Click HERE to return to main site

And the Judgement Is...

     So we see here laws that deal with “fear of man” (Ex:21:1-22:19). These are case laws that are enforced by the Beit Din.(house of judgment)

      There are laws that deal with the “fear of YHVH” (Ex:22:20-26). These laws deal with ethics that are enforced by YHVH himself.

     There are the “love your neighbor” laws (Ex 23:1-9) We are understand those, those are the ones we all like to knit-pick at trying to find a loophole concerning who exactly is considered my neighborJ. Does he have to live next door, if he lives on the next street does that exempt him, does he have to be a believer, do I have to consider the pagan next door as fitting into the neighbor category, what if he has a different belief system than I do, you know we’ve all heard these types of questions beforeJ.

      Then laws that deal with “loving YHVH” (Ex:23:10-17) The last section deals primarily with the promise of protection by the angel.

      Jewish people view their redemption as occurring in three stages. The first stage is called Yetziat Mitzrayim, the redemption from Egypt. (Ex:1-17) The second stage is called Ma’amad Har Sinai, meaning the revelation at Mount Sinai. The last stage will be the inheritance of the land. In this parasha we are currently in the second stage, Ma’amad Har Sinai. This stage includes the giving of the Torah, known as Matan Torah, along with the events that immediately precede and follow it.

      If you look at Ex:24:5, it states that the youths of Israel offered whole burnt offerings and peace offerings to YHVH during the covenant ceremony. The whole burnt offering is called the olah and is one of the primary offerings listed in Lev: 1-6.  The whole burnt offering was offered by persons in covenant relationship with YHVH (Gen:8:20-21 and Ex:24:5-8) The whole burnt offering was a symbolic act demonstrating that the worshipper had offered himself in service AND obedience to the commandments of YHVH.

      Ex:24:5 tells us that the youth made the olah offerings. Who were these youths? Most all Jewish sages agree they were the first borns. The Levitical Priesthood had not been established at the time of the ceremony of Exodus 24. Therefore the youths were offerings olah and peace offerings as priests on behalf of the nation of people.

      This can actually remez back to the Akeida (the binding of Isaac by Abraham to be an offering). Hebrew sources tell us that Isaac was around 37 years old when this incident happened. The story of the Akeida teaches us that Abraham and Isaac were “both” willing to submit to the will of YHVH. Not only did Abraham have the faith to be willing to offer up his only son as a burnt offering (olah), but Isaac had to have faith to be the willing offering. Surely the strapping 37 year old man could have wrestled the aged Abraham and prevented him from binding him. But there was no struggle, because Isaac was willing to give himself as an olah offering to YHVH. So how do these two stories of Abraham and the youths tie in together? We saw the olah offering was offered by someone in covenant relationship as an act demonstrating their service AND obedience to the commandments of YHVH. Thus the story of the Akeida is connected to the covenant of ceremony of Exodus 24 to help us realize the great significance of Israel’s response to YHVH’S commandments. It was serious business with Abraham and Isaac and it was serious business with the olah offering by the youths who were acting as priests on behalf of Israel.

     We also want to look at the law of the bondservant. This will be a little different take on it. During the bondservant ceremony, the person’s ear is pierced open up against a doorpost.  Naturally, after the ceremony the bondservant had a hole in his ear. In other words, “the servant’s ear has been opened!” What scripture might you remez back to here? Let’s try Psalm 40:6; sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering (olah) and sin offering You did not require. So what was the significance of piercing the ear through on the doorpost? That can be answered with another question, what is on the doorpost of any Torah observant Israelite doorpost? The bondservant had his ear pierced on doorposts that contained the commandments of YHVH! Therefore, his ear “was opened” to hear and be obedient to the commandments of YHVH. Numerous times in the Torah Israel is referred to as the servant to YHVH. Israel became the bondservant of YHVH in Exodus 24:1-11 when they said, “Everything that YHVH has said, we will do and we will obey!” The actual person getting his ear pierced against the wall is a symbolic picture of having Israel’s ear opened to hear and obey YHVH’S commandments!

       We also see a famous passage in this week’s parasha that we’ve heard so many people use inappropriately. That is, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, etc. I know it was used more than once on the old western show “Gunsmoke” by the villain of the dayJ. At least that’s what I’m told. But it’s not meant to be taken literally. YHVH never wanted you to cut off someone’s foot in retaliation for your foot getting cut off, or any other body part. It’s simply saying compensate for the loss in equal manner . If you damaged someone’s arm and they can’t work, then you pay their bills and medical expenses until they can go back to their trade. People use this verse to “get even” as they say, by inflicting pain back on someone else. In 21:26-27, it clearly says that if a man smites his servant’s eye, or even tooth and causes him to lose it, then he shall let him go free. If you used the eye for an eye passage literally, as some want to do, then it would tell the person to go punch out the owner’s eye or knock his tooth out in return. But these examples come right after the eye for an eye verse, in order to show you it was not to be taken literally. Yet people pick and choose verses to use for their own benefit.

       However, there are several things you could do to receive the death penalty. Let me first say, there is a death penalty, then there’s a DEATH PENALTY. You will notice it states that anyone who sacrifices to other idols in 22:20, it says will be “utterly destroyed.”  This is the only judgment in this parasha that carries with it total annihilation. The word used there for utterly destroyed is charam. If you worship other gods and do not believe in the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you WILL forfeit your physical life and your spirit being. The death penalty was also prescribed in the case of murder, kidnapping, bestiality, or striking your parents. In these cases you forfeited your “physical life” but not necessarily your spiritual being. There is a difference in a “believer” who commits a murder out of anger or strikes a parent. But if you’re serving another god other than YHVH/Yeshua, you’re toast! So that’s why there is a distinction between the punishments of death for serving other gods as opposed to the death penalty for the other sins listed.

       So we’ve read about spiritual laws and human laws given, now we go on to the laws about possessions. Unlike crimes against people or against YHVH, crimes involving possessions only require restitution for the value of the possession. For instance, if one man’s ox hurt another’s ox and it dies, then they must sell the live ox and divide the money and divide the dead ox also. As a result, both farmers shared the burden of the loss, so both farmers were less likely to carry a grudge. Of course there are other situations where the laws were different depending on the circumstances. If a sheep was stolen and the thief caught, he had to repay four sheep in return. But if he stole an ox, he had to repay five in return. Why five oxen and only four sheep? The oxen were more valuable, they were work animals, so he lost work when he lost the ox. That’s if the thief stole it and killed it or sold it that this penalty applied. The penalty was different if he was caught with it alive in his possession. Then he has to repay back double what he took.

       YHVH also expected you to treat someone else’s possession that was entrusted to you, as though it were your own. He even covered laws concerning the liability you took on when keeping other people’s money or goods. 

       So we see that YHVH formed a government and made judgments based on the magnitude of the crime. The  main three punishments established were total annihilation, physical death, and restitution. Total annihilation dealt with not accepting the God of the universe as the one true God. Physical death occurred in cases involving the harm of other humans for the most part, except bestiality. Restitution was reserved for cases involving the theft or damage of another individual’s possessions. By setting down laws and limits YHVH brought order to Israel’s society. As a result, Israel’s order was more stable than any of the nations around them.

       Now society sees these rules as being obsolete. Just like many people believe the feasts of YHVH have been done away with. But one day everyone will follow the commandments of Torah or suffer the consequences. I always tell people, you can learn Torah now or learn it later, but you WILL LEARN IT. People will be surprised to find out in the millennium the nations will come up to Jerusalem to celebrate Tabernacles or there won’t be any rain on their land (read Zech.14). But wait, doesn’t the church teach those feasts have been done away with????? There are a lot of people going to be in for a lot of surprises thenJ!  I know a few people who I have plans on standing right next to and saying, I told you soJ!!!! Oh wait, I’m not supposed to do that am I? Can I just hold a Torah scroll up, wave it in front of their face and smile? No, well how about if I graciously go over with a smile and offer to help them make their sukkah? Ok, I’ll try to get them to learn about these things now, but do you guys know you take all the fun out of being rightJJJ?