(1) Overview
(NET) laws of purity and justice. Any of them could be treated in an expository way, but in the present array they offer a survey of God’s righteous standards: Maintain the sanctity of marriage (16–17); maintain the purity of religious institutions (18–20), maintain the rights of human beings (21–28), maintain the rights of Yahweh (29–31).
(2) 22:16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow her to be his wife.
(2) 22:16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow her to be his wife.
(NET) this was a proposal gift and not a purchase price (Exodus, 700). This is the price paid to her parents, which allowed for provision should there be a divorce. The amount was usually agreed on by the two families, but the price was higher for a pure bride from a noble family. Here, the one who seduces her must pay it, regardless of whether he marries her or not.
The law that deals with purity in our marriage was put ahead of our purity in our worship v.16-20. Then the law of giving to the poor was put ahead of offering to the Lord v.21-31.
Reflection: God looks over our lives and examines our hearts and sees those things as important before we worship Him. Are you ready to worship God? Are you pure and do you give to the poor?
(3) 22:23 If you afflict them in any way and they cry to me, I will surely hear their cry, 22:24 and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless.
God hears the cry for the widow and orphan that Israel might afflict. He would punish them up to death penalty.
v.27b And when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
When they lend money to the needy they need to have a heart of sacrifice. No interest should be charged and the pledge could not be taken when the needy neighbor needed it back. It is almost to the point of unreasonable that how the rich should treat the poor.
(NET) The lending to the poor was essentially a charity, and so not to be an opportunity to make money from another person’s misfortune.
Reflection: Why did the rich need to be so nice to the poor beyond being reasonable? I think it is because God was mercy to His people beyond reasons. Have you experienced the beyond reasoning mercy of God?
Audrey
Audrey
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