Many say the law of YHWH through Moses was harsh, outdated or barbaric. I say it was way ahead of its time. So much of it is based on protecting and helping people. The rest is based on honoring God. We would do well to take it more seriously today and apply it in our lives.
Sundry Laws
6“No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone in pledge, for he would be taking a life in pledge.
7“If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen of the sons of Israel, and he deals with him violently or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you.
8“Be careful against an infection of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you; as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9“Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.
10“When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge. 11“You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12“If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. 13“When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.
14“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. 15“You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the LORD and it become sin in you.
16“Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.
17“You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge. 18“But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
19“When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20“When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.
21“When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 22“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
Carefully reflect on each of these laws. Who is being helped in each case? How? Do we still help others in this way today? What can you do in your life to help others in a similar way to how these laws were created to help people?
36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
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