ALL ROADS LEAD TO CHRIST
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST
EXODUS 21 Study Guide & Breakdown
The Law Concerning Servants
21 “Now these are the [a]judgments which you shall set before them: 2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
7 “And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she [b]does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights. 11 And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.
The Law Concerning Violence
12 “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.
14 “But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.
15 “And he who strikes his father, or his mother shall surely be put to death.
16 “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.
17 “And he who curses his father, or his mother shall surely be put to death.
18 “If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, 19 if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be [c]acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.
20 “And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.
22 “If men [d]fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that [e]she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.
Animal Control Laws
28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be [f]acquitted. 29 But if the ox [g]tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. 31 Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. 32 If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 “And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.
35 “If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. 36 Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.
STOLEN PROPERTY
37 “Now if a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep …
NOTES Exodus 21 – (vv. 1, 5 & 6, 13, 16, 24)
21:1: The Word of the Father spoke these ordinances to Moses – (AthanG) … These ordinances reveal the mercy and love of God, for they protect the innocent from the evil in the Old Testament times … If they had not been given, evil people would have become much more numerous than they were … For as St. Paul said: “The law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless” – (1Timothy 1:9) … These laws do not proceed from cruelty, but from abounding mercy, for if the Lord had not given these laws, He would seem to have been cruel – (JohnChr) …
21: 5, 6: The Law honored free will, for the permanent relationship of servant to master was based on it … Similarly, our service and worship to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is also based on free will …
21:13: The Word of the Father appointed cities of refuge, and when He became Incarnate, He also commanded, “when they persecute you in this city, flee into another “– (Matthew 10:23; AthanG) …
Matthew 10:23: When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Matthew 10:23: is saying that persecution must not cause the disciple to quit, but simply to love forward in his mission … According to St. John Chrysostom, BEFORE THE SON OF MAN COMES is not a reference to the Second Coming but merely means that before the disciples could visit all the cities in Palestine, Christ would rejoin them, thus more quickly ending the hostility they would encounter …
21:16: The Law imposed the death penalty for cursing one’s father or mother … Similarly, the heretics curse the Holy Fathers and the teachings of the Church … They constantly change their own teachings, because they cannot find Christ, the Wisdom of God – (AthanG) …
21:24: The Law allowed vengeance to be taken on one’s enemy, but the saints in the OT did not fulfill this law … They went beyond it and suffered all kinds of deprivation from their enemies – (Hebrews 11:37-38) … The law of Christ would have our patience proved by the injuries and blows offered to us being redoubled, and bids us be ready to endure twice as much damage … (Matthew 5:38-39; JohnCas) …
Hebrews 11:37-38: They were stoned, they were sawn in two, [a]were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
Matthew 5:38-39: 37 But let [a]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
PSALM 80 (81) Study Guide & Breakdown
PSALM 80 (81) Is a psalm regarding Christ – (THE END) and His Church – (THE WINEPRESSES, v. 1) … For His Church is the new wine – (THE NEW COVENANT), formed in the Sacrament of Baptism – (Matthew 9:16-17; 1Corinthians 12:13) … And Israel’s deliverance from Egypt – (vv. 1-11) is a type of baptism – (1Corinthians 10:1-2) … However, after baptism, the Christian is to be careful to walk in God’s ways and heed His voice – (vv. 12-17) …
CLOSING …
FREE WILL!!!
DEUTERONOMY 23:23 OR v. 24
That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
We all have free will, we all free will to either worship Jesus Christ or not … We all the free will to do good or to do evil, it’s a choice … We all free will to either help others in need or turn away from them thinking you are better than they are … Free Will is just that but with free will comes consequences, some outcomes from our choices turnout good or sometimes end us up in a lot of trouble … The end of this age is coming just make sure you chose wisely … above passage is explaining self-control, and those who chose to follow the Lord know work is involve, we must keep ourselves accountable to Him …