Exodus 22:16–31 (ESV) —
16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.
18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
19 “Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.
20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.
21 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
29 “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 30 You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.
31 “You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
NOTE: We should not forget that we are not under the law, but under grace. The law is intended to reveal sin and to separate the people of God from the nations around them. Verses 18-20 add three laws that brought the death penalty. Constable argues that they all involve idolatry. Witchcraft is attempt to override God's will. Intercourse with animals was practiced in the ancient near east and was associated with the worship of their false gods. Third, we can only offer sacrifices to the one true God.
We are more guilty of idolatry than we are willing to admit. It started in the garden when Eve (and Adam) were enticed to eat the forbidden fruit so that they could become "like God" choosing what is good and evil for themselves. We are there today. In areas of sexual activity, marriage, sexual relations -- we are telling ourselves what is good and evil. What God says is evil, many call good, and attack those who would speak up for truth.
PONDER:
- Am I willing to accept God's definition of sin, or do I think a more modern definition is required?
- Do I pervert the plain reading of scripture to justify sinful actions?
PRAYER: Lord, this is certainly not a popular thing to discuss in today's culture. But if your word is not the source of truth, then there is no truth at all. Help us to see that we must live according to truth, not what we want truth to be. We worship ourselves, we are the ultimate idol. Forgive us Lord.
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