God was always just and instituted just laws at arms-length to his own subjectivity. His laws were upright, integrous and pure. Still are.
Jurisprudence in Israel (Chapter 25)
A full Jewish bench
comprised 3 judges and witness had to be independently reliable. In time, the default would
shift in favor of the plaintiff, akin to our “innocent until proven guilty”,
but without a separate attorney or advocate.
By the time Jesus was
tried the convener of the court, or high priest in the trial of Jesus, would assume
the innocence of the charged until convinced otherwise, and would also offer 7
chances to bring new evidence. Witnesses had to be inscrutable.
The kind of case cited
in Chapter 25 is more of a civil nature, between two parties. There were many
prescribed punishments and up to 200 that would lead to lashings. The severity
of the crime would determine how many, but 40 was the absolute maximum.
Examination was not a
Roman innovation. The use of a 3-cord whip was very Jewish, but the strokes
were limited to 13, which limited the total to 3 by 13 strokes or 39, expressed
as 40 save 1.
Unregulated lashings, as happened elsewhere were forbidden.
The punishment was
meted out in court under the oversight of the judge. The offender would lie face
down and receive his punishment with due sobriety and fearfulness, to ensure
respect for the law. Then it was done and the matter was closed.
Honoring a widow (vs 5 - 11)
If a woman was
widowed, her nearest kinsman (her oldest surviving brother-in-law), was expected
to take her to wife and give her children.
Since Sarah, the reproach
of a woman without child was deeply understood by Israel, so the nation took
substantive steps to right that.
However, as happened
with Ruth, the kinsman-redeemer, could refuse her before the city elders. Then the
woman would remove his shoe in front of the elders and add a reproach to his
name that would hang over him into the future.
An even scale (vs 13 – 19 and vs 4)
Justice was required
to be even handed, or as expressed here “you shall not have diverse weights in
your bag or diverse measures, but a perfect and just weight”.
Moses reminded them of
the double-dealings of the Amalekites and how that felt, then instructed Israel
not to do the same, whilst reserving justice for Amalek.
A bit out of direct
context, but more fittingly said here, the principle of not muzzling the ox
that treads the corn, alludes to the principle of fair compensation.
Do not forget (Chapter 26)
Isaiah said, “do not
forget the rock from whence you were hewn”. Moses inferred the same here.
The first-fruits and
tithing thereof on the third year, to the priest, the poor, the fatherless and
the widowed, was all rooted in their past.
Lest they ever forget
that they were slaves, wretched and downtrodden, God
instructed them to bring their tithes and first-fruits out of gratitude and in
reciprocation for the mercy that saved them.
In return God promised
to make of them a great nation, to never turn them back. If they would just
keep his commandments he would prosper them always.
Honor the law (Chapter 27)
The Jews were
instructed to take stones, plaster them and write thereon the laws, the covenant
of God. The stones were to be taken up to Ebal.
Ebal implies, a “heap
of ruins”, which meant that it was a proxy for their own ruin. Instead of
bringing inevitable ruin to Israel, obedience would spare them.
What followed is a
string of curses for disobedience. It is severe and it is announced in advance
to enshrine the curse in law, so that it is never subjectively imputed, but
invoked by wrong behavior.
That is why we saw the
curse of God in our world. Our actions invoke and enshrined principle and bring
his disfavor on us.
The blessings of God (28)
Truly this is one of the
great chapters of the bible. The blessings (and reciprocal curses) are timeless
and, by implication, enshrined in divine principle so that anyone can invoke
them, which we do by obeying God through the substitionary dynamic of the cross.
Blessings in the city
and country, in the fruit of the womb, in your basket and store, in going out
and coming in, in war, in your storehouses, in your name, in prosperity, to
give you a good name and to make you the head and not the tail.
Wonderful stuff and objectively ensured by all who want it.
The curses are the inverse for all who want that, but God adds loss, sickness, failure,
confusion, madness, sleeplessness, family betrayal, rebellion of children, loss
of assets, setbacks in life and business, unanswered prayer, and the loss of title to others.
God help us to fear
these incredible principles, which are cast in concrete and become us depending
on our own responses to God. It is contextual to the justness of God that it is predefined and thus possible to every soul without prejudice.
God has always built
systems that distance him from subjective intrusion into life, so that he doesn’t
have to decide whether to bless or curse us individually, and this chapter does
just that – so if we want trouble, here is the recipe - but rather seek his
blessings.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
