Setting – Moses provides miscellaneous laws for Israel to follow. He addresses taking care of others animals for their neighbor if they are hurt, building a retainer wall on the roof of their house (so that no one call fall off), not to mix two kinds of seeds when planting a vineyard, not plowing with a donkey and a ox together, or mixing wool and linen together for clothing.
Also addressed is marriage and handling of a virgin or non-virgin wife.
Content – God wants the community to take care of one another possession. If a neighbor’s donkey gets hurt and the neighbor isn’t around, it’s the responsibility of that person to tend to the donkey until the neighbor comes back. We see this with the wall (parapet) on the roof. This was to protect others when on the roof of their house. The issue is that they were to take care of others in the community.
God didn’t want some items mixed, seeds for vineyards, plowing of an ox and donkey and wool and linen together for clothing. Not sure if it’s relevance but God is layout items of separation which I know have a purpose.
Lastly, he provides laws regarding handling of a virgin and marriage. If a man claims that his wife isn’t a virgin, but the elders find out that he is wrong (lying about the issue), they would be chastise him and he is to pay 100 shekels of silver to the wife’s father. If it is true that the wife is found out to not be a virgin, then she was to be stoned at the doorway of her father’s house. God addresses how to handle the sin of consensual and non-consensual relationships before marriage.
Application – Once again we see that God doesn’t take lightly sin in the midst of Israel. Here again death is the punishment of some sin. This is the law that the Pharisees confronted Jesus with in John 8. They brought a women caught in an adultery to see how Jesus would handle it because the law stated (v. 5), “"Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” Boy, we sure wish we knew what Jesus wrote (v. 6), “…But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.” So the punishment was death, but Jesus responded (v. 10) “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?' (v. 11) She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.'” Wow. What mercy. Here we see Gods forgiveness. Under the new covenant, mercy and grace are found. We see that condemnation is also left to Jesus, because He was the only one who had no sin and was the only valid judge to condemn her.
Jesus tells us, (v. 24) "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am {He,} you will die in your sins." We no longer live in our sins because we believe in Christ. We who follow Him give him lordship of our life. We then can receive the same response from Jesus, “'I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.’” We are not condemned, Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.
Also addressed is marriage and handling of a virgin or non-virgin wife.
Content – God wants the community to take care of one another possession. If a neighbor’s donkey gets hurt and the neighbor isn’t around, it’s the responsibility of that person to tend to the donkey until the neighbor comes back. We see this with the wall (parapet) on the roof. This was to protect others when on the roof of their house. The issue is that they were to take care of others in the community.
God didn’t want some items mixed, seeds for vineyards, plowing of an ox and donkey and wool and linen together for clothing. Not sure if it’s relevance but God is layout items of separation which I know have a purpose.
Lastly, he provides laws regarding handling of a virgin and marriage. If a man claims that his wife isn’t a virgin, but the elders find out that he is wrong (lying about the issue), they would be chastise him and he is to pay 100 shekels of silver to the wife’s father. If it is true that the wife is found out to not be a virgin, then she was to be stoned at the doorway of her father’s house. God addresses how to handle the sin of consensual and non-consensual relationships before marriage.
Application – Once again we see that God doesn’t take lightly sin in the midst of Israel. Here again death is the punishment of some sin. This is the law that the Pharisees confronted Jesus with in John 8. They brought a women caught in an adultery to see how Jesus would handle it because the law stated (v. 5), “"Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” Boy, we sure wish we knew what Jesus wrote (v. 6), “…But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.” So the punishment was death, but Jesus responded (v. 10) “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?' (v. 11) She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.'” Wow. What mercy. Here we see Gods forgiveness. Under the new covenant, mercy and grace are found. We see that condemnation is also left to Jesus, because He was the only one who had no sin and was the only valid judge to condemn her.
Jesus tells us, (v. 24) "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am {He,} you will die in your sins." We no longer live in our sins because we believe in Christ. We who follow Him give him lordship of our life. We then can receive the same response from Jesus, “'I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.’” We are not condemned, Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.
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