Raised like Royalty Exodus 21-23

Raised Like Royalty

If you had lived in the days of the Tudors as a child of royalty you, most likely would have been raised by nannies, rarely mixed with commoners, and been drilled by private tutors in the palace.
Looking back on stories like The Prince and The Pauper and Aladdin, we see royals rebelling against the strict rules of being chosen. Being set apart is difficult and comes with stringent rules along with a life of privilege. Anyone can imagine the boredom for a child of constant pomp and parliament. Sitting alone with a tutor as you look out the window at the common children playing stick ball would make anyone want to climb out the window and trade places, if just for a day or two. Then as night and hunger settle in the comfy palace wouldn't seem so bad. It's a grass is greener kind of thing for sure.
 Just as the royal children are raised to be set apart, so are the children of Israel. God chose these people to be His people, and in so doing gave them rules, to raise them  up right, and set them apart. They would also have the privilege of God as their King. He would lead them, and walk along with them to the land He would give them. However just like other royal children we will see them grow weary of the rules and want to do "what the cool kids are doing".

Cool Tidbits from Todays Passage;

Exodus 22-23
As we get into the portions of "The Law of Moses" things can get a little dicey. People spend a lot of time looking at these individual laws and discussing how ridiculous they are in our current day and age.
What if we look at them from a different angle? What was the point of the law in the first place?

There are two things that come to mind;
One: the law of Moses is so stringent that no-one could keep it perfectly, even if you broke the law unintentionally, you were still liable (Acts 23:5).
The law showed us our need for God's grace, and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to cover our sin and be in relationship with a Holy and Perfect God.
However we have to remember that a grateful and unspoiled heart out of gratefulness for love and sacrifice, tries to do the things that please the loving Father, not use grace as a license to indulge because we are forgiven.
Romans 6 (attached at the end of this blog)

Two; The other point of the law was to set the people of God apart from all others. Once Jesus came onto the scene in the New Testament and fulfilled the law, we were covered by grace a new law went into effect. We see this in Matthew 5-7.
There is no mistaking a Jew who follows the letter of the law. There are easily distinguishable. The new law of the heart of a believer should set us apart even more. The Pharisee's of Jesus day spent time judging others for not keeping the law and Jesus rebuked them, however He also says that our righteousness should surpass theirs.
Grace is not a license to indulge in things of the world, it is a license to love others and lead them to Jesus. It is a license to serve, turn the other cheek and love our enemies. It is much more difficult and impossible to do without the help of God.

Dig Deeper:

Enjoy Exodus 22-23

Matthew 5:17-20New Living Translation (NLT)

Teaching about the Law

¹⁷ “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. ¹⁹ So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

²⁰ “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Romans 6 New Living Translation (NLT)

Sin’s Power Is Broken

6 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ² Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? ³ Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? ⁴ For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

⁵ Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. ⁶ We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. ⁸ And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. ⁹ We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. ¹⁰ When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. ¹¹ So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
¹² Do not let sin control the way you live;^[a] do not give in to sinful desires. ¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. ¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
¹⁵ Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! ¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. ¹⁷ Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. ¹⁸ Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
¹⁹ Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. ²¹ And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. ²² But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Exodus 22-23New International Version (NIV)

Protection of Property

22 ^[a]“Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

² “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; ³ but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.
“Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft. ⁴ If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.
⁵ “If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution from the best of their own field or vineyard.
⁶ “If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.
⁷ “If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. ⁸ But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must^[b] determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property. ⁹ In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges.^[c] The one whom the judges declare^[d] guilty must pay back double to the other.
¹⁰ “If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, ¹¹ the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the Lord that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required. ¹² But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, restitution must be made to the owner. ¹³ If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbor shall bring in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn animal.
¹⁴ “If anyone borrows an animal from their neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, they must make restitution. ¹⁵ But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.

Social Responsibility

¹⁶ “If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.
¹⁸ “Do not allow a sorceress to live.
¹⁹ “Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death.
²⁰ “Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.^[e]
21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
²² “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. ²³ If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. ²⁴ My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
²⁵ “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. ²⁶ If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, ²⁷ because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
²⁸ “Do not blaspheme God^[f] or curse the ruler of your people.
²⁹ “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats.^[g]
“You must give me the firstborn of your sons. ³⁰ Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.
³¹ “You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.

² “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, ³ and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
⁴ “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. ⁵ If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
⁶ “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. ⁷ Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
⁸ “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
⁹ “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Sabbath Laws

¹⁰ “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, ¹¹ but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
¹² “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.
¹³ “Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

The Three Annual Festivals

¹⁴ “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
¹⁵ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
¹⁶ “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
¹⁷ “Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
¹⁸ “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.
“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.
¹⁹ “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

²⁰ “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. ²¹ Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. ²² If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. ²³ My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. ²⁴ Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. ²⁵ Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, ²⁶ and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.
²⁷ “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. ²⁸ I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. ²⁹ But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.
³¹ “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea^[h] to the Mediterranean Sea,^[i] and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. ³² Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. ³³ Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”