sokin's devotional 87 - the law of God
"But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."
Exodus 21:23-25
"But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5
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I must admit that reading through this part of Exodus (chapters 21-23ish) had me just skimming it because a part of me felt it was just filled with old testament "do-this-and-dont-do-this-isms" that was covered in the cross of Christ, thereby bringing about a new law and new covenant.
So, a part of me just wanted to blow past this and get to my other readings.
But as I read it again, God stirred in my heart to see that it would be foolish to just gloss over these passages with that thought. Not only was it lazy but I think it's also theologically incorrect.
The insight I received was that these laws were set in place for us to see that God's standards for justice and "just living" are way above ours. In fact, I would say that our thoughts on what constiuttes fairness is pathetic in comparison to God's standard for holiness.
For instance, in Exodus 21:17 it says that, "Whoever curses his father of his mother shall be put to death."
By that standard, I think it's safe to say that everyone should've been put to death.
This passages therefore shouldn't make us think that God is a cruel being that is impossible to please or serve. I believe that it's also an error to think that we are to try and uphold these laws. It would be an exercise in futility.
More than this, I think this passage of scripture is for us to see:
1. God is serious about being just
2. God is fair, more than we ever will be
3. We cannot live up to His measure of fairness, holiness
4. We therefore deserve death, by His law
5. But we have an advocate for us, Jesus Christ, who upheld this law but also died for our inability to uphold this law
We are to look to Jesus, and see that the stripes that we were to be repaid for we laid on Him so that by His wounds, we would be healed.
It is impossible for us to please God on our own because of our sin nature. But God, able to do the impossible, made it possible for us to please Him because of Jesus Christ.
We must therefore surrender to and remember Jesus. We must worship and adore Him for He who has bore the burden of our sin that condemned us to God's wrath, swallowed our sins and took it to the Cross for our redemption and for His glory.
Exodus 21:23-25
"But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5
---
I must admit that reading through this part of Exodus (chapters 21-23ish) had me just skimming it because a part of me felt it was just filled with old testament "do-this-and-dont-do-this-isms" that was covered in the cross of Christ, thereby bringing about a new law and new covenant.
So, a part of me just wanted to blow past this and get to my other readings.
But as I read it again, God stirred in my heart to see that it would be foolish to just gloss over these passages with that thought. Not only was it lazy but I think it's also theologically incorrect.
The insight I received was that these laws were set in place for us to see that God's standards for justice and "just living" are way above ours. In fact, I would say that our thoughts on what constiuttes fairness is pathetic in comparison to God's standard for holiness.
For instance, in Exodus 21:17 it says that, "Whoever curses his father of his mother shall be put to death."
By that standard, I think it's safe to say that everyone should've been put to death.
This passages therefore shouldn't make us think that God is a cruel being that is impossible to please or serve. I believe that it's also an error to think that we are to try and uphold these laws. It would be an exercise in futility.
More than this, I think this passage of scripture is for us to see:
1. God is serious about being just
2. God is fair, more than we ever will be
3. We cannot live up to His measure of fairness, holiness
4. We therefore deserve death, by His law
5. But we have an advocate for us, Jesus Christ, who upheld this law but also died for our inability to uphold this law
We are to look to Jesus, and see that the stripes that we were to be repaid for we laid on Him so that by His wounds, we would be healed.
It is impossible for us to please God on our own because of our sin nature. But God, able to do the impossible, made it possible for us to please Him because of Jesus Christ.
We must therefore surrender to and remember Jesus. We must worship and adore Him for He who has bore the burden of our sin that condemned us to God's wrath, swallowed our sins and took it to the Cross for our redemption and for His glory.
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