{"id":19915,"date":"2022-01-21T22:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-01-22T05:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/exodus-22_1-15-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-01-16T18:51:24","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T01:51:24","slug":"exodus-22_16-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/exodus-22_16-31\/","title":{"rendered":"Because You Are Precious To God"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exodus 22:16-31 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Exodus 22:16-31.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Exodus 22:16-17 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-17:\u00a0\u00a0People today might read about the bride price and think it is degrading that a monetary value could be placed on a woman. Isn’t that treating her like property? But in ancient Israel the bride price was not understood that way.\u00a0\u00a0In ancient Israel\u00a0the bride price was seen as something that brought honour to a woman. It meant that if you want to be with her, you have to pay the price. You can’t have her for nothing.<\/p>\n

I believe one timeless principle we can learn from these verses is that\u00a0we are not to treat people merely as sexual objects that we can use and discard without any responsibility or commitment.\u00a0\u00a0God\u2019s intention is that sex and lifelong love would go together.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

So single ladies, when you’re looking for someone to love,\u00a0don\u2019t settle for someone who will not pay the price for you, who simply wants to use you but not treasure you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Single guys, whenever you decide to be in a relationship with any girl, consider the price. Are you willing to pay the highest price to be with her?<\/p>\n

Remember Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0So that He could be with us, Jesus paid the highest bride price: He paid with His own life. So\u00a0if you ever question your worth, remember that you have incredible worth to God because God paid the highest price to have a relationship with you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Exodus 22:18-20 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do not allow a sorceress to live.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the\u00a0LORD\u00a0must be destroyed.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-20:\u00a0\u00a0In ancient Israelite society, witchcraft, bestiality and idolatry were expressly banned such that anyone who practices these was to be put to death.\u00a0\u00a0What are we to do with these verses today?\u00a0\u00a0In the New Testament, Christians are warned against witchcraft, bestiality and idolatry, but there is no accompanying command to put Christians to death for these sins.\u00a0\u00a0That is because, though we all deserve to die and be separated from God because of our sin, out of incredible love for us, Jesus Christ paid the price for all of our sins on the cross. The death we should have died for our sins Jesus assumed in our place.<\/p>\n

So when you meet someone who has a history of practicing witchcraft, bestiality, idolatry or other sins, instead of coming to them with condemnation and judgment, remember the mercy God showed you at the cross and show that person similar mercy and compassion, hating the way that sin has messed with their lives, but loving them as people who are precious to God (see Jude 1:23, for example).<\/p>\n

Exodus 22:21-24 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 21-24:\u00a0\u00a0Foreigners, widows and orphans have a special place in God\u2019s heart (see Matthew 25:43 and James 1:27).\u00a0\u00a0To this day, we as the church are to have a heart to defend, protect and serve them as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 22:25-27 (NIV)<\/em>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset,
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 25-27:\u00a0\u00a0As part of ensuring that the Israelites would not take advantage of the poor, God commands the Israelites not to charge interest on loans to the needy. God also commands the Israelites that if they take a fellow Israelite\u2019s cloak as security to pay back the debt, they were to return the cloak by sunset so that the owner of that cloak wouldn\u2019t freeze at night.<\/p>\n

What is the timeless principle we can learn from?\u00a0Don\u2019t take advantage of the poor. Be compassionate and kind in your dealings with them, because God is kind and compassionate toward us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 22:28 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 28: To blaspheme God means to make disrespectful statements about God.\u00a0When it comes to authority, whether it\u2019s God Himself or human leaders, we are to speak about them respectfully.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 22:29a (NIV)<\/strong>
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 29a:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What\u2019s the timeless principle here?\u00a0\u00a0Avoid the temptation to keep for yourself what you should be offering to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 22:29b-30 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n“\u2026You must give me the firstborn of your sons.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 29b-30: Earlier in Exodus we learned that the firstborn of every family and of livestock belongs to God (Exodus 13:12), and that if you wanted to keep that firstborn you had to redeem that firstborn by making a sacrifice. Let these verses remind us that\u00a0every good thing we have is ultimately from God and belongs to Him, and that we are stewards, not owners, of what He has given to us<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Exodus 22:31 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 31:\u00a0\u00a0God commands them not to eat the decaying flesh of an animal that has already been eaten by other wild animals.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I believe here we see God\u2019s concern for the healthy and safety of His people.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for every lesson we can learn from Your law.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that You are not the type to use me and discard me.\u00a0\u00a0Rather, so that You could be with me forever, You paid the highest price for me by giving up Your Son Jesus to the cross.\u00a0\u00a0Since You showed me such love, may I place my hope in You alone and give You the worship You deserve, including through my words, my wallet and the ways I treat others.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Exodus 22:1-15.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Exodus 22:1-15 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;
\n3\u00a0\u00a0but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. “A thief must certainly make\u00a0restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0“If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession–whether ox or donkey or sheep–he must pay back double.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0“If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man’s field, he must make\u00a0restitution\u00a0from the best of his own field or vineyard…….<\/p>\n

On verses 1-15:\u00a0\u00a0Over and over the word \u201crestitution\u201d comes up.\u00a0\u00a0Restitution is a legal term that means restoring to someone something that has been taken away from them. It’s about making a person whole again after they have lost something. That’s what these regulations in verses\u00a01\u00a0to 15 are talking about.<\/p>\n

How can we apply these regulations from the Law of Moses?\u00a0\u00a0First, if we scan the New Testament, we\u2019ll see that the New Testament does not specifically mention these regulations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19915"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19916,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19915\/revisions\/19916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}