Representing The Rescuing God

[0:00] If at any point anyone needs a wee drink, there's some bottles of water just down the front. Just go and grab them. Please feel free to. This morning we're back into the book of Exodus.

[0:23] We've taken a long break since we left the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. So, this morning we are in Exodus 21. And the second half of the book is quite different to the first half. The first half, there was a lot of physical movement. There was a lot of narrative. There was a lot of crazy stuff going on as the people were taken out of Egypt. But now we are situated at Mount Sinai, and they're receiving a lot of instruction. And so, this morning we're going to be going through quite a chunk, two and a half chapters, eight, six verses, quite a lot. Brace yourselves, get a drink of water. And there's going to be a kind of different pace to the second half. There's a lot of details about a lot of things. And so, we hope to get through that as best we can.

[1:16] I'm going to have some slides up before the reading, so we'll go through them before we do the reading. I'm going to just say a few things, because there's a number of controversial things in our passage today, and we're not going to avoid them. We're not going to shy away from them.

[1:36] There are some things in our passage that people would like to use to say that the Bible condones certain things. So, we're going to tackle them head on. And so, I'm going to go through some things before we read the passage. And think about this. Have you ever been doing something, whether you've been downloading an app or starting a subscription or something, where you have a terms and conditions? And there's a wee box to tick that you agree. Now, how many people have actually read all of the terms and conditions? We scroll down, don't we? And we tick, okay, agree, let's get the thing. And in some ways, this is kind of the way that Israel approaches all of these instructions in this covenant relationship with God. They kind of say, yes, yes, we understand. We want to tick the box.

[2:35] We agree. We will follow the rules. Just tick and agree, but have they really considered what they're signing up to? And in fact, it's not just some dry legal document. It's like a marriage covenant.

[2:49] It's like the vows of a wedding that they are going through. These instructions are like the vows of a relationship. And so, again, I said there's a number of controversial things. If you go to the next one, firstly, if we understand the context, then we will understand the content. We will understand what God is doing, where they are, Sinai, who they are. They are rescued slaves. We need to remember that.

[3:23] And what is going on? It's a covenant agreement. It's a covenant relationship. And then we'll understand the things and why they are written. And secondly, to realize that these things are not ancient problems. In many ways, many of these kinds of things actually still happen today. Now, when we read the passage, it will sound like ancient problems, but as we begin to think about it, we will see in many ways that the same things happen today. And so, the next slide. This is the context that Israel, this group of Hebrews, are essentially a wandering group of refugees that Yahweh has rescued from harsh slavery in Egypt. And they're gathered together at Mount Sinai as a new nation, and they're only just establishing new leaders along with Moses. They're only just receiving a new law, the Ten Commandments, but they don't really know how to apply the Ten Commandments in every situation. And so, some of these rules that we're going to hear are ways to apply the Ten Commandments. They don't yet have a land of their own. And as such, this group of wandering refugees, rescued slaves, are extremely vulnerable, both from other people and from themselves. And so, these laws are a guide to help them to keep the covenant agreement, not to cover every possible scenario, but as a target to aim for. That's important. This little thing we did earlier with the children's talk with the target, these things are a target. And I'll go into the words that we're familiar with and just how much they are a target.

[5:07] And so, this is a target to aim for, as they represent the rescuing God. So, just as like in marriage vows, anyone said any marriage vows in their life or heard them? Marriage vows don't tell us precisely how to be faithful in every situation, in every possible scenario, but the way a married person lives should show and should look like they're married. And so, these things don't tell us precisely every possible scenario, but they're a target, an aim, a guide to help us live like we are representing a rescuing God. Another thing to remember is three dangers when approaching a text like this. So, the first danger is that slave is a loaded term for us. So, we must avoid reading what we think slavery is back into the text. The recent history of slavery in the UK and America is not the same kind of slavery as in Egypt—sorry, as in our text in Exodus. It's not the same kind of slavery. The slavery in the ancient Near East was not necessarily racially motivated, nor was it always involuntary or perpetual. And so, we must avoid reading a loaded term back into the text. Second danger is that we grew up in a society that already has rights and protections. It's the air we breathe. So, it's easy for us to look at these things and scoff at small beginnings without realizing what it would actually be like to live in a world without the rights and protections we have. You see, people in our country, we have this attitude, a growing attitude of entitlement, where we think that all of these things are a right that we can insist on. And so, we can't imagine what it's like to live in a society where no such rights or protections exist. That would make us read this text differently.

[7:13] And the third danger is, even in our world, with these laws, that doesn't guarantee that people will keep them. There's many forms of slavery, abuse, and exploitation that happen in our country today, in our world today. And just because there are laws in place doesn't mean that people will keep them. So, we should not view these laws with a sense of self-righteous superiority as though we have moved on from such things. We've not moved on. These things still happen today, and not just in far-off lands, even in our own country. And so, my hope is, at the end of today, when we think about texts like this that people would like to blast Christianity with, that we would understand them a little more, and that we would have confidence in our Bibles. It's not outdated or oppressive, and I hope that we can see that as we go through it today. And so, the context—remember the context that it's a vulnerable group of rescued slaves in need of safeguards and a better way of life, befitting the people of this God who saves, and they're given a target to live by. They're all about living and acting in such a way that shows that they're in a covenant relationship with a rescuing

[8:31] God. They're lives that promote life and freedom, that represent a just and compassionate God who rescues people from slavery, slavery to sin, darkness, and death. And these things are meant to encourage in loving your neighbor, acting justly, walking humbly, showing compassion, and valuing life, the life of others more than possessions.

[8:57] And so, let us go through the text. And as we go through the text, it's a very long text, so I'm going to make comment as we go through, otherwise we might forget some things. So, we'll have the text up. Exodus 21.

[9:15] Now, these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave—immediately put the brakes on there, what does it mean by Hebrew slave? Remember, we shouldn't read slavery back into the text. This is actually talking about a thing called debt slavery or indentured servitude. This is a way for people who were in debt to pay off their debt, who were in poverty, to secure food, clothing, and shelter when there were no welfare systems in place. In order to pay off a debt or deal with poverty, people could give themselves in service to someone else. And it was not racially motivated. It wasn't meant to be permanent. And God also gave a Sabbath system where the debts would be canceled and the servants would be set free and so on. So, when you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh year, he shall go out free for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single.

[10:16] If he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons and daughters, the wife and her children shall be her masters, and he shall go out alone. Again, this wasn't meant to be harsh. It was actually meant as a protection for women and children, that they wouldn't be going out with no one to provide for them, but they would be kept in a family of providence for them. But if the slave plainly says, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free, then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or doorpost. His master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever. Now, this was not meant to be like the way that they had been treated in Egypt, and the master bringing the servant before God was meant to be a stark reminder, don't treat this person like you were treated in Egypt. But it was rather to be in a family that can afford to provide and protect.

[11:26] So, this servant, this servant with his wife and children says, no, I want to be part of this family for the rest of my days, because here we have a family, here we have a shelter, here we have food and clothing and protection. When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. Now, does that sound unfair to our ears? It sounds strange. But what are we missing?

[11:55] Well, many of you will know the families that we know in India. Think about Lily, right? Lily is now a widow. Many of us that have known how things are in India know what widows are like in India and how they are treated in India. And so, for a female in some of these places to be alone is extremely vulnerable, extremely vulnerable. And so, her protection was often either in a family or in marriage. And to send her out without a family or a husband would be to leave her extremely vulnerable.

[12:30] That's why she's not going out, as the male servants do, without a family or without a husband. And that's why it goes on to talk about marriage or a family. So, verse 8, if she does not please her master who designated her for himself, that is in marriage, then he shall let her be redeemed by her family. He shall have no right to sell her to foreign people since he has broken faith with her.

[12:56] If he designates her for his son, that is to marry his son, then he needs to deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he's not to diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. If he doesn't do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing without payment or money.

[13:16] And so, do you see that? He is not to neglect this woman. Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hands, then I will appoint for you a place which he shall flee.

[13:35] But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, then you shall take him from my altar that he may die. Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death. Now, this isn't just a wee slap.

[13:50] This is really beating your parents to death. Whoever steals a man and sells him, that is kidnapping or human trafficking. Anyone found in possession of him shall be put to death.

[14:03] Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death. Again, this is not just back chat, but this is going before God and using the name of God to place a curse upon your family.

[14:16] When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear only. He shall pay for the loss of his time and shall have him thoroughly healed.

[14:34] When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod, and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. That is, the master shall be put to death. But if the slave survives a day or two, he's not to be avenged, for the slave is his money. When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out prematurely, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm to the child, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of the tooth. When an ox gores a man with its horns, or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh will not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned, but not kept it in control, and it kills a man or a woman, then the ox shall be stoned, and the owner shall be put to death. If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give the redemption of his life. This is compensation, whatever is imposed. If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to the same rule. And if the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to the master thirty shekels, and the ox shall be stoned, because that was the compensation. And so what we see with many of these things, they have a relation to the Ten Commandments. Thou shall not murder, thou shall not steal, thou shall honor your mother and father, and all that, so on and so forth. And see the equal value on the lives of men and women, slaves and free, the same rights on unborn children. The death penalty for killing an unborn child should tell us that in God's eyes, unborn children are as valuable as any other life. Just because they're in the womb doesn't make their life any less valuable than ours. And the same way, just because someone's in servitude as a slave doesn't make their life any less valuable than ours. And so these are verses that people scoff at, but compare for a second, compare the justice that we read in these verses with our own justice system. Right? How many unborn children are killed each and every day, aborted, and not only is it acceptable, but we are all paying towards a welfare system that enables people to do that? Or think about the average term of a life sentence for taking a life of a human being. In Britain, the average term served is around sixteen and a half years.

[17:49] Does that make up for the life of another? No? I mean, in here it says a life for a life. Think about the sentence for kidnapping or human trafficking in our country compared with this text.

[18:02] You know, a life sentence isn't really a life sentence. And in many ways, our justice system allows people to get away with murder. Now, the point is not to say that we should have it perfect, but when people scoff at this, we often forget that we are committing the same very things in our own country, and there's no justice. No justice. People feel the lack of justice in our country. Now, I wouldn't want the job of a judge or the government. I wouldn't want that job.

[18:35] But do we think that we are superior to these stuffy rules that God gives? Because it seems like God always takes crime way more seriously than we do, and it seems that God always places greater value on human life than we do. But when we think about the capital punishment in these verses, the point is not that God wants more death. God doesn't want more death. That's not the goal.

[19:00] Ezekiel 33 says that God says even to Israel who should know better, God says, as surely as I live, declares Yahweh, the sovereign God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they would turn from their wickedness and live. Turn. Turn from your evil ways.

[19:19] Why will you die, O people of Israel? So, more death is not God's desire. But God is perfectly just, so there will be judgment to serve justice. The punishment should be a serious incentive not to commit the crime. That's the point of these things. Why does it say they shall be put to death?

[19:40] It's not because God wants more death. It's because God has given a serious incentive not to do these things. And also, it should be a signal to show the great value of life. You see, God is merciful that He provides a way of salvation. And so, let us read on, verse 33.

[19:59] When a man opens a pit, when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make restoration, because he's not protected it. He shall give money to the owner, and its dead beast shall be his. When one man's ox butts another so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast they shall also share.

[20:23] Or if it's known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in the control, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his. I hope these things speak for themselves. If a man steals an ox or a sheep or kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no blood guilt for him. But if the sun has risen on him, that is, he's still alive, there shall be a blood guilt for him. He shall surely pay. And if he's got nothing to pay, then he shall be sold for his theft. You see that indentured servitude? He's paying off his debt. The stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it's an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall pay double. If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over and lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and in his own vineyard. If a fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that it's stacked grain or standing grain or the field is consumed by the fire, then he who started the fire shall make full restitution. If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to be kept safe and it's stolen from the man's house, then if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. Every breach of trust, whether it's for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a cloak, for anything, any kind of lost thing, of which one says this is it, the case of both parties shall come before God and the one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor. If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep it safe and it dies or is injured or driven away without anyone seeing it, an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property.

[22:30] The owner shall accept the oath and he shall not make restitution, but if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to his owner. If it's torn by beasts, let them bring evidence and he shall not make restitution for what has been torn. If a man borrows anything of his neighbor and it's injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution. If it was hired, it came for a hiring fee. Many of these things speak for themselves. Have you ever lended something to someone? I'm sure you can see that these are protections for loss of goods. Do you notice that all of these things as well, nobody's getting put to death for stealing something or for breaking something? Because God places a higher value on human life than property, and that's important. Back in the ancient Near East, there were many similar laws among different groups of people, but one of the distinct things about Yahweh is that he always places more value on human life than he does on animals and property. And so, even in our culture today, as advanced as we think we are, many groups of people would rather protect trees and cows while aborting thousands of babies and disregarding human lives of widows and orphans and the poor.

[23:58] And again, the example of India, where a cow's life is sacred and is often treated with more value than a widow or an orphan or a human being. And so, what to take away from this is that God places greater value on human life than he does on animals and on property.

[24:23] Let's read on. If a man seduces a virgin who's not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride price for virgins. Now, this is not talking about someone forcing himself on a woman. That's expanded in Deuteronomy 22, and that's punishable by death.

[24:49] But rather, it's talking about a premarital relationship, and it's talking about the damage that that can do to a female, both in her purity, respect, and value, and also the damage it can do in her being able to gain a proper bride price. So, this act could leave her destitute.

[25:11] And so, again, we look at these things and we scoff at them. You know, look at these Christians, you know, no sex before marriage and all that kind of stuff. You see, our culture celebrates people who devalue themselves, and they devalue others by their practices. And people are treated like possessions, often because people show little respect for their own bodies and little respect for other people's bodies, and they give themselves to things easily, or they sell their bodies physically or over the internet. People in our culture not only encouraging, celebrating, devaluing one another, and yet we scoff at these laws and these rules, this target to aim for where God values human life. You see, in some places people might physically sell their bodies, and particularly in rich and the developed countries, like our country, it is absolutely rife online among our own girls in school, selling themselves online.

[26:26] It's absolutely rife, and they are damaging themselves, and other people treating them with little respect. You see, at least in our text, at least in the Bible, the bride price reflects the value of this female, and that value that would be damaged by promiscuity. And so, I know it sounds strange, but look at how we are treating one another and how the value is placed in the Bible. Let's read on verse 18, you shall not permit a sorceress to live. Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

[27:00] Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than Yahweh alone, shall be devoted to destruction. Why are these three things so serious? Why is the death penalty here again? Well, because these things in particular are infected with evil, and they are very destructive. They are counter to God's creation, and they are often associated with the occult and with evil spirits. People dabbing in evil spirits without even realizing the danger that they're in. Verse 21, you shall not wrong a sojourner, that's a foreigner, or oppress him, for you were once sojourners in the land of Egypt.

[27:38] You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wife shall become widows and your children fatherless. So, the value that God places on foreigners, on widows, and on orphans, fatherless children, God's wrath will burn against those who mistreat these people. And so, the idea is that people representing God should also burn against the mistreatment of foreigners, of widows, and of children. We ought to fight for their rights and protections and advocate for them. If you lend money to any of my people who is poor, you shall not be like the moneylenders, and do not act exact interest. If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in a pledge, return it to him before the sun goes down, for that's his only covering, and it's his cloak for his body.

[28:42] What else shall he sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him, for I am compassionate, says God. Again, God cares for the poor, and he cares about the mistreatment of them, things like exacting interest or leaving them without a coat for the night. People of God should be compassionate, for God is compassionate.

[29:01] It goes on to say, you shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest or the outflow of your presses, the firstborn of your sons you shall give to him. You shall do the same for your oxen and your sheep. Seven days it shall be with its mother.

[29:21] On the eighth you shall give it to me. You shall be consecrated to me. You shall not eat any flesh that's torn by beasts in the field. You shall throw it to the dogs. You shall not spread any false report.

[29:35] Do not join your hands with a wicked man and the malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil. Nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many so as to pervert justice.

[29:50] Nor shall you be partial to the poor man in his lawsuit. You see that? Don't go with the crowd and end up perverting the court of justice. Nor be partial with the poor. Be fair. Be just.

[30:03] You should not be unjust, either with the poor or with the crowd. You should have compassion, but justice should be fair and impartial, and there should be no false testimonies.

[30:15] It goes on to say, if you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. Listen to this, right? You hear this accusation that God is angry in the Old Testament, and then Jesus comes along and says, love your enemy. Right? But listen to this.

[30:35] If you see the donkey of one who hates you, if you see his donkey lying under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving it with him, rescue it with him. You see that? Isn't that wonderful?

[30:51] Don't you just love that? People often say that the Old Testament's all about judgment, and the New Testament is about grace, or that the God in the Old Testament is different from Jesus, but that's not so. Here we see the idea of loving even your enemy, turning the other cheek, as it were. If you see your enemy and his donkey is falling down under its burden, for God's sake, help your enemy, because God is compassionate. Love your enemy. Come on, show grace to someone to help them. It goes on to say, you shall not pervert the justice due to the poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge. What a wonderful practical piece of advice. Keep far away from a false charge. And do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. You shall not oppress a sojourner, for you know the heart of a sojourner.

[31:58] You were sojourners in the land of Egypt. Again, the heart of all of this is that Israel knows what it feels like to be on the wrong side of all of this. They should never treat anyone the way that they were treated. God rescued them from such harsh treatment. Will he not rescue someone if they harshly treat someone? God is not like a friend who will take your side regardless of your action.

[32:23] God is not like that. God is holy. God's not just going to take your side because you're his friend. God is just. And the only reason any of us can stand is because he's merciful.

[32:35] But being God's people does not make us exempt from the consequences of sin and from giving an account for our actions. You see, we all need to turn away from sin. We all need to throw ourselves on the mercy of God and live our lives in accordance with his grace and wisdom. If any of us have known what it is like to be mistreated, then for God's sake, don't mistreat other people. And I mean that for God's sake, because we're representing God. Verse 10, for six years you shall sow your land and gather its yield, but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie. Why? That the poor of your people may eat. Whatever they leave that the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyards and your olive orchard. In six days you shall do your work. On the seventh you shall rest. Why? So that your ox and your donkey might rest, and so that the son of your servant women and the alien and the foreigner might be refreshed. Come on, folks, we need to think about one another and consider one another. Don't be so burdensome to other people. Give people rest and refreshment.

[33:53] You see how the Sabbath was meant not to be a burden, but meant to be a means of rest and refreshment for everyone, even the donkeys. Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips. Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. Keep the feast of unleavened bread as I commanded you. You shall eat unleavened bread for seven days in the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. Remember that you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. You shall keep the feast of harvest, of the fruits of your labor, and what you sow in the field. Remember that God has given you.

[34:35] You shall keep the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. Three times of the year all your mail shall appear before the Lord your God.

[34:46] You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning. The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God, and you shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. Sounds like a very random end. But that's our text, folks. I know that was a lot to take in, but here's the point. God is wanting his people to represent him both in justice and compassion, because God, this God Yahweh, is a rescuing God. Israel were slaves in Egypt under harsh slavery, and God served justice and brought them out of slavery. God is a rescuing God, and he values life greatly and does not treat lightly the things which threaten life, which harm life, and which devalue life and freedom and justice and goodness. And so, I hope we've been able to see the striking resemblance, the heart of these things and the way that Jesus treated people. You see that? There's no difference between the Old and the New

[35:54] Testament. No difference between Yahweh and Jesus. And you see that in the way that Jesus treats people. Protection, fairness, justice for the vulnerable, compassion for the poor and the stranger, fighting for the widow and the fatherless, and even loving your enemy. Has God not done the same for us?

[36:15] And so, I want to lastly touch on this thing, right? Because, again, this is not just about stuffy rules. This is a covenant relationship. This is like the vows. The vows of a relationship. This is something to aim for. It's a target. And so, the word sin means missing the mark, right? And in Hebrew, the word is chata. Chata, right? The word Torah. Have you ever heard the word Torah?

[36:46] The word Torah comes from the word Yara. And the word Yara means… What do you think the word Yara means? If chata is missing the mark, what do you think Yara is? It's an archer term to take aim and hit the mark. That's what Yara means. And Torah is the target. Torah is the target. And chata, sin, is missing the target. Do you see how they all connect together? And so, here we have this target to aim for, this target to hit all these things. The goodness of God, the justice, the compassion of God. Aim for that. Torah, aim for it. That's your target. The Torah is your target. But everyone has chata. Everyone has missed the mark. You know, even the Israelites have missed the mark. But not only them. Not only do we read on in the Old Testament and see how Israel failed to hit the mark. Every single one of us sitting here today have failed to hit the mark. And in some ways, the world that we're living in today, think about this, right? So, we like to scoff at this Torah, at these targets that

[38:12] God places. The world scoffs at them. Well, where is the target in our world? What targets are we setting in our world? I mean, it seems like… Tell me if you can identify with this. It seems like in our world the target's always moving. Targets are always moving. What are we supposed to do?

[38:32] The world are painting their own targets over here. Why do you aim for this? And even the targets that they paint, we can't even hit. We can't even hit our own targets. And you see that in the way that the world is tying itself in knots with all this gender stuff. Now, I'm not making a big point about it simply to say that the world can't even keep their own targets that they're painting. They can't.

[38:55] The justice system's weird. And when you come to figuring these things out, we get ourselves tied in knots with these targets that we're painting for ourselves. And not only are we missing the true mark, we're missing our own marks. And when we're left to paint our own targets, do you think we're going to paint them with the same sense of justice that God has? Or the same sense of compassion and right and goodness that God has? No, we don't. We don't. We paint them with their own preferences.

[39:23] And so, when we begin to paint our own targets, we're bound to miss the mark of God if we're aiming at our own targets.

[39:35] Wouldn't it be great to live in a world where we didn't need all these laws? Wouldn't it be great to just live in a world where these things weren't a problem? Well, consider this in our so advanced and developed world. Are we living in that world right now?

[39:54] No, we're not. No, there's many forms of modern slavery. There's many forms of abuse and exploitation. All these things that we see are happening in our world today. And so, this world, as much as we like to think we're developed, the government we have, the kings of this world, they're not bringing about a world where these things are solved. And one of the big issues is the things are in our heart as well.

[40:21] These problems are in our own hearts as well. I wonder if you've seen at the Paralympics, you've maybe seen a clip on YouTube, this Indian girl.

[40:32] She's about 16 years old. Have you seen that? Any of you seen that clip? Go on YouTube it later, right? There's this Indian girl. She's 16 in the Paralympics doing archery. And she's got no arms.

[40:45] And she gets a bullseye. It's awesome. Awesome. Go and look at the clip, right? But this, taking, well, I can't even do that because she doesn't use her arms. And she's taking this shot and she gets it straight into the bullseye. Incredible shot. You know, we've got arms and we miss the mark all the time. You see, the only one who hit the mark perfectly every time was Jesus.

[41:14] Can you imagine, have you ever got it right just for one day? Imagine doing that for 33 years of your life. I mean, we need the gospel every single day. And Jesus hit the mark perfectly every single day of his life for 33 years. It says he knew no sin. He knew no chata. He knew no missing the mark. Missing the mark is completely alien to Jesus. Every time, hitting the bullseye every time. And he's—one of the reasons why he always hit the mark is because he set the mark. Because he is God. He's the Son of God.

[41:56] You see, the law came from him. He wrote it. He hit the mark. And the heart of Yahweh and Exodus is the same heart as Jesus, the Son of God. He was put to death for us missing the mark. So, all that capital punishment went on Jesus for us missing the mark. And he went willingly. He went willingly to take our punishment because justice must be served. Yet he took it also because he is merciful and compassionate. You see, death is not his design. He doesn't want more death in the world. He doesn't want anyone to die. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son so that all who believe in him shall not perish. He doesn't want any more death. But believing in him shall have eternal life.

[42:44] And Jesus was sold for 30 shekels of silver, the same price as a slave. You see, it's not just about missing the mark and having the guilt of it. It's about breaking this relationship with God. It's about the fact that, like that children's talk, every time we miss the mark, we get a little bit further away. Every time we miss the mark, we're getting miles away, and we're turning ourselves into a hellish beast. And so, it's not just about rules, but about a covenant relationship. And Jesus is not only the one who hits the mark, he's the one who rescues us from missing the mark. And so, Jesus came to rescue us from chata, from missing the mark. He came to rescue us from the death penalty and from judgment that is due, because justice, we all want justice.

[43:45] We just don't want it for ourselves. Think about it. Even the worst criminals want justice when their friend gets killed. We just don't want justice for ourselves. And yet, Jesus came, the good news of Jesus. And it's good news today. It's not good news 10 years ago. So, when, like, when did you give your life to Christ? When did you believe in Jesus? Was it only good news back then? One of the things that I love about Jesus is that it's good news today, because you're guaranteed I'm going to miss the mark today. I don't know any one of you that will probably get through the day without missing the mark. And so, we want to simply say at the end of all this, these are wonderful targets that God is trying to give us for right living, for valuing humanity, for justice. But He knows we're going to miss the mark. And so, He sent the one who painted the mark to rescue us from missing the mark. And today, put your trust in Jesus today, because the good news is good news today. You're going to miss the mark today, and you're going to know it. And we can look to Jesus for this day, and He can rescue us from the punishment due to us. Let me pray. Folks, well done. It's been a very long text. It won't always be like that. But I hope that through it, you can have confidence to read the Old Testament law as something wonderful, and yet see that Jesus rescues us because we all miss the mark. Let me pray.

[45:23] Father, we thank You for Your law. We don't always understand it. Sometimes it's strange to us, but we are fallen. We have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And so, sometimes we misread these things because our heart is bent towards sin. We have darkened ourselves, and we have become blurry to seeing what is good and right and true. Please help us to see Your justice, Your compassion.

[45:51] Please help us to have the same value of humanity that You do, and please help us to trust in Jesus and see that He has great news today for each and every one of us who miss the mark.

[46:01] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Folks, well done.