Welcome to February, everyone! Well done for sticking with me this far. And if you are reading this in May - hello, you're still welcome! Today we encounter the first bits of law, which are probably going to concern us for the rest of the month.
Are those pesky Israelites ready for a face to face audience with the Almighty? I can just see Moses thinking to himself: that’ll fix ‘em! But let’s face it - people are awkward, ornery, contrary, capricious, complicated … and assuming that God made them that complicated, even if they’re a bit shop-soiled, I doubt that a eyeball to eyeball encounter will have any lasting effect.
Moses prepares Israel to meet with God
Exodus 19:9-15
Moses holds Israel back from the mountain
Exodus 19:16-25
Ten commandments given
Exodus 20:1-17
The people tremble
Exodus 20:18-21
Instructions for altar
Exodus 20:22-26
Various laws given: Masters and servants
Exodus 21:1-11
Injuries to persons
Exodus 21:12-36
This is my first taste of what is to come - an awful lot of laws and instructions. But before we get to them, there are some forbidding instructions about not coming too close to God. It makes him sound like a nuclear reactor - powerful but very dangerous. Certainly the people are scared. Good, Moses says to himself grimly, “the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” (20:20)
The Ten Commandments need time to dwell on. I think I’ll probably do a separate blog post for them. I used to think they were very out of date, and hardly applied to modern life. I’m increasingly thinking the opposite, and that actually they contain some very profound wisdom for our digital age. More on that another time.
Chapter 21 contains laws which limit the evil of slavery. Slaves are given certain rights and protections, though to our ears, not enough. If you beat your slave so much that he dies, you will be punished, but if he has to take to his bed and then recovers after a day or two, no problem. The second half of chapter 21 reads like an Accidental Injury solicitor’s website. And I thought all this stuff was new!
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