Daily Scripture Reading Exodus 22:16 - 23:9

Humans have emotions. Accordingly, when we are mistreated, we want to get revenge. After we escape mistreatment and gain power over others, we naturally want to do to others the same that was done to us.

Israel spent 400 years in Egypt. For many of those years, they were enslaved and mistreated. After they escaped slavery, they would have been tempted to lord it over any foreigners who sojourned among them. Yahweh commanded them to avoid that mentality. The Mosaic Law does not apply to us in the church age, but the New Testament contains very similar teachings that do apply to us.

Ex. 22:16 ¶ “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife.

Look at the word “dowry.” This term appears multiple times in the Old Testament, but it is not used in the New Testament. Therefore, there is no biblical teaching on dowries that applies in the church age.

Ex. 22:17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the dowry for virgins.

Ex. 22:18 ¶ “You shall not allow a sorceress to live.

Take note of the punishment for sorcery. Sorcery was a serious offense.

The New Testament calls sorcery a deed of the flesh (see Galatians 5:20), but it does not specify a punishment.

Ex. 22:19 ¶ “Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

While the Mosaic Law specifically forbade bestiality, the New Testament does not use that term. Instead, the New Testament contains a broad call to sexual purity (see 1 Corinthians 6:9, Galatians 5:19, and Hebrews 13:4).

Ex. 22:20 ¶ “And he who sacrifices to any god, other than to Yahweh alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

This is another example of a contrast between the Mosaic Law and New Testament teaching. The Mosaic Law specified punishments for many sins. The New Testament rarely specifies the punishment for a sin; it simply informs us what is right and wrong.

Ex. 22:21 ¶ “You shall not mistreat a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Israel had been mistreated while they were sojourners in the land of Egypt. It would have been natural for them to abuse sojourners when they gained power over other people. However, Yahweh commanded them to treat others better than they had been treated.

A variation of this concept is taught in the New Testament. Jesus taught us to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The New Testament also commands us to never take revenge, but leave room for the wrath of God. Humans do not naturally want to treat others better than we ourselves are treated. Furthermore, we very much want to exact revenge when we have been wronged. Just as Israel needed to do the opposite of their nature, so do we.

Ex. 22:22 You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.

Take note of the concern for widows and orphans. James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.”

Ex. 22:23 And if you indeed afflict him, and if he earnestly cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry;

Ex. 22:24 and My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

Ex. 22:25 ¶ “If you lend money to My people, to the afflicted among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.

Under the Mosaic Law, the Israelites were prohibited from charging interest. The New Testament promotes generosity, but it does not prohibit usury.

Ex. 22:26 If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun sets,

Ex. 22:27 for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall be that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.

Ex. 22:28 ¶ “You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Ex. 22:29 ¶ “You shall not delay the offering from the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.

Ex. 22:30 And you shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

Ex. 22:31 ¶ “You shall be holy men to Me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Ex. 23:1 ¶ “You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.

Ex. 23:2 You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a case so as to turn aside after the masses in order to cause justice to be turned aside;

Notice the word “masses.” Humans naturally want to go along with the crowd. If the majority wants to do something the Bible prohibits, it is very tempting to conclude it is not really wrong to do it. However, the Israelites were commanded to go against the crowd when the crowd went against the Mosaic Law.

Jesus taught people to enter via the narrow gate and not the wide gate (see Matthew 7:13–14). That is the equivalent of eschewing the masses. Paul forbids us from conforming to the world (see Romans 12:2). That also requires us to resist the majority.

Ex. 23:3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his case.

Sometimes it is tempting to side with a poor man against a rich man, even when the poor man is wrong, just to stick it to the rich man. Israel was commanded to put aside their emotions and do what was right, not what felt good.

Ex. 23:4 ¶ “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.

Ex. 23:5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

Ex. 23:6 ¶ “You shall not cause the justice due to your needy brother to be turned aside in his case.

Ex. 23:7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not justify the guilty.

Ex. 23:8 ¶ “And you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.

Ex. 23:9 ¶ “And you shall not oppress a sojourner, since you yourselves know the soul of a sojourner, for you also were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Once again Israel was commanded to treat sojourners the way they should have been treated in Egypt. This required them to resist the urge to be selfish.

Humans do not naturally want to treat others better than we ourselves are treated. Furthermore, we very much want to exact revenge when we have been wronged. However, Jesus taught us to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The New Testament also commands us to never take revenge, but leave room for the wrath of God. Just as Israel was required to treat sojourners better than they had been treated, so too we need to treat others better than we have been treated.

In what ways do you need to resist the urge to do to unto others as was done to you?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”