Nineteenth-century commentator Adam Clarke said of Exodus 21, “There is so much good sense, feeling, humanity, equity, and justice in the following laws, that they cannot but be admired by every intelligent reader; and they are so very plain as to require very little comment.” The Torah is not difficult for God’s beloved to understand and follow. These next few chapters show us many examples of laws and precepts which carried over directly into the British Common Law as well as American jurisprudence. What do we learn about God through these judgments?
Category: Discussions
Following in Israel’s footsteps, we have arrived at Sinai. Pretend you are listening to the 10 Commandments for the first time. It’s a challenge to hear them anew. Find a new way to make them a part of your life—to bring yourself even closer to Yeshua than you have ever been before.
The Exodus 18 is out of sequence. God has a reason for placing Jethro’s counsel at this point in the narrative, even though Jethro’s arrival was well after God gave Moses the 10 commandments and the people’s rebellions with the Golden Calf. In Exodus 19, Israel arrives at Mount Sinai and prepares to receive the 10.
Paul appears before Festus, Felix’s successor as well as the Jewish King Agrippa and Queen Bernice. He made a very favorable impression on them yet he was already bound for Rome so his captivity continued.
What we see in this story are the actions of God, not the actions of the people. We can learn a lot about God if we just read the story carefully. In this passage, rocks play an important role and are important symbols of God at work. First was the rock Moshe sits on raising his arms during the daylong battle with Amalek. Second was the rock from which “living water” came to quench the thirst of Israel.
The pattern we find in 1st Samuel is a pattern of preparing and delivering. He sends two witnesses for each delivery, a preparer and deliverer. We continue with this pattern with the beginning of Saul’s reign. These stories are not just history, or entertainment. The book of 1st Samuel also shows us how Sh’mu’el (Samuel), Sha’ul (Saul), Yahunatan/Yonatan (Jonathan) and David are a foreshadowing of the Messiah to come. This history helped the prophets see and reveal the Messiah to us.
Richard Agee answers a submitted question — “What is the Gospel?” Unfortunately, the answer is not often clearly communicated.