Unlocking the Bible

They are to declare their history when they arrive in the land, recounting their rescue from Egypt.

Prayers of thanksgiving are also to be made.

SABBATH

Up until the time of Moses, nobody had a Sabbath. It is a new provision for slaves who have previously worked seven days a week, but who are now given one day a week free from work.

FEASTS (ALL PILGRIM EVENTS)

Passover.

Weeks (Pentecost).

Tabernacles.

SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS

If there is a murder, and the perpetrator cannot be found, a heifer is to be sacrificed to declare the innocence of the community.

EXCLUSIONS FROM THE ASSEMBLY

Those with mutilated or castrated genitals are excluded from the assembly of the Lord.

Children of forbidden unions (up to the tenth generation) are also forbidden to enter.

Ammonites and Moabites are explicitly forbidden.

Edomites (from the third generation) are permitted to enter.

VOWS

Whatever we vow we must do. Vows are freely made, so should be followed through. If you make a vow to God you must keep it.

SEPARATION

No mixing of seeds is allowed.

A donkey and an ox should not be yoked together.

Clothes of wool and linen may not be mixed.

These laws of separation may seem very strange, but they were connected to the old fertility cult which was widespread in the land. The pagans believed that by mixing such things they were producing fertility. God was emphasizing that he gives fertility: they did not need to practise such superstition.

2. Government

KING

There are laws here for a king, even though they were not to have a king for centuries.

God is their king – kingship is a concession, not part of his plan.

When a king comes to the throne he has to write out the laws of Moses in his own handwriting and read them regularly.

The king is instructed not to have many wives, many horses, or much money.

JUDGES

Rules for conducting law courts are given, including provision for a court of appeal. Interestingly, the penalty for contempt of court given here is death.

There are also rules for justice: no bribes and no favouritism. An alien, an orphan and a widow must get exactly the same treatment as the richest businessman.

There must be at least two or three witnesses who agree totally on what they have seen or heard. If they bear false witness they must suffer exactly what the person would have suffered if they were found guilty. If my false testimony in court gets someone fined £1,000, then when I am discovered to be a false witness I am fined £1,000. ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’

There are regulations covering the administration of punishments. Floggings are to be a maximum of 40 strokes (they usually made it 39 to make quite sure they did not break the law). Excessive flogging is dehumanizing – the criminal is treated like a lump of meat. When a person is executed, the body must not be left hanging on the tree after sunset. (The apostle Paul applies that to Jesus on the cross in Galatians.) There is no imprisonment.

3. Special crimes

AGAINST PERSONS

Murder always carries the death penalty, unless it was manslaughter and unintended. Six cities of refuge, three either side of the Jordan, are to be set up where a man who has killed accidentally can run to escape the death penalty.

Kidnapping also carries the death penalty.

Death is the penalty for rapists if the attack took place in the country, but both parties are to be put to death if the attack took place in the town, because the victim could have cried out.

AGAINST PROPERTY

There are laws against theft and the removing of boundary markers around land.

4. Personal rights and responsibilities

Injuries and damages.

Masters and servants: slaves have rights; workers should be paid on time.

Credit, interest and collateral. Debts are to be cancelled after seven years by every creditor cancelling loans made to fellow Israelites. Interest must not be charged.

Weights and measures. Properly weighted scales are to be used at all times.

Inheritance. It is the responsibility of the next of kin to continue the family line.

5. Sexual relations

Marriage. Strict instructions concerning the marriage bond, for those married, those pledged to be married, and those raped.

Divorce. Divorce on the grounds of the husband ‘disliking’ his wife is prohibited. Remarriage to the original husband following a divorce is forbidden to protect the innocent woman.

Adultery. Both parties should be put to death.