The Laws of Justice and Mercy
Study Scripture: Exodus 23:1 – 12
Background Scripture: Exodus 23
Lesson 7 January 15, 2022
Key Verse
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
Exodus 23:2 & 3
INTRODUCTION
Our lesson Study today forces us to look at ourselves and analyze ourselves to see what kind of people we really are. When we look at ourselves and look at the world we realize that the world is like a sea with all kind of idolatrous thoughts floating around in it and people are soaking up these thoughts. There is no way to avoid these thoughts because we are immersed in this sea of idolatrous thoughts and we are like sponges that absorb all of these ideas and things which in many cases are not the ideas and things that the Lord God Almighty commands us to absorb.
In fact God wants us to be conscious of Him and to worship Him, sharing the things that concerns Him, and coming to be like Him in our style of life.
This Study today therefore looks at this issue of Covenant relationship between the Lord and Israel and consequently it looks at the covenant relationship between us and the Lord God Almighty.
Exodus 20 through 23 is generally referred to as the Book of the Covenant for it contains the stipulations of the Covenant relationship between the Lord God and the people of Israel.
When God gave the stipulations or ordinances we see that they are practical outworkings of the 10 Commandments which are literally called “Ten Words”.
We know when we look at the 10 Commandments it is clear that God commands us to worship Him alone. If we do that and ignore the world’s tendency to idolatry which is the worship of other gods, we come to realize that the other nine commandments and all other biblical commandments support the concept of worshiping the Lord God alone and all the commandments flow from that first commandment.
Clearly then the 10 Commandments stress the nature of worship and the nature of idolatry for worship belongs only to the Lord God and everything that is in these 10 Commandments are there to help us be on guard so that we worship the Lord God alone.
So we are prohibited from idolatry and we are commanded to worship the Lord alone. If we worship the Lord alone we will be obsessed with God for we will naturally share His concerns.
The concerns of God flow from His nature and His values. This is reflected in His laws and He tells us about Him and what He cares about.
So if we say we are worshiping the Lord and are concerned about the things that concern Him we must draw closer to Him and adore Him and make sure that His concerns become our concerns and we begin to think as He thinks. We therefore are encouraged to adopt the attitude of the Lord so that when we spend more and more time with Him our love and adoration for Him will grow and our sharing of His values, His love, and His laws will be striking.
When we examine our Study Lesson we see that God places tremendous value on human life for He is concerned about all those that were made in His image and likeness. For Him the value of human life is displayed upfront in these laws of God and it is absolutely clear that the Lord cares about all human life for what he created in His image and likeness is extremely valuable to Him. So when we worship God we can’t help but care about what He cares about and that means we can’t help but care more about people than about the material possessions that we have and the standards and philosophy of the world which tell us that power, authority, accumulating wealth and material possessions, and the abuse of others, especially the disadvantaged, the lonely and the people who are hurting, is the way that we should live.
You might hear from time to time that there are other people and civilizations in the Near East where Israel lived that had ancient codes of conduct that the world tends to think is good. But though there are some good things in these quotes they fall short of reflecting the nature of God. The book of Exodus is vastly superior in almost every respect to these codes.
But one writer comments that we must be prepared to examine the values of these people and their codes and see that they have an emphasis outside of what God desires and are not placing value on human life, but instead lauded the accumulating wealth, power, and property. He states:
“The codes of other Near Eastern people exalted property values, imposing the death penalty for theft. The Code of Hammurabi, for example, calls for the death penalty for the theft of the property of a ‘God or palace”, for receiving stolen goods and not being able to prove ownership, for assisting in the escape of a slave and for harboring a fugitive slave. That is also imposed for a barmaid who cheats her customers on the price of a drink.
The Book of the Covenant, on the other hand, never imposes the death penalty for the violation of property rights. Paramount, instead, is the sacredness of human life. Hammurabi demonstrates almost no concern for the poor and disadvantaged, instead, the code is designed to protect the upper-class. The Book of the Covenant, on the other hand, values all people and places great emphasis on the poor, the disadvantaged, the slave and the alien. The law of the goring ox demonstrates the Book of the Covenant’s concern for human life (21:28-32). In the case of a culpable owner who has not taken precautions to ensure that his ox doesn’t gore anyone, the laws of Hammurabi and Eshnunna are concerned with the compensation to be paid to the family of the victim who was gored but make no provision for the fate of the ox or the punishment of its owner. The Book of the Covenant, on the other hand, commands the death of the ox and prohibits its consumption as food. The owner too, is deserving of death but in the absence of malicious intent may redeem his life. Thus, human life is exalted over property rights.
The Book of the Covenant forbids charging interest on a loan, and it forbids holding onto one’s cloak that has been taken as a pledge (22:25-26). Borrowers were part of the lower class. Uniquely, the borrower is given precedence over the lender, who occupied the upper strata of society.
In the Near East, slaves were treated solely as property, except in Israel. A slave would be branded. Injury to a slave simply required that the owner be recompensed. A slave could be given as a pledge on a loan, and he could be sold or exchanged. The law of God, on the other hand, protects the rights of slaves. Even within the 10 Commandments, slaves are given rights. They too are to partake in the Sabbath rest. (20: 10). A man who injures a slave is to be punished (21: 20). Slaves are allowed to go free if their masters strike them so as to destroy eyes or knock out teeth (21: 26)”.
When we therefore talk about worshiping God and following the ways of God we have to ask ourselves what this really means for if we love the Lord and we love others as ourselves we must have a concern for people for all of that is inextricably involved in worship. Our following after God and our worship of Him cannot be something empty. It means that we cannot involve the Lord God in our idolatrous pursuits or the idolatrous pursuits of the world.
Even the Fourth commandment prescribing the Sabbath forces us to remember what the Lord has done in creation and redemption. God certainly wants us to remember Him and to remember His name and to glorify and honor His name.
There is therefore something that we can do so that He will bless us for He wants His name to be remembered and His name is revealed in His laws. His name and His blessing are inseparable for God calls on us for action.
As followers of Jesus therefore we most want to do things for the Lord and live for the Lord so that His name will be lifted up. We have to avoid idolatry at all costs for the ways of the world in large measure are governed by idolatry. We must not fool ourselves into thinking that the ways of the world are part of the worship of God for in fact they are a distraction from true worship and reflect the flight from God of the world, for the world spends pretty well all of its effort to find significance in themselves instead of in God.
Our lesson today therefore is of extreme importance for the precepts of God are needed and are not just things that we can consider as the right things to do. There are but they reflect the nature of God and that is the nature that we should be transformed into. So let us therefore look at the Lesson which tells us to act responsibly in our dealings with others.
It repeats the word “justice” and says justice is something that you must do for that is part of God’s very nature. We have to always attempt to imitate our glorious Creator by acting like Him and therefore we must keep justice prominently displayed in our life and in our community.
We also have to do the same thing with “mercy” for mercy comes from the nature of God. We must never forget that when Moses asked God to show him His glory according to Exodus 33: 16 the Lord put Moses in a rock and caused His glory go over past Moses to show him some of His divine glory. So we read:
“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,” the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin”.
We therefore can see the declaration of the attributes of God and showing the divine nature of its source for God Himself is glory. Psalm 145:9 tells us that God is good to all and His mercy is over all that He has made.
When we are doing this Study we should therefore look at the meanings of this word ‘justice’ for the Dictionary defines it as “The quality of being just, righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness to uphold the justice of a cause.
Rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; just a nice round or reason:
The moral principle determining just conduct”.
Justice is doing what is right so that it is doing as it should be for justice flows out of God’s holiness. Remember that sin is lawlessness and iniquity and has in it the embodiment of everything contrary to God’s holy nature. It is offensive to Him and so sin is a crime against God and justice demands that there must be the penalty of death and separation from Him.
We therefore can read Deuteronomy 32:4 Psalm 33:5, Psalm 106:3, Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:10 Isaiah 30:18, Isaiah 61:8 and many verses in the Scriptures to see that God loves justice and is a God of justice, and He blesses those that are just.
We can define mercy as the Dictionary does, The disposition to be compassionate or forbearing. The discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than involve the death penalty. An act of kindness, compassion, or favor”.
As we go through this Study therefore let us begin to look at the specific injunctions as ordinances which tell us about the nature of God, the nature that we should have.
We are fooling ourselves if we think that we can simply walk away from these ordinances, create rules of life for ourselves, and think that our behavior will be okay to God simply because we think that we have been redeemed. If we have been redeemed we are constantly being transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image of God. If we think or see that we are not moving closer and closer to reflecting the intent of these ordinances we know immediately that something is wrong and we should go to the Holy Spirit to help us to do what is right.
As believers in Christ we should know that we will never be able to follow these ordinances perfectly unless guided by the Holy Spirit and it certainly will take some time for us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will not be perfect or fully mature in a short period of time but we know that we can do great things for ourselves and for God.
We must be careful that as we grow in grace we have the Holy Spirit as our guide. He has written the commandments and testimonies of God for our benefit and so we should not ignore them for they have been written to help us as we walk in the Lord.
THE TEXT
Verse 1.
Most of these ideas are held as “true” saying, common evidence that individuals would have seen from the foundations of justice. The question is, Where does sinful man learn about justice when ensnared in sin and iniquity? Such concepts like truth and justice can only come from the One True God. In the following verses God, teaches His people what justice is and should be like.
It is interesting to note that in the previous chapter from verse 28 the basis for God’s instruction is laid down for Israel is warned that they should not revile God for He is sovereign and therefore no one can escape his punishment for disrespect of His authority.
Then immediately after that we see a succession of instructions namely,
• the people are not to delay in offering the first fruits of their products to Him.
• The firstborn of their sons belongs to God.
-The firstborn of their oxen and their sheep belong to God.
Then comes God concern for animals and for people. But first God deals with concern for animals.
First God requires that oxen and sheep that are born will belong to their mothers for seven days and on the eighth day they can be sacrificed.
Second, the people should not eat meat torn by beasts in the field.
Then God begins to deal with ordinances that directly affect people. God obviously wants to protect the rights of people from oppression. This is obviously an expansion of the ninth commandment in Exodus 20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
It is told the people of Israel, that any witnesses that comes forth in any matter should make sure that they do not give a false report of any other individual, or in any way assist in the prosecution of an innocent man, or one whom they do not know to be guilty, by in any way swearing of any statements against that person. This is obviously a positive action.
Then there is action which involves incoming actions which is quite common. Many like to receive information, translated to suit what they think and invent some new way of explaining what had happened. Then they pass that along and publish it that they have created.
Note that this is not just a matter of intent of passing on information.
No such thing as a false report should be given secretly by private slanders, whispers, backbiting, by innuendos or anything else suggesting things false and wicked should be given for any reason. One well known commentator Adam Clark explains:
The inventor and receiver of false and slanderous reports are almost equally criminal. The word seems to refer to either, and our translators have very properly retained both senses”.
Receiving and putting out is involved in circulating.
Some writers link the word “false” to the Third commandment in Exodus 20:7 which teach that disseminating false reports involves holding the name of the Lord God in vain. We see this In the case of King Ahab who wanted Naboth’s vineyard and so his wife Jezebel arranged for two wicked men to falsely accuse Naboth of blasphemy so that he was arrested and stoned to death. So creating slander has to have a receiver and so both people are called criminals.
We should note that this is a common offense in our modern world for people use the Internet and Twitter and other means to destroy others for no good reason at all. They pass on lies and create all kinds of problems for people. We therefore are warned to avoid the activities of those trolls who spend all their time promoting falsehood. Remember the commandment in Leviticus 19:16:
You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.
Note therefore that God involves Himself in this kind of activity and He warns strongly against it.
It is not only just as a witness in any proceedings, but it also goes to gossiping or knowingly letting a false report persist in the general public. To do nothing or remain neutral is still to allow the false report to circulate, and as such, you would still be considered to be siding with evil, or acting against the justice that God expects from us.
Any report or testimony from one about another is generally said to require proof from the person bringing the report, and proof as required in the Bible requires a witness from two or three (Deut. 19:15).
Verse 2.
Exodus 23 continues to offer cautions concerning judicial processing, but it also applies to every man as this will ensure that the proper administration of justice occurs and is applied equally to all.
Judges must not be overruled, or be swayed by might or multitude, to go against their consciences in giving judgment. In those days the people of Israel tried individuals in a process by a bench of justices, and judgment was given through the majority of votes. The elders would meet at the city gates to render judgments after hearing cases brought to them.
In this case, every justice must go according to truth, as it appeared to him upon the strictest and most impartial enquiry. In the process, the youngest members would have to go first with their verdict as not to be swayed by the elder justices. Judges must not respect the persons either of the parties or of their fellow judges.
It is in man’s nature to follow a crowd to do evil, ever since Adam followed Eve into sin. Some translators believe that the word crowd” should be translated as great men. Whether it means great men or a crowd of people it makes no difference for people will do both.
Job 32:9 warns us that
Great men are not always wise,
Nor do the aged always understand justice.
Also
When a land falls into the hand of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges. Job 9:24.
All people are warned not to follow with our peers and popular opinion, or run the risk of perverting justice, and hence you will fall into sin. It is advised that when it comes to the rule of judgment, it is not the number of witnesses, but the nature of evidence, and circumstances of their testimony.
We should never forget that morals are determined by God and not based on the standards of men, nations, or governments. Personal feelings or social conventions do not dictate morals, and morals are not developed by the passage of time as some like to think.
Note carefully that joining hands with or making a pact with people, forming alliances with the wicked which of course would result in untruthful testimony is absolutely discouraged.
Choosing who you spend your company with is important as 1 Corinthians 15:33 implies that evil company corrupts good character.
In today’s society with influencers, celebrities, sports stars and the such, having opinions on every matter, it is important for the Christian to listen to voice of God to guide their decisions that they make from day to day and regarding this world that we live in.
The history of all right movements has been in the first place the history of lonely souls, who, having heard the authentic voice of God, have stood alone or in small minorities. (Morgan)
We must remember what God told in Proverbs 11:21
Though they join forces, the wicked shall not go unpunished;
but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.
Verse 3.
This verse is meant to ensure when judgment is made, partiality is not shown for any reason. The facts of a case and principles of justice should decide a dispute, not the high or low standing or perceived victim status of those involved. Right must in all cases take place and wrong must be punished, and justice never biased nor injury connived at under pretence of charity and compassion.
The passage indicates that if a poor individual does something wrong or is a bad person, it is foolish pity to let that person fare better because of their poverty. The passage prohibits the showing of favour to the one as much as to the other.
Unfortunately, many in our society like to give favorable but unrighteous judgments to the poor, while others like to give favorable and unrighteous judgments to the rich and powerful. Both are condemned by Scripture and it makes no difference if people in churches or out of churches hold a position against what the Bible teaches. Unfortunately many do that’but Leviticus 19:15 makes it quite clear
You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.
Verse 4 & 5.
Another aspect of conduct that should be shown from a judge, and even from people in general was that personal antipathy, enmity, and hatred were not to lead them to injustice or impolite behaviour.
Which brings us to the example provided. If the Israelite saw his enemy’s beast straying, he was to bring it back again. If he saw it lying down under the weight of its burden, he was to help it up again. Israel is taught not to withdraw yourself from doing a good deed, even if your enemy benefits.
The natural man, the unspiritual man, is likely to leave the ox, donkey or whatever creature it is, and leave their enemy to take care of his own affairs, without troubling about either him or his difficulties. But God teaches and counsels a different type of behaviour, the given up of the natural man’s path. If he ever found his enemy in need of help, the spiritual man must help and give accordingly.
This command to do good for your enemy was important. It showed that goodness and kindness in Israel was not only required for those one liked and loved, but to all. One might not need a command to do this for a friend, but it was necessary for the enemy and one who hates you.
Nowhere in Scripture does it say that one must create one’s enemy. But the tradition of the rabbis taught that if the Bible said one should love one’s neighbor, then that implied that then they were to hate their enemies. But that kind of conclusion is not really obvious and in addition it is contradictory to the teaching of Scripture.
The principle was clear: How you feel about someone does not determine right and wrong behavior towards them. There are principles of justice that must be observed above our feelings.
Verse 6.
The warning against unkindness towards an enemy is followed by still further prohibitions of injustice in questions of right. God knew that it was always easy for the poor to be neglected in the administration of justice. Being poor did not make one right in a legal dispute, but it should never keep them from getting a fair hearing and justice.
Verse 7.
The promotion of truth was essential under God’s law. A general command to keep far away from a false matter, and not to slay the innocent and righteous, was given to Israel. God knew how much evil and injustice is justified among men by lies, so He emphasized truth telling in Israel’s daily life and legal practices.
Believers when they are the four that is cruelty. Jeremiah 5:28 emphasized that this kind of conduct was unacceptable to God. If God cared for animals and for their welfare as He pointed out to the rebellious prophet Jonah He surely will care for people.
He taught them then that they must dread the thoughts of assisting or abetting a bad cause.
We should understand that this task is much more difficult than we might think, because God is asking us to not just keep ourselves free from these type of actions, but we must also be concerned how these actions affect us and those around us.
God is a just God, and will not leave wickedness unpunished, and so those who take part in injustice, and unjustly condemns others, God will condemn him.
Verse 8.
In the promotion of justice, God also commanded against bribery. Specifically, He commanded against the taking of a bribe or any kind of gift toward giving an unjust judgment, to condemn the innocent, or acquit the guilty, or adjudge a man’s right from him. Simply put, God says stay away from such things as even for the best intentioned, the bribe will corrupt you. Bribe makers can’t exist without bribe takers.
Micah 3:9-12 had a terrible condemnation of Israel and he condemns our nation equally. His warning reads as follows:
Now hear this,
You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And pervert all equity.
Who will build up Zion with bloodshed
And Jerusalem with iniquity:
Her heads judge for a bribe’
Her priests teach for pay.
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord, and say,
Is not the Lord among us?
No harm can come upon us.
Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.
Note that this warning applies to all peoples and nations. So we have to pre-that justice will prevail and avarice and ill-gotten money will be removed from our political systems.
Verse 9.
The warning against oppressing the foreigner, which is repeated from Exodus 22:20, is not tautological, but refers to the oppression of a stranger in judicial matters by the refusal of justice, or by harsh and unjust treatment in court (Deut. 24:17, Deut. 27:19).
God commanded Israel to show kindness and fairness towards those who they might not be kind towards by nature. Fairness and kindness were commanded even to one who hates you, as Jesus taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30 – 37).
They, Israel, must not oppress a stranger. Though aliens, or strangers in God’s land might not inherit lands among them, yet they must have justice done them, must peaceably enjoy their own, and be redressed if they were wronged, though they were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel.
It is an instance of the equity and goodness of law in some jurisdictions, that, if a foreigner; be tried for any crime except treason, the one half of his jury, if he desire it, shall be foreigners also; they call it a trial per mediatatem linguae, a kind provision that strangers may not be oppressed. The reason given is the same with that in Exodus 22:21, that being you, Israel, were strangers, which is here elegantly enforced, You know the heart of a stranger; you know something of the griefs and fears of a stranger by sad experience, and therefore, being delivered, can the more easily put your souls into their souls’ stead.
Israel was reminded that when they were strangers in the land of Egypt they were ill treated and oppressed and stripped of their justice. They should therefore not do the same to others that was done to them.
Verses 10 & 11.
In these next few verses it gives directions respecting the year of rest and day of rest, the first of which lays the foundation for the keeping of the sabbatical and jubilee years, which are afterwards instituted in Lev. 25, while the latter gives prominence to the element of rest and refreshment involved in the Sabbath (Exodus 20:9 – 11), and presses it in favour of beasts of burden, slaves, and foreigners.
Every seventh year the land was to rest, it must not be ploughed nor must it be sowed at the beginning of the year, and then they could not expect any great harvest at the end of the year: but what the earth did produce of itself should be eaten from hand to mouth, and not laid up.
The design of this plan was this,
- To show what a plentiful land that was into which God was bringing them. That a great nation could have rich maintenance out of the produce of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could space the increase of every seventh year.
- To remind them of their dependence upon God their great landlord, and their obligation to use the fruit of their land as He should direct. He would try their obedience in a matter that nearly touched their interest. Afterwards we find that their disobedience to this command was a forfeiture of the promises (2 Chr. 36:21).
- To teach them a confidence in the divine Providence. They must learn not to take thought for their life (Mt. 6:25). If we are prudent and diligent in our affairs, we may trust Providence to furnish us with the bread of the day in its day.
Verse 12.
The children of Israel heard the instruction to rest the land in the seventh year. By tradition, some of Israel accomplished this by only cultivating six-sevenths of their land at any one time, and practicing a method of crop rotation.
One reason God commanded the Sabbath rest was to give the poor something to eat, in that they were allowed to harvest and process that which grew unplanted from the fallow ground. This was a way to help the poor that demanded both that the landowners hold themselves back from maximum profit, and that the poor work to help themselves.
The principle of Sabbath rest was intended for all people, and even for the animals. In the same pattern, the Sabbath rest fulfilled in Jesus is intended for all people, and even for all creation.
CONCLUSION
It is therefore critically important that your morals and your opinions be based on the morals and opinions and the determinations of the Lord God. The opinions and biases that you have created for yourself cannot stand.
God feels strongly about justice and mercy. He does not want you to bend His laws for that is perverting justice.
The nature of God is such that you are to have the Holy Spirit guide you and transform you into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. This lesson gives you specific instructions as to how to treat animals, how to treat your neighbor, how to treat your enemy, and how to treat strangers or those that lived among you.
You are not to harm others. Falsehood was not come out of your mouth. You’re not to entertain gossiping. You are to practice mercy just as all God has been merciful to you.
That is the way of moving away from idolatry. If you follow the ways of God you will move away from guilt. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells you categorically that believers have the mind of Christ. So Philippians 2:5-17 tells you
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…..
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure….
Do all things without complaining and disputing
that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
holding fast the word of life.
Practicing Justice and mercy will be very good for you. God has told you that you are to practice those things toward every human being.
We are to have the mind of Christ. We are not to be enticed toward the things of idolatry which is what the world does. Being different from God is not a good position to be in. To help you and guide you and ensure that you will be in a good position. He will seal you for the day of redemption.
So first, make sure you come to the Cross so that you can become a member of the body of Christ. Then and only then will you be able to follow the Laws of Justice and Mercy. It will be well worth it.