Tag: Exodus 21

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Discussions Torah

Torah answers for modern life: A call to justice and mercy (Exodus 21–24)

Torah answers for modern life: A call to justice and mercy (Exodus 21-24). Lady Justice holding scales stands opposite a dove in flight.

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.

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Torah readings

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

Studies in Torah

Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ) told us the two greatest commandments were to love God unreservedly and to love other people unselfishly (Matt. 22:34–40; Mark 12:28–31; Deut. 6:4–6; Lev. 19:18). Learning what the LORD would do in a situation — to walk as He walked (1Jn. 2:6) — is at the heart of this week’s Torah reading Mishpatim (“judgements,” Ex. 21:1-24:18).

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Why Heaven wants us to master servanthood (Exodus 21)

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28)

“(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 (Philemon 1–22) of those who are at our mercy.

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Discussions Torah

When God shouted 3 times to fight oppression (Exodus 21–23)

When God shouted 3 times to fight oppression (Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1-24:18)

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).

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Discussions Torah

How to live with as much grace as the Torah commands (Exodus 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 sold?

We just read the “Big 10,” the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). Torah reading מִּשְׁפָּטִים Mishpatim (“judgments,” Ex. 21:1–24:18) covers case law results from the Ten Commandments. It covers how to live them out in a world of idolatry (yes, it’s even a modern problem), cruelty, oppression, selfishness, disrespect for authority, apathy and envy.

Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) taught that God’s second-greatest commandment is “love your neighbor as [you love] yourself” (Matt. 22:39; Mark 12:31; quoting Lev. 19:18).

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 21: God is Enforcer of covenants, Liberator of slaves, Vindicator of the unborn

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. 

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 21–24: 13 hues of the Creator’s justice and mercy

Cyrus interrogates the King of Armenia. Painting by Noël Coypel from the Château de Versailles currently housed at the Musée de Grenoble. Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

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.