not enter into a covenant with Him lightly, nor did they take His name or claim to serve Him... as some might do for public approval to gain status on Earth. That instead of actually saying His name improperly was bad, but making a commitment for the wrong How/Why was sin.
Thoughts?
This seems like a correct application of how God judges words and actions. God is much more concerned with the intent (HOW/WHY) of the words/actions someone states/does.
DeleteThanks for sharing this theory. I have not heard this before.
God bless you Andrew!!
A funny story, and a question.
ReplyDeleteWhen my family was involved in bible quizzing, my younger brother was studying Exodus as one of the books they would be quizzed on. When he was doing the memory verses for the Commandments, he recalled one of the verses as "And thous shalt not cover your neighbors wife". Having happened back during the time of innocence, when he really didn't know what he was saying, it was rather amusing!
20:23
If God wants no images made of him... What does this say about the Catholic church with so many cathedrals having painted windows?
What about the prolific use of crucifixes?
Thanks!
I'd rather not speak for or about the Catholic Church. What I do believe about God's command to not make images of Him was more about WHY than WHAT.
DeleteGod didn't want idolatry to happen: worship of an image.
Having a picture of Jesus/God or a crucifix does not guarantee idolatry.
So then perhaps it is a case of timing...
ReplyDeleteWhile Tattoos were forbidden for them back them because of culture, it is no longer the case. Now that we have the Spirit in us, and we have other things such as a completed Scriptures, rather than oral history only, we can use a Crucifix to remind us of things, rather than engage in the worship of...
Also, I should clarify, I used the Catholic Church for a visualization only, to paint a picture of a large building with Angelo-Saxon paintings and window art, not to seek condemnation for that belief system!
Thanks for your answer!
21:28
ReplyDeleteI think this verse is making an allowance for a disease like Mad Cow Disease, where the animal is affected by a brain sickness. Until it is found that the owner knows the animal has done this before and did nothing, the case seems to be treated as an accident.
So, if an accident caused by a brain disease, it makes sense why it would be a bad idea to consume the animal!