Torah reading Mishpatim (משפטים): Exodus 21:1–24:18

Despite its ancient origins, the Torah’s guidance on ethics, justice, and compassion remains pertinent today. Faith must be wedded to obedience in applying Heaven’s teachings to contemporary life. This study of Torah reading מִּשְׁפָּטִים Mishpatim (“judgments,” Exodus 21–24) delves into legal interpretations of the Ten Commandments, stressing fairness and impartiality in legal proceedings. The Torah’s stance on issues like slavery underscores principles of compassion and equitable treatment. Drawing from biblical and historical contexts (Paul’s letter to Philemon, Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) in Matthew 20), we advocate for justice, mercy, and societal transformation guided by Torah’s timeless wisdom.

One of the key lessons from Torah portion מִּשְׁפָּטִים Mishpatim (Exodus 21–24) and from the Prophets and Gospels is that God and Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) doesn’t separate religious and civil laws. The reasons for that are encapsulated in the Greatest Commandment and the Golden Rule — and in the Torah laws that restricted and ultimately abolished slavery.

“(T)he Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28 NASB). While some see the instructions in the Torah about relationships between masters and slaves as proof of no transcendent Source for the text, others see the context as part of a “poison pill” that Heaven put in the human heart sickness that seeks subjugation of others deemed weaker or powerless. That’s the surprising lesson we learn from the Torah portion מִּשְׁפָּטִים Mishpatim (Exodus 21–24) and companion passages on the wrong treatment (Jeremiah 34:8–22) and right treatment…

Are “white lies” covered by the Torah prohibition on lying? What does it mean to curse your parents? Does the Torah really contain a time bomb for human slavery? How is that connected to the LORD’s warning about oppression? And was the Angel of the LORD during the Exodus a manifestation of the Messiah? How does this angel compare with Yeshua (Jesus)? These are topics covered in the Torah reading מִשְׁפָּטִים Mishpatim (“judgments,” Ex. 21:1–24:18).

Does the Torah promote vigilantism (taking the law into your own hands)? Some years ago, those who were against Torah would ask facetious questions like, “If I see my neighbor mowing the lawn on the Shabbat, do I have permission to kill him?” This ridiculous line of argument even ended up as an episode plot for a popular show (“The Midterms,” The West Wing, October 2000).  Are these judgments ignorant and obsolete? For example, in this section of the Torah refers to daughter literally as their father’s silver. Are daughter just the property of their fathers freely passed around and bought and…

Parashat Mishpatim is one of the most uncomfortable chapters in the Torah. It has rules about what we would call indentured servitude as well as how to deal with victims of infanticide. However, the overarching theme in today’s Torah study is how God holds us to keep our own covenants, even if they go above and beyond the covenants He has placed on us Himself. 

Does the Torah promote vigilantism? Are its instructions backward and obsolete? If not, what do these instructions mean to me today? In the Torah reading מִּשְׁפָּטִים Mishpatim (“Judgments,” Exodus 21–24), we see an explanation of each of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5). By keeping the words of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) in our minds (Matthew 22:36–40) while reading the Torah, we can start to understand how the instructions teach us as much about the character of the Father as they do about Heaven’s goal for our treatment of other people.

Last time, we discussed lashon ha-ra (evil tongue, i.e., gossip, slander and divisiveness) and how it is one of the latter-day plagues among God’s people. In this excursus, we will explore a related principle taught in Torah by Yeshua and His apostles: proportionality. A number of Christians often consider “eye for an eye and tooth for tooth” an example of the “old covenant” not to live by anymore and quote Yeshua to that effect. Rather, we’ll see that “eye for an eye” is a Bible parabolic idiom teaching proportionality. The point of justice is to restore the offender to the community,…

In Exodus 24, we read that after the revelation of the 10 Commandments, God wanted to reveal more information to Moshe (Moses) but for part of that journey, he brought an entourage. God told Moshe to appear before Him but God also called for Aharon (Aaron), Nadab ben Aharon, Abihu ben Aharon, and 70 of the elders of Israel to meet with Him on the mountain first for a seven-day feast, and they did meet Him. They saw Yeshua (Jesus), the Word, the Logos of the Father. That’s why Abraham as well as Moshe, Aharon, Aharon’s two oldest sons and…

The judgments that God gave Moshe (Moses) to teach the Israelite people tell us a lot about God’s character and personality. We learn how God sees us as well. It’s a difficult section to go through because these judgements cover so many issues that aren’t related directly to one another but these things have been written down for us to learn. These judgements are written for us so we can avoid incurring them on ourselves.

Yeshua told us that the second greatest commandment was to “love your neighbor as yourself.” How do we go from loving our neighbors on a theoretical level to a practical level? Exodus 21 doesn’t just show us how people should treat people. It also teaches us how God treats people. God is going to treat you the same way you treat others. If you abuse people, God will allow abuse to come to you. If you are kind to others, God will be kind to you.