Week 36- September 27- Taylor Hays

Exodus 21

Beginning with this chapter and several to follow is the legal code that the nation Israel was to live by. This code is how the nation put into practice many of the principles found in the Ten Commandments. It is dry reading for sure and many of the ideas in these chapters are completely foreign to our ears. Things like how to manage your slaves and what to do if your ox is gored or if your ox gores someone else! Here is what the code is all about… bright lines that the people were not to cross. And if the lines were crossed, justice, without mercy, was dealt. Here is a passage (starting in verse 23) that summarizes the main principle in the legal code: “…the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,24 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,25 a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.”

I am grateful I live under God’s code of grace and am free from following the legal code we find in Exodus. As Paul said in Romans chapter 8:

“1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.2 And because you belong to him, the power* of the life-giving Spirit has freed you* from the power of sin that leads to death.3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.* So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.”

Exodus 22

Here we find more legal rules for the nation Israel. But this chapter ends not with more rules but larger principles that give us a glimpse of God’s passion in the midst of all the rules. He reminds them to care for those in society that are the under-class… the poor, the widows, the orphans. These are people that cannot defend themselves and are often forgotten by society. Here is what God says is their (and our) responsibility:

“21 You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.


22 "You must not exploit a widow or an orphan.23 If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry.24 My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.”

The New Testament echoes the same ideas in James chapter 1:27:

27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Psalm 36

In this Psalm David has a flash of insight about “the wicked.” They have no sense of God and have become completely separated from Him. They feel not one ounce of conviction or guilt about their sin. In the New Testament book of Romans (chapter 1) it is described this way:

“28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness…”

But the psalmist quickly turns his attention to God’s character and he finds relief from his concern over the wicked. God’s love and care for us never ends. He meets our deepest needs.

In our world, just like David’s, it seems like “the wicked” are on top. But we serve God who is “…the fountain of life, the light by which we see.”

Ecclesiastes 5

Although much of Solomon’s writing in Ecclesiastes is depressing, the 2 main themes of this chapter are good for us to hear. I would paraphrase the first idea as “get serious about your relationship with God.” The verses are about keeping promises made to God, but the idea is to treat our relationship with God with “fear.” I fall into the same habits as many of you… neglecting prayer and Bible reading and neglecting my time for simply being quiet with God. My mind wanders to all kinds of irrelevant stuff when I should be with God. These verses made me realize that I need to get serious about my relationship with Him.

The second theme is simple “10 Those who love money will never have enough.” It is the one appetite that will never be filled. You have to guard against this because, as we seek more money, the pursuit of wealth robs us of our life! And ultimately Solomon notes we are left empty handed. We have all said “you can’t take it with you.” Well Solomon said it first… “15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can't take our riches with us.” I have to remind myself regularly, invest in things that last!

Acts 15

This chapter of Acts may seem like a bit of a let down compared with the great adventures Paul and his companions had on their mission trips, also described in Acts. But this chapter describes a pivotal moment in the history of Christianity. Up to this point nearly all of the believers were converted Jews, so all believers were also circumcised and still followed Jewish tradition and law. But as Paul spread the gospel to non-Jews a great controversy arose. Many of the church leaders thought that non-Jews would need to convert to Judaism—become circumcised and follow Jewish law—in order to become believers in Jesus. The decision of the church leaders was not to require non-Jews to follow the law.

The principle that those leaders affirmed is central to all we believe. We are not saved by any work that we do… not by following rules or rituals. We are saved by accepting Jesus free gift of grace. In Philippians 3 Paul put it this way…

3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God* are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort…”