Rev. David Holwick ZG Exodus series, #15
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 11, 2009
Exodus 23:1-13
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I. Justice is a lady.
A. For ages, statues have depicted Lady Justice with three symbols.
1) A sword symbolizing the court's coercive power.
2) A human scale weighing competing claims in each hand.
3) A blindfold indicating impartiality.
B. What exactly is justice?
1) Setting things the way God intends them to be.
a) Especially in communities, and families.
b) Whenever we violate our relationships with one another,
or harm one another, it must be made right.
2) Legal decisions should be made on basis of truth and fairness.
Studies at UCLA in 2008 have indicated that reactions
to fairness are found in a key part of the brain.
Fairness activates the same part of the brain that
responds to food in rats.
This is consistent with the notion that being treated
fairly satisfies a basic need.
Research conducted in 2003 at Emory University in
Georgia involved Capuchin monkeys.
Scientists demonstrated that other cooperative animals
also possess such a sense of fairness.
Ideas of fairness and justice may be instinctual in
nature - God has wired us this way.
#31696
C. Justice is not limited to establishing what is right.
1) In the Bible, we can give people more than their rights.
2) We can give them more than they deserve - grace.
3) If we treat people justly, and treat God rightly, we will
have a blessed life with abundance and peace.
II. Do justice right.
A. This passage is an expansion of the ninth commandment.
1) Don't be a false witness in court. 23:1
a) This passage is probably dealing with a court setting,
rather than the spreading of malicious gossip.
b) Courts are a great opportunity to "get even" with
someone.
c) We must resist slanting things to achieve an ulterior
purpose.
2) Key principle: don't pervert justice. 23:2
B. Justice has to be blind.
1) Don't follow the crowd. 23:2
a) "Group-think" is a strong influence on us.
b) We want to be in line with everyone else, especially
if we have doubts about the facts.
c) There is comfort in being with the majority - but the
majority is often wrong.
2) Don't play favorites. 23:3
a) Don't show favoritism to the poor. 23:3
b) Don't deny them justice, either. 23:6
1> Poor people had an inclination to side with one
of their own when a powerful person brought
the little guy to court; that's wrong.
2> On the other hand, rich people have always been
able to "buy" all the justice they need.
They can afford the best lawyers and run the
little guy into the ground.
That's wrong, too.
3> Christians need to judge on the merits alone,
not our sympathy for one side or the other.
c) Justice Sotomayor's infamous "wise Latina" remark.
1> A sign of favoritism, or sensitivity?
2> Certainly, we all bring preconceptions when we
assess a justice issue.
At one time, justice in the United States was
determined only by white guys.
I like that! I am a white guy.
But experience has shone us that our perceptions
are flavored by our background.
We probably think we are being absolutely fair
all the time, when we are not.
Diversity of opinion and experience can bring us
closer to the truth of a matter.
3) Don't bribe. 23:8
a) The Bible condemns bribery a lot. That means it
was very popular.
b) According to the media, it remains so.
There was an interesting article on Iraq this week.
According to real estate agents there, under Saddam
Hussein it took ten bribes to buy a house.
Today, it takes 25.
It might cost you $20 to get into an office, then
thousands for the necessary permits from high
government officials.
c) Corruption like this makes people cynical and whittles
away at our standard of living.
4) The innocent must not be punished. 23:7
a) Legal principle taught in law schools:
"Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one
innocent suffer."
(English jurist William Blackstone)
1> The ratio comes from the Bible story of Abraham
pleading for mercy for Sodom and Gomorrah.
b) We don't like to see the guilty get off "scot-free."
1> But we should be even more upset when a person is
kept in jail for 20 or 30 years, only to have
a DNA test exonerate them.
2> The presumption of innocence is important to defend.
C. Compassion for enemies. 23:4-5
1) Enemy here is probably a legal opponent.
2) Retrieve and help their beasts of burden.
a) Our anger at them is no excuse to lose our basic values.
1> After all, his donkey hasn't done anything to you!
2> This kind of humanitarian concern is found
throughout the Old Testament law.
b) "Hate your enemy" (Matthew 5:43) is not taught in the
Old Testament, though people inferred it due to the
hardness of their hearts.
c) Practical concern for an enemy's good is just a short
step from loving your enemy, as Jesus commanded.
Matthew 5:44
3) Remember what it was like to be an alien. 23:9
a) Aliens are often treated as enemies.
1> They are not like us, so we suspect they are up to
no good.
2> Notice the attitude toward aliens in America (we
suspect all of them are here illegally, but this
isn't the case.)
b) God's repeated reminder - you were once aliens in Egypt.
1> Don't forget what it felt like.
2> The strongest and best societies are just and kind
to the aliens among them.
D. Compassion for land.
1) Sabbath rest for fields. 23:10-11
a) It may seem strange to us, but the Bible treated land
humanly as well.
1> Just like humans were supposed to rest on the
seventh day, so land should rest on seventh year.
2> It makes good sense to let land rejuvenate by being
fallow, but farmers resisted it.
A> What would they eat that year?
B> We know from the Bible that they rarely followed
this rule.
C> Years later, it was given as one of the reasons
God sent the nation into exile for 70 years.
1: Sort of a forced Sabbath rest for the land.
b) Rest for the land also provided gleaning opportunities
for wild animals and the poor.
1> Gleaning had two aspects:
A> Corners of fields were left unharvested each
year.
B> On the seventh year, whatever grew
spontaneously was fair game for anyone.
2> Once again, God provides for the "little guys."
A> Ruth is the most famous Bible story of gleaning.
3> Gleaning is also a principle you can follow today.
A> You don't have to be a farmer to support
gleaning.
B> The checkout line at our local supermarket has
has coupons that can be scanned to make a
contribution for local food banks.
C> Some people buy baked goods at the day-old
stores and give them to the soup kitchen.
2) Sabbath rest for people. 23:12
a) The Sabbath is not just for worship, but refreshment.
b) Everyone needs a weekly break.
III. Do God right.
A. Don't invoke false gods. 23:13
1) The God of the Bible is not pluralistic - you must
worship him alone.
B. Follow a cycle of worship.
1) Jews had three annual pilgrimage festivals. 23:14
a) Unleavened Bread (and Passover). 23:15
b) Feast of Harvest. (Pentecost) 23:16
c) Feast of Ingathering. (Tabernacles)
2) This was when everyone would come to Jerusalem.
a) It was a seasonal routine, making the worship of God
part of the rhythm of life.
1> Just like many in our town come just to Christmas
and Easter.
2> But the rest of the year the Jews went to the local
synagogue.
b) Faith and fellowship must be a regular part of life
or you will wither spiritually.
C. Worship God the way he wants it.
1) Offerings must have no blood or yeast. 23:18
a) Since we don't have to offer sacrifices anymore,
what's this have to do with us?
b) The overriding principle is that we shouldn't cut
corners with God, or allow compromise into our lives.
c) Our relationship with him must be pure and undiluted.
2) Bring the best. 23:19
a) Don't come empty-handed. 23:15
b) Our generosity with God's work now will pay dividends
in eternity.
3) Don't boil a baby goat in its mother's milk. 23:19
a) This has got to be one of the strangest laws in the
chapter.
1> Yet it has had a huge impact on Judaism.
2> This verse is why kosher Jews do not let meat come
in contact with dairy products.
A> Just try getting a cheeseburger in Jerusalem!
B> Some strict Jews even have two kitchens in their
homes, one for meat and one for dairy.
b) Canaanite fertility practice?
1> Most commentators say it has to do with paganism,
not kitchen hygiene.
2> Their neighbors did this kind of thing to honor
their gods, so Jews are not allowed to.
IV. God helps those who honor him.
A. His angel will go ahead of them. 23:20
1) The angel has divine attributes.
a) God's name is in him. 23:21
b) Some scholars see him as the preincarnate Jesus?
2) Obey him and he will defeat all your enemies. 23:22
a) God will send his terror and hornet (Egypt?)
ahead to fight for them. 23:27-28
b) The Canaanites will be wiped out. 23:23
1> However, it will be a gradual process. 23:29
2> It is also a necessary process because of
their corrupting influence. 23:33
3) In the same way, we can expect God's leading and protection
if we put him at the center of our lives.
B. Worship God and he will give positive blessings.
1) Food, water, health, long life. 23:26
a) Even today, we all want these things.
2) Secure borders established. 23:31
3) But remember that blessing requires obedience! 23:21-22
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
Some points in this sermon were derived from Rev. Mark Vaughan's sermon
"Reminders For God's People," Kerux sermon #27404.
#31696 "We Are Hard-wired For Fairness," adapted from the Wikipedia.org
article on "Justice." The illustration's primary source is the
UCLA Newsroom article: "Brain reacts to fairness as it does to
money and chocolate" by Stuart Wolpert, April 21, 2008.
<http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/brain-reacts-to-fairness-as~
-it-49042.aspx?link_page_rss=49042>
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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