What does this passage have to say about your day? We did not come here tonight to hear about ancient Israelite history or the different sections of the law. We came to meet with God.

Have you ever over-promised and felt like I shouldn’t have done that? The world teaches us to under promise and over deliver to make ourselves look good. Today, we read about the Israelites entering into a covenant with God. Do you think they over-promised? How are they to deliver what they promised?

Have you ever been tempted to doubt God’s promises/goodness? Have you ever felt that God has not kept up his end of the covenant? The Israelites might have been feeling that way since they have left Egypt, they haven’t received the land they were promised. They have been wandering in the wilderness, but let us see what God reveals to them here. What is helpful for us to remember as we read these laws is that God calls his people to remain faithful to himself even as he faithfully fulfils his covenant that he made with them. Through Jesus Christ, God promises to bring his people home to himself.

What is your life like during the rest of the week besides Sunday? Do you come to church stressed out about health, or work, or school? What is your attitude to tithing? Do you rush off immediately after service? Are you part of a group that involves being accountable or accounting for others? These questions involve the use of our resources in terms of what God requires of us and how we use what He has given.

There is as much of God in these 3 verses before us in this study as there was in the Old Testament survey we carried out at the start of the year. These verses bring us face to face with serious questions about what we are slaves to, and what we find our rest in.

In this study, we examine the laws that govern social justice.  Previously in Exodus 22, we looked at the laws for restitution, and learned how God created laws to help mitigate a variety of issues.  However, the specificity of these laws may lead us to wonder: how exactly are they relevant for us?

As we examine the laws that govern social justice in this study, it will be helpful to remember that the laws tell us something about God, the lawgiver.  The laws and they tell us of a loving God: who cares for our livelihood and for us, His people.  In this study, we see that the laws help to rightly order the Israelites’ relationship with one another. 

2 Tim 3 :16 states that all Scripture is breathed out by God and therefore useful. This surely applies to these verses we are about to study, What came to mind as you read these verses and case laws? Were you lost? Did you wonder why these thorough stipulations are here in the Bible? How does it work?

These are common and good question and we hope to see how restitution, or compensation works and what it means for us today!

Exodus 21 is not just a list of laws. They are laws revealed by God at the foot of Mt Sinai to His people. We are not just reading a list of practical wisdom that Israel’s elders came up with. The people’s God came down and revealed Himself to them in the giving of His law. These civic laws remind God’s people of who they are and God’s actions define their identity. They are not defined by their sins, nor their past slavery, nor even their present situation. Only God defines them.

Many of us believe that God speaks through His word, and all of it. God’s people gather around His word, and He loves to bless them as they read it.

Yet, Exodus 21 is a pretty interesting piece of text and I suspect that many of us don’t usually read this for our devotions. When we do read it, most of us are either confused or ashamed for this text deals with slavery. To our modern minds, slavery is deplorable, so how can the Bible speak of it?

God has chosen to include this section of text in His Word. He has something to say about slavery, so what is it? What does He want us to see. As we go on, let’s keep this at the back of our minds, that these laws are actually incredibly practical, and tell us something about God that we should fall down on our faces and worship Him.

Altars. What are they for the modern person? Some speak of “a fresh altar experience” as a direct application of this passage. Others might suggest that this passage doesn’t apply to us today.

But if we believe that all of the Bible is God’s word, this passage is also part of it, and it will surely challenge what we know about Christianity and about our God. Have you felt like your Christian walk is all about setting up altars to remember the Christian experience? Is your Christianity defined by your experience rather than God’s Word and God’s law? It is to these views and in this context that God speaks to us today through these words in Exo 20:22-26.

Exo 20 is the climax of the book of Exodus, where everything previously builds up to this place. Today’s passage shows us the law, but how many of us understand and enjoy the law? Do we think of the law as a disappointment after the more exciting things in Exodus? Many of us struggle with the law, and especially this part of Exodus after the narrative is done. Here, God calls the people to Himself and gives them the law.