WEBVTT 00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:03.020 Good morning, everyone. It's good to be with you to worship God together. 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:08.820 If you would turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 22. 00:00:11.019 --> 00:00:14.759 And if you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand. We'd love to bring it over to you. 00:00:16.859 --> 00:00:19.260 We have copies that you can use while you are here. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:27.280 We're in Exodus chapter 22, verse 16, going all the way to chapter 23, verse 9 this morning. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:30.800 Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word. 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:42.359 Heavenly Father, we do not want to worship you as we imagine you to be. 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:47.060 As we prefer you to be. 00:00:49.680 --> 00:00:53.840 Lord, we want to worship you as you have revealed yourself to be. 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:58.740 And so again, we humble ourselves before your word. 00:01:03.400 --> 00:01:04.820 Reveal to us. 00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:07.400 Reveal yourself to us as the God of love. 00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:14.320 Reveal to us your terrifying justice. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.619 And your scandalous mercy. 00:01:21.839 --> 00:01:25.039 Exalt the name of your son, Jesus, this morning. 00:01:27.539 --> 00:01:29.879 And capture our hearts anew. 00:01:30.679 --> 00:01:34.319 With wonder and worship before your throne. 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:37.859 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:38.719 Amen. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:38.859 Amen. 00:01:38.859 --> 00:01:46.579 If you would stand for the reading of God's word. 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:48.519 I will read it out a lot for us. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.620 Exodus 22, starting verse 16. 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:52.739 Going to Exodus 23, verse 9. 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:01.439 If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:05.439 he shall give the bright price for her and make her his wife. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:09.400 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:12.780 he shall pay money equal to the bright price for virgins. 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:17.120 You shall not permit a sorceress to live. 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:20.359 Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death. 00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:25.240 Whoever sacrifices to any God other than the Lord alone 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.240 shall be devoted to destruction. 00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:31.719 You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:34.400 for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:38.300 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 00:02:38.580 --> 00:02:41.599 If you do mistreat them and they cry out to me, 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:44.540 I will surely hear their cry. 00:02:44.920 --> 00:02:46.840 And my wrath will burn. 00:02:47.140 --> 00:02:49.060 And I will kill you with the sword. 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:53.500 And your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. 00:02:54.980 --> 00:02:58.740 If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, 00:02:59.200 --> 00:03:01.640 you shall not be like a money lender to him. 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:04.039 And you shall not exact interest from him. 00:03:04.399 --> 00:03:07.419 If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, 00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:10.239 you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 00:03:10.459 --> 00:03:12.139 For that is his only covering. 00:03:12.539 --> 00:03:14.739 And it is his cloak for his body. 00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:16.679 In what else shall he sleep? 00:03:17.399 --> 00:03:18.879 And if he cries to me, 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:20.839 I will hear. 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:23.259 For I am compassionate. 00:03:23.259 --> 00:03:26.739 You shall not revile God, 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:28.959 nor curse the ruler of your people. 00:03:29.359 --> 00:03:32.780 You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:34.359 and from the outflow of your presses. 00:03:34.959 --> 00:03:37.599 The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.599 You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:43.079 Seven days it shall be with its mother. 00:03:43.239 --> 00:03:45.099 On the eighth day you shall give it to me. 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:47.840 You shall be consecrated to me. 00:03:48.420 --> 00:03:51.840 Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field. 00:03:52.200 --> 00:03:53.539 You shall throw it to the dogs. 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:56.719 You shall not spread a false report. 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:00.640 You shall not join hands with the wicked man to be a malicious witness. 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:04.080 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil. 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:06.699 Nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:09.439 siding with the many so as to pervert justice. 00:04:10.480 --> 00:04:13.980 Nor shall we be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:18.480 If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, 00:04:18.719 --> 00:04:20.139 you shall bring it back to him. 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:24.639 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:27.279 you shall refrain from leaving him with it. 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:29.159 You shall rescue it with him. 00:04:30.039 --> 00:04:34.060 You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:38.939 Keep far from a false charge and do not kill the innocent and righteous, 00:04:39.339 --> 00:04:42.519 for I will not acquit the wicked. 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:45.219 And you shall take no bribe, 00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:47.459 for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted 00:04:47.459 --> 00:04:49.919 and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:52.699 You shall not oppress a sojourner. 00:04:53.159 --> 00:04:55.019 You know the heart of a sojourner, 00:04:55.419 --> 00:04:59.079 for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:02.180 This is God's holy and authoritative word. 00:05:02.459 --> 00:05:03.099 You may be seated. 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:14.020 Before justice became a buzzword over the last 20 years or so, 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:16.780 God was already the God of justice. 00:05:17.620 --> 00:05:19.580 And if you look at this passage, 00:05:19.960 --> 00:05:21.860 if you have the English Standard Version, 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:22.920 which I read from, 00:05:23.420 --> 00:05:24.700 there's a heading that says, 00:05:24.840 --> 00:05:27.300 Laws About Social Justice. 00:05:27.300 --> 00:05:31.379 And this passage is about social justice. 00:05:32.780 --> 00:05:36.420 What should justice in a society look like? 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:40.139 But what also about mercy? 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:45.939 Is there room in a just society for mercy and compassion? 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:51.240 Justice punishes a person as he deserves. 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:56.519 Mercy does not punish a person as he deserves. 00:05:57.379 --> 00:05:59.480 Justice penalizes. 00:06:00.280 --> 00:06:01.920 Mercy pardons. 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:06.420 So how should justice and mercy function together in a society? 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:12.900 Can justice and compassion kiss each other, 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:15.560 as it says in Psalm 85, verse 10? 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:20.160 This passage teaches us that as those who belong to the Lord, 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:22.340 who is compassionate and just, 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:26.120 we should treat our neighbors with compassion and justice. 00:06:26.280 --> 00:06:29.520 And I'm going to cover that in a few points, four points. 00:06:30.220 --> 00:06:33.860 The first few verses of this section deal with sexual sins 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:36.280 and expound on the seventh commandment, 00:06:36.340 --> 00:06:37.440 which prohibited adultery. 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:41.340 And verses 16 to 17 deal with fornication. 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:43.560 Verse 18 with sorcery, 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:46.520 with most likely a connection to cultic prostitution. 00:06:47.020 --> 00:06:49.500 And verse 19, it deals with bestiality. 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:51.820 It says in verses 16 to 17, 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:55.420 if a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, 00:06:55.780 --> 00:06:59.100 he shall give the bright price for her and make her his wife. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:02.640 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, 00:07:02.820 --> 00:07:05.680 he shall pay money equal to the bright price for virgins. 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:09.320 As I've said a few times in this part of Exodus, 00:07:09.320 --> 00:07:13.300 you can tell what a society values by looking at the law 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:15.220 and looking at what it prohibits. 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:19.460 The Bible places a premium value on chastity 00:07:19.460 --> 00:07:23.360 and consistently denounces all kinds of sexual immorality, 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:27.100 including in this case, fornication or premarital sex. 00:07:27.980 --> 00:07:30.880 A man here has seduced a woman, a virgin, 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:33.060 who is not betrothed and has lain with her. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:35.340 So this is a consensual relationship. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.760 And in our society nowadays, 00:07:37.940 --> 00:07:40.600 premarital sex is considered normal and expected, 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:43.640 and all kinds of sexual relations are permitted 00:07:43.640 --> 00:07:45.320 so long as they are consensual. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.520 But that is an appalling deviation from the scriptural standard. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:52.480 Because God designed sexual intimacy 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:55.020 to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage. 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:57.420 It's not because God is a prude. 00:07:57.700 --> 00:07:59.960 It's because God knows, understands, 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:01.280 because he created it, 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:04.080 how precious and powerful sex is. 00:08:04.780 --> 00:08:07.660 And like anything that is very precious and very powerful, 00:08:07.660 --> 00:08:12.000 it must be guarded and it must be enjoyed in its proper context. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.240 In Genesis 2.25, it said, 00:08:15.520 --> 00:08:16.780 Adam and Eve as husband and wife 00:08:16.780 --> 00:08:18.920 were both naked and not ashamed. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:21.500 After sinning and after the fall, 00:08:21.660 --> 00:08:23.340 now that innocence is gone 00:08:23.340 --> 00:08:25.680 and now people feel shame in their nakedness. 00:08:25.940 --> 00:08:29.400 And it's only in the context of the covenant of marriage 00:08:29.400 --> 00:08:31.760 as they share conjugal relations with each other 00:08:31.760 --> 00:08:32.600 in the marital bed 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:34.720 that they can recover that innocence, 00:08:35.160 --> 00:08:37.519 recover that unashamedness, 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:38.419 in nakedness, 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:41.500 where they are fully known and fully understood 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:44.779 and yet not repulsed and invited in. 00:08:46.219 --> 00:08:50.779 And that kind of precious and intimate mingling of body and soul 00:08:50.779 --> 00:08:54.639 should not be sold or given away cheaply. 00:08:55.819 --> 00:08:58.079 That's what these verses are meant to protect. 00:08:59.059 --> 00:09:02.000 These verses protect women from playboys 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:04.439 who want pleasure without responsibility, 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:08.280 who want to have sex with no strings attached. 00:09:11.020 --> 00:09:13.240 I want to, this can apply to both brothers and sisters, 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:16.600 but I want to especially exhort the sisters in the room, 00:09:16.760 --> 00:09:19.180 there are men who will sweet talk you 00:09:19.180 --> 00:09:21.280 and seduce you into having sex 00:09:21.280 --> 00:09:23.560 outside of the covenant of marriage 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:26.899 only to use you for their selfish pleasure 00:09:26.899 --> 00:09:28.179 and throw you away. 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:30.939 So be wary. 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:32.639 Be patient. 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:37.259 Wait until you are within the protections God provides in marriage. 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:41.179 These verses also serve as a warning 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:43.159 and a deterrent to the would-be playboys. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:45.120 1 Thessalonians 4, 3-6 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:47.480 commends us to abstain from sexual immorality, 00:09:47.899 --> 00:09:49.500 saying that committing sexual immorality, 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:50.899 which includes fornication, 00:09:51.340 --> 00:09:54.779 is to transgress and wrong our brothers and sisters. 00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:57.000 The word translated wrong, 00:09:57.159 --> 00:09:58.580 there is like a financial term, 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:01.059 it means to defraud or cheat someone. 00:10:01.059 --> 00:10:03.379 When you have sex with someone 00:10:03.379 --> 00:10:05.419 who is not your wife or your husband, 00:10:05.719 --> 00:10:07.519 you are stealing something 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:10.379 that does not belong to you. 00:10:12.239 --> 00:10:15.519 So these verses require the playboy to pay it back. 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:18.679 You think you can have a woman for nothing at all? 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:20.579 Think again. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:22.099 It's going to cost you. 00:10:22.939 --> 00:10:26.099 You need to take responsibility for her by marrying her. 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:28.279 And even if you don't marry her 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:31.240 because of her father's refusal to give her to you, 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:34.559 you will still need to pay the full bright price 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:36.059 or the betrothal present. 00:10:36.819 --> 00:10:37.919 A bright price back then 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:40.360 was equivalent to several years' wages. 00:10:41.100 --> 00:10:43.620 So this would cost him an arm and a leg. 00:10:45.819 --> 00:10:48.899 Bible scholar Tikva Framer-Kensky explains it this way, 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:49.360 quote, 00:10:49.419 --> 00:10:52.399 A man cannot love her and leave her. 00:10:52.819 --> 00:10:53.860 By sleeping with her, 00:10:54.179 --> 00:10:56.259 he has assumed the obligation to marry her, 00:10:56.259 --> 00:10:58.539 and he must pay a normal bright price. 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:00.620 He cannot obtain a girl cheaply 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:01.840 by first sleeping with her, 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:03.259 thus dishonoring her 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:05.299 and lowering her bright price. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.240 Virginity was highly prized back then 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:11.939 and still is in many parts of the world today 00:11:11.939 --> 00:11:13.120 because sex is sacred 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:16.059 and God intends it to be exclusively enjoyed 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:17.559 between one man and one woman 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:19.080 in the context of marriage. 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:22.899 And scarcity increases value. 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:26.000 If you can be easily had, 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:28.240 if others have already had you, 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:31.100 then you don't look so precious and rare anymore. 00:11:32.079 --> 00:11:33.779 So a woman of marriageable age 00:11:33.779 --> 00:11:35.559 who had lost her virginity this way 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:39.039 could not demand the same level of betrothal gift 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.179 that a virgin could command. 00:11:41.740 --> 00:11:43.299 This is why the man is required 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:44.919 to pay the full bright price, 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:47.000 even if he doesn't end up marrying her. 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:49.360 He has taken something from her. 00:11:49.819 --> 00:11:52.000 He has taken something from her family. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.779 This woman might never be able to get married 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:55.679 and even if she does, 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:58.580 she's not going to command the same high bright price 00:11:58.580 --> 00:11:59.700 for the sake of her family. 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:03.259 And that's what this provision is here for. 00:12:03.779 --> 00:12:05.960 And we can see that this is not solely 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:07.220 an individual decision, 00:12:07.379 --> 00:12:09.340 but a family decision in verse 17, 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:11.460 which speaks of the father refusing 00:12:11.460 --> 00:12:13.620 to give his daughter to the man. 00:12:14.299 --> 00:12:15.000 In those days, 00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:16.679 it was the father's responsibility 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:19.059 to secure a good husband for his daughter. 00:12:19.059 --> 00:12:22.779 It was part of his protective duties as a father. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:24.479 So in this situation, 00:12:24.479 --> 00:12:26.619 it ultimately falls upon him 00:12:26.619 --> 00:12:29.159 to vet his potential son-in-law. 00:12:30.059 --> 00:12:31.779 And if the father concludes 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:33.979 that the man who has seduced his daughter 00:12:33.979 --> 00:12:35.199 is a worthless man 00:12:35.199 --> 00:12:38.859 and utterly refuses to give her to him, 00:12:39.179 --> 00:12:41.859 the man still has to pay the bright price, 00:12:42.079 --> 00:12:43.779 but he is released from the obligation 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:44.599 to marry the daughter. 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:46.940 So the father has veto power 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:49.060 because the father is wiser 00:12:49.060 --> 00:12:51.220 and more experienced than his daughter 00:12:51.220 --> 00:12:54.320 and because he has her best interest in mind. 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:57.500 This is why we should not be dismissive 00:12:57.500 --> 00:12:59.060 of our parents' input 00:12:59.060 --> 00:13:00.820 when choosing a husband or wife. 00:13:01.860 --> 00:13:04.519 We don't have an absolute obligation 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:06.320 to obey our parents in these matters 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:07.639 as grown adults, 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:12.580 especially if our parents' assessment 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:15.920 of a potential spouse is worldly and unbiblical. 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:18.940 However, we should nonetheless honor 00:13:18.940 --> 00:13:21.060 and give weight to our parents' wisdom 00:13:21.060 --> 00:13:23.180 and experience and love. 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:26.400 Verse 18 continues to address 00:13:26.400 --> 00:13:28.020 the issue of sexual immorality. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:28.840 It says, 00:13:29.020 --> 00:13:33.120 you shall not permit a sorceress to live. 00:13:34.580 --> 00:13:36.480 Of course, man and woman 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:39.020 can both engage in the sin of sorcery, 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:42.100 but the fact that it singles out a sorceress here 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:43.379 seems to just suggest 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:46.199 that it's referring to cultic prostitution, 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:49.559 so something committed to evolving sexual acts 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:51.559 in a religious pagan setting. 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:55.159 2 Kings 9.22 and Nahum 3.4 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:58.259 both link the sin of sorcery with whorings, 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:01.000 probably because they often happen together 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:02.679 in Canaanite fertility religion, 00:14:02.899 --> 00:14:05.939 which included sorceresses and cultic prostitutes. 00:14:05.940 --> 00:14:08.580 So, for example, in 2 Kings 9.22, 00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:11.980 it speaks of Jezebel's whorings and sorceries. 00:14:12.860 --> 00:14:15.960 So, God will not tolerate religious prostitution 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:17.260 of any kind. 00:14:18.040 --> 00:14:20.120 Religion is not to serve as a pretext 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:21.260 for sexual immorality. 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:25.980 All forms of sorcery, witchcraft, magic, and channeling 00:14:25.980 --> 00:14:28.020 seek to tell the future 00:14:28.020 --> 00:14:29.460 or discover some hidden knowledge 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:31.560 apart from divinely appointed means. 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:34.100 These practices are problematic 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:36.420 because they are attempts to manipulate 00:14:36.420 --> 00:14:39.139 circumstances and situations 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:40.580 for selfish ends 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:42.139 rather than for God's glory. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:43.560 There's no humility. 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:44.460 There's no submission. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:47.340 There's rebellion apart from God. 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:50.720 This is no different from turning to idols, 00:14:51.060 --> 00:14:52.460 turning to things other than God 00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:53.740 for provision and protection. 00:14:54.019 --> 00:14:55.700 And so, in this way, verse 18 00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:57.200 neatly captures the connection 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.820 between spiritual whoring and physical whoring. 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:03.300 In verse 19, we go on to bestiality, 00:15:03.420 --> 00:15:04.220 which is also forbidden. 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.720 Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death. 00:15:07.640 --> 00:15:09.560 Bestiality is a gross perversion 00:15:09.560 --> 00:15:12.340 of the natural order in creation. 00:15:13.540 --> 00:15:16.300 And it, too, was a feature of pagan Canaanite religion, 00:15:16.640 --> 00:15:19.000 which praises Baal, for example, 00:15:19.140 --> 00:15:20.900 in this poem called The Baal Cycle, 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:22.180 dated in 15th century BC. 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:24.220 It praises the Canaanite god 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:25.660 for making love with the heifer, 00:15:26.060 --> 00:15:27.440 lying with her 70 times. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:31.740 Bestiality debases human beings 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:33.620 who are created in the image of God, 00:15:33.780 --> 00:15:35.940 and it, too, is connected to idolatry. 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:38.860 And when we consider these connections 00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:40.760 between idolatry and sexual immorality, 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:42.920 verse 20 no longer strikes us 00:15:42.920 --> 00:15:44.120 as a non-sequitur 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:46.540 that it might initially have seemed to be. 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:47.520 It says, 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:49.620 Whoever sacrifices to any god 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:51.440 other than the Lord alone 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:53.220 shall be devoted to destruction. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.020 The meaning of the phrase devoted to destruction 00:15:56.019 --> 00:15:59.039 is unpacked in Deuteronomy 20, 10 to 18, 00:15:59.439 --> 00:16:01.379 where God delineates which cities, 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:03.220 as the Israelites enter the promised land, 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:04.460 are to be destroyed. 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:06.439 The cities that were far away 00:16:06.439 --> 00:16:07.980 from the promised land in Canaan 00:16:07.980 --> 00:16:09.019 were to be spared, 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:10.259 according to God's instruction. 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:12.500 But the cities that were within 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:13.740 the promised land of Canaan 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:16.139 were to be devoted to complete destruction. 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:17.899 And God's rationale is this, 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:18.980 in Deuteronomy 20, 18, 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:21.259 so that they may not teach you to do 00:16:21.259 --> 00:16:23.700 according to all their abominable practices 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:26.080 that they have done for their gods. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:29.240 And so you sin against the Lord your God. 00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:33.340 The concern was that any surviving Canaanites, 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:36.139 any remnant of Canaanite religion 00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:39.600 would seduce Israelites into idolatry and apostasy. 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:41.840 And so, in this case, 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:45.039 any Israelite who sacrifices to any god 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:46.200 other than the Lord alone 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:48.740 has essentially cut himself off 00:16:48.740 --> 00:16:50.400 from the gods' community 00:16:50.400 --> 00:16:52.700 and has made himself a foreign agent, 00:16:52.800 --> 00:16:54.800 a virus that is invading the body 00:16:54.800 --> 00:16:56.500 that must be eliminated. 00:16:58.700 --> 00:17:02.540 He has gone away from exclusive devotion 00:17:02.540 --> 00:17:04.580 to the Lord and allegiance to the Lord 00:17:04.580 --> 00:17:06.120 and is therefore a threat to the community. 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:10.000 Then, after addressing how the Israelites 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:11.940 should treat the people who are on the margins, 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:13.819 how they should honor the Lord, 00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:15.019 they now turn to addressing 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:15.900 how they should treat the people 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:17.180 who are on the margins of society 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:19.099 in verses 21 and 2017. 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:20.740 Sojourners first, 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:22.379 and then widows and orphans, 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:23.559 and then the poor finally. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:25.660 And we're going to see this pattern 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:26.700 repeatedly in this passage. 00:17:26.859 --> 00:17:28.420 First, it's going to command us to love God, 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:30.440 and then it's going to command us 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:31.299 to love our neighbors, 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:33.759 because it's only when we love God 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:35.079 with our whole heart 00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:36.359 that we can love our neighbors 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:37.740 as God commands us to do. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:39.660 So he says in verse 21, 00:17:39.660 --> 00:17:42.779 you shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:46.160 for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 00:17:46.820 --> 00:17:49.200 That verse is repeated almost word for word 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:50.660 in chapter 23, verse 9, 00:17:50.940 --> 00:17:53.000 and the two verses unify and bracket 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.400 this section on social justice together. 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.259 The word sojourner refers to a resident alien, 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:00.540 a foreigner, 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:03.720 an immigrant that is living in the land. 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:07.500 Some of you guys are immigrants. 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:09.019 Some of you guys were immigrants once, 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:09.759 like I was. 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:12.799 The U.S. has historically been 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:14.559 one of the most hospitable 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.980 and open countries in the world for immigrants. 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:20.100 According to the United Nations, 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:21.759 the U.S. has the highest number 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:23.900 of foreign-born residents living in it 00:18:23.900 --> 00:18:25.240 out of all the countries in the world, 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:27.120 and it's actually not even close. 00:18:27.360 --> 00:18:28.799 It's off by tens of millions. 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:31.779 The people that I encountered here 00:18:31.779 --> 00:18:33.960 as an immigrant were by and large 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:36.420 friendly and welcoming and helpful, 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:38.660 but that is not the experience 00:18:38.660 --> 00:18:40.960 of all immigrants throughout the world. 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:44.740 Being displaced from your country and culture, 00:18:45.399 --> 00:18:47.660 away from people who look like you, 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:50.819 away from people who speak your mother tongue 00:18:50.819 --> 00:18:52.960 is a difficult experience. 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.480 Immigrants are often misunderstood. 00:18:57.339 --> 00:18:58.879 They are viewed with suspicion, 00:18:58.879 --> 00:19:01.059 and because they don't have the same rights 00:19:01.059 --> 00:19:01.960 as citizens. 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:05.399 Sometimes they are taken advantage of 00:19:05.399 --> 00:19:06.240 by bad actors. 00:19:07.879 --> 00:19:09.779 For this reason, God singles them out 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:12.099 and commands the Israelites to care for them. 00:19:12.899 --> 00:19:15.279 You shall not wrong a sojourner 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:16.139 or oppress them, 00:19:16.639 --> 00:19:19.039 for you were sojourners in Egypt. 00:19:20.059 --> 00:19:21.980 The phrase, you were sojourners, 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:22.639 is plural, 00:19:23.339 --> 00:19:24.139 but the command, 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.019 you shall not wrong a sojourner, 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:28.779 is singular in Hebrew. 00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:32.399 God is singling out every single man 00:19:32.399 --> 00:19:34.000 and woman in Israel 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.500 and every single one of us 00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:38.899 with this responsibility that we have 00:19:38.899 --> 00:19:40.220 toward our neighbors, 00:19:40.379 --> 00:19:42.160 and particularly toward the sojourner. 00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:45.379 This is one of the distinguishing features 00:19:45.379 --> 00:19:46.779 of the book of the covenant. 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:49.700 In this final section of the book of the covenant, 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:53.819 that no other ancient law code 00:19:53.819 --> 00:19:56.960 contains provisions for care for sojourners 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:58.160 and for immigrants. 00:20:00.340 --> 00:20:02.620 And the preceding case laws 00:20:02.620 --> 00:20:05.160 dealt mostly with conditional statements, 00:20:05.340 --> 00:20:07.279 if this happens, do so and so, 00:20:07.360 --> 00:20:08.920 and mostly it was in the third person. 00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:12.360 But here, it transitions to going beyond the laws 00:20:12.360 --> 00:20:13.460 that govern the society, 00:20:13.840 --> 00:20:16.259 and it tells us about how God's appealing 00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:18.360 to people personally and directly 00:20:18.360 --> 00:20:19.480 using the second person 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:20.799 and the first person pronouns 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:22.720 to tell us how we ought to live. 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:25.659 But why does Bible take such an interest 00:20:25.659 --> 00:20:27.680 in sojourners and immigrants? 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:29.579 Because God's appealing here 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:32.099 to Israel's corporate experience in Egypt. 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:34.940 Remember how you were oppressed in Egypt. 00:20:36.279 --> 00:20:38.359 Remember what it felt like to be exploited 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:40.000 and maltreated in Egypt. 00:20:41.139 --> 00:20:43.079 Don't ever treat anyone that way. 00:20:44.299 --> 00:20:45.799 No other ancient Near Eastern law, 00:20:45.879 --> 00:20:46.379 like I said, 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:48.480 contains these kinds of provisions, 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:49.640 but God's people, 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:51.099 they should know better 00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:52.740 because they know what it's like 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:54.400 to be sojourners in a foreign land. 00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:56.500 So God elicits their compassion 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:59.559 by recalling their bitter experience in Egypt. 00:21:00.620 --> 00:21:02.299 God continues in verse 22, 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:04.680 you shall not mistreat any widow 00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:06.519 or fatherless child. 00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:08.940 A widow in those days 00:21:08.940 --> 00:21:10.380 would most likely not have 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:12.120 any male relatives left. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:13.640 Her father and father-in-law 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:15.039 would have passed on already 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:17.360 by the time her husband has passed away. 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:20.399 And so in a society led by men 00:21:20.399 --> 00:21:21.799 where men worked in the field 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:23.500 and women worked in the home, 00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:25.299 a widow was vulnerable 00:21:25.299 --> 00:21:27.519 because she had no one to provide for her 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:28.859 or to protect her. 00:21:29.679 --> 00:21:32.279 She lacked provision and protection. 00:21:32.479 --> 00:21:33.740 It would have been very easy 00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:34.740 to mistreat, 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:36.439 take advantage of such a widow 00:21:36.439 --> 00:21:38.039 or a fatherless child. 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:41.179 A fatherless, likewise, 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:42.519 is essentially an orphan 00:21:42.519 --> 00:21:44.319 because in those days and age, 00:21:44.399 --> 00:21:45.559 if you didn't have a father, 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:47.599 you didn't have the same protection 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:50.019 and provision that other children had. 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:52.960 And God tells the Israelites 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:54.079 not to mistreat them 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:55.659 and then he adds this threat 00:21:55.659 --> 00:21:57.200 in verses 23 to 24 00:21:57.200 --> 00:21:58.240 to enforce the command. 00:21:58.919 --> 00:22:00.419 If you do mistreat them 00:22:00.419 --> 00:22:02.000 and they cry out to me, 00:22:02.659 --> 00:22:04.539 I will surely hear their cry 00:22:04.539 --> 00:22:06.419 and my wrath will burn 00:22:06.419 --> 00:22:08.559 and I will kill you with the sword 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:10.839 and your wives shall become widows 00:22:10.839 --> 00:22:13.659 and your children will become fatherless. 00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:16.339 So God's promise 00:22:16.339 --> 00:22:17.659 that he will hear their cry 00:22:17.659 --> 00:22:20.279 echoes what we saw in Exodus 3, 7 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:23.019 when the Israelites were crying out to God 00:22:23.019 --> 00:22:24.319 because of their affliction 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:25.240 and suffering in Egypt 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:27.839 and he says that God saw their affliction 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:30.039 and he heard their cry. 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:33.579 God is not deaf to the cries of the afflicted. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:35.220 He is attentive 00:22:35.220 --> 00:22:37.299 even to the faintest groanings 00:22:37.299 --> 00:22:38.960 of the weak and the vulnerable 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:42.220 and God will not sit idly by. 00:22:42.779 --> 00:22:44.200 He says that if they mistreat 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:45.859 the widows and orphans in their society, 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:47.819 they will be ravaged by war 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:50.419 and their men will perish by the sword 00:22:50.419 --> 00:22:52.200 so that their wives become widows 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:53.599 and their children fatherless. 00:22:54.379 --> 00:22:56.599 The punishment fits the crime. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:58.339 It will be done to them 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:00.200 as they have done to others. 00:23:01.159 --> 00:23:03.079 And note how personal this threat is. 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:05.079 My wrath will burn. 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:08.439 I will kill you with the sword. 00:23:10.939 --> 00:23:12.519 If it seems harsh to you, 00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:13.179 consider this. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:15.359 This verse is a helpful illustration 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:17.099 of the fact that God's wrath 00:23:17.099 --> 00:23:18.919 and God's love 00:23:18.919 --> 00:23:21.939 are actually flip sides of the same coin. 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:26.879 It is God's fiery love 00:23:26.879 --> 00:23:28.559 for the widows and orphans 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:32.319 that makes him burn with fiery wrath 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:33.700 at those who oppress them. 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:38.480 I remember when I was in fifth grade, 00:23:38.659 --> 00:23:39.819 still living in South Korea, 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:41.899 there was a fatherless girl 00:23:41.899 --> 00:23:43.940 in my class. 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:46.740 And she was the class, 00:23:47.679 --> 00:23:49.720 I mean, they had a term for it in Korean. 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:52.119 She was the one that everyone bullied. 00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:55.359 I don't know if she was singled out 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:56.879 because she was a fatherless child, 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:58.480 but she was an easy target 00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:59.960 because the kids didn't really fear 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:02.020 the repercussions of what might happen. 00:24:02.780 --> 00:24:04.620 And this happened for day after day, 00:24:04.760 --> 00:24:05.720 week after week, 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:06.700 month after month, 00:24:06.760 --> 00:24:08.540 and I think her mother, 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:10.540 who must have heard countless times 00:24:10.540 --> 00:24:11.640 her daughter coming home 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:12.460 and crying to her 00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:13.260 and complaining to her, 00:24:13.320 --> 00:24:14.100 I think snapped 00:24:14.100 --> 00:24:15.940 because I was sitting in the classroom 00:24:15.940 --> 00:24:18.420 and then the sliding door slams open 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:20.760 and this woman storms into the classroom 00:24:20.760 --> 00:24:21.840 and starts screaming 00:24:21.840 --> 00:24:23.460 and starts naming names. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:24.660 Where is this boy? 00:24:24.800 --> 00:24:26.040 Who is this person? 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:28.279 Who are you to treat my daughter this way? 00:24:29.159 --> 00:24:31.299 And she had to be physically restrained 00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:32.579 by the teacher 00:24:32.579 --> 00:24:34.379 and escorted out of the classroom. 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:36.980 And I still remember 00:24:36.980 --> 00:24:38.819 the eerie silence afterward. 00:24:39.879 --> 00:24:41.440 That classroom was never that silent, 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:43.299 but that day you could hear a pin drop. 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:46.720 Only thing that you could hear 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:47.460 in the classroom 00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:50.139 was the whimpering cries of the girl. 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:55.380 She was not crying because she was sad. 00:24:56.680 --> 00:24:58.380 She was not crying because 00:24:58.380 --> 00:25:03.100 she was upset or afraid. 00:25:04.560 --> 00:25:07.680 She was crying because she felt vindicated. 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:12.340 She was crying because she felt protected. 00:25:12.339 --> 00:25:15.339 She was crying because she felt loved. 00:25:25.639 --> 00:25:27.179 The wrath of the mom 00:25:27.179 --> 00:25:30.039 was an expression of her love 00:25:30.039 --> 00:25:31.359 for her only daughter. 00:25:31.359 --> 00:26:01.339 She was crying because she felt 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:02.240 and she found a pin she was... 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:04.019 And for that reason, 00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:04.859 she was crying because she was crying. 00:26:04.859 --> 00:26:06.339 She will break out in wrath against you 00:26:06.339 --> 00:26:07.579 if you mistreat them. 00:26:10.179 --> 00:26:11.539 And then verse 25 00:26:11.539 --> 00:26:13.059 turns to the treatment of the poor. 00:26:14.179 --> 00:26:15.099 If you lend money 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:17.119 to any of my people with you 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:17.779 who is poor, 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:20.679 you shall not be like a money lender to him 00:26:20.679 --> 00:26:23.480 and you shall not exact interest from him. 00:26:24.899 --> 00:26:26.759 It's not that lending money 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:29.559 with interest is inherently wrong. 00:26:29.559 --> 00:26:34.819 As we saw last week in Exodus 22, a thief who stole an ox had to pay fourfold. 00:26:35.379 --> 00:26:41.220 That's basically interest payment because an ox is a productive property that makes money while it's missing. 00:26:41.339 --> 00:26:43.259 It should have made money while it was missing. 00:26:43.379 --> 00:26:45.759 And so all that lost money had to be repaid. 00:26:46.419 --> 00:26:52.480 And so in a capital economy like ours, the money usually making money somewhere else. 00:26:52.679 --> 00:26:56.859 And that's the idea behind interest and so on. 00:26:56.859 --> 00:27:03.839 However, if you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, he says here, 00:27:04.479 --> 00:27:07.679 then the Israelites are forbidden from exacting interest. 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:13.019 This is not the case of a rich investor who's taking out some other loan, another loan, 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:15.179 so that he can make even more money and get even richer. 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:22.459 This is a poor person who is destitute, who has no other way to live, so he is looking for a loan. 00:27:22.460 --> 00:27:29.319 And God says when a poor person comes to you like that because they need bread on their table and roof over their heads, 00:27:29.660 --> 00:27:33.860 then do not take interest on the loan that you give them. 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:37.640 God is enjoining compassion. 00:27:37.860 --> 00:27:40.819 It is within the rights of the money lender to exact interest. 00:27:40.819 --> 00:27:44.579 But he's saying when it comes to the poor, have compassion on them. 00:27:45.159 --> 00:27:46.539 Be merciful to them. 00:27:47.319 --> 00:27:51.599 Some greedy money lender might actually take advantage of the situation and exploit the poor man 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:55.019 and put some exorbitant interest on the loan. 00:27:55.139 --> 00:27:57.259 But God tells us to do the exact opposite. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:00.480 The man has little choice but to take the loan anyway. 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:02.299 Give it to him without interest. 00:28:02.299 --> 00:28:07.000 Since he's already having trouble making ends meet, 00:28:07.379 --> 00:28:10.659 you should not increase his burden by adding interest on top of it. 00:28:11.619 --> 00:28:13.919 Verses 26 to 27 get at the same idea. 00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:16.240 If ever you take your neighbor's cloak and pledge, 00:28:16.619 --> 00:28:18.919 you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:20.839 for that is his only covering, 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:23.039 and it is his cloak for his body. 00:28:23.379 --> 00:28:24.720 In what else shall he sleep? 00:28:25.139 --> 00:28:26.659 And if he cries to me, 00:28:26.659 --> 00:28:27.779 again, same expression, 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:29.379 I will hear, 00:28:29.859 --> 00:28:31.480 for I am compassionate. 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:34.139 As we saw last week, 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:37.220 the Bible teaches us to have a healthy respect for private property 00:28:37.220 --> 00:28:39.839 because it's an aspect of loving our neighbor. 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:44.879 Love manifests itself in the public square as justice, 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:47.019 and you have to respect others' property. 00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:50.759 But the Bible does not treat property as an absolute value, 00:28:51.059 --> 00:28:53.960 as an inviolable thing that we must protect at all costs. 00:28:54.180 --> 00:28:58.539 It says here that if you have your poor neighbor's cloak as a pledge, 00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:02.319 even if your poor neighbor has not repaid the debt, 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:07.799 you should return the cloak so that he does not have to sleep and freeze in the cold of night. 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:10.740 You are legally entitled to keep the cloak, 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:12.000 but he says, 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:13.379 have compassion. 00:29:14.099 --> 00:29:15.759 Go beyond that. 00:29:16.379 --> 00:29:17.039 Be merciful. 00:29:18.099 --> 00:29:18.399 Why? 00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:19.980 Because God is compassionate, 00:29:19.980 --> 00:29:23.539 and he will take up the cause of the poor against the money lender. 00:29:26.099 --> 00:29:28.360 In his two treatises of government, 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:30.779 John Locke captures this balance. 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:31.559 He says, 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:36.500 As justice gives every man a title to the product of his honest industry, 00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:40.279 and the fair acquisitions of his ancestors descended to him, 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:45.659 so charity gives every man a title to so much of another's plenty, 00:29:46.139 --> 00:29:48.220 as will keep him from extreme want, 00:29:48.579 --> 00:29:50.940 where he has no means to subsist otherwise. 00:29:52.139 --> 00:29:55.319 So here is mercy tempering justice, 00:29:55.879 --> 00:29:57.399 mercy and justice functioning together. 00:29:57.400 --> 00:30:00.320 But as God's people, 00:30:00.500 --> 00:30:03.360 we go beyond even justice whenever possible, 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:07.680 and ourselves personally show compassion to people who need it, 00:30:07.880 --> 00:30:09.080 because God is compassionate. 00:30:10.800 --> 00:30:12.500 In verses 28 to 31, 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:16.480 we return to the idea of being devoted to or consecrated to the Lord. 00:30:17.060 --> 00:30:17.680 Once again, 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:20.700 the pattern of loving God and then loving our neighbor. 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:23.440 And then it says in verse 28, 00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:25.580 You shall not revile God, 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:27.519 nor curse a ruler of your people. 00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:29.180 We've seen this before. 00:30:29.420 --> 00:30:33.820 The word revile is the same word that was used earlier in Exodus 21, 00:30:33.900 --> 00:30:34.240 17, 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:35.080 when it says, 00:30:35.360 --> 00:30:37.759 Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death. 00:30:38.299 --> 00:30:40.000 It means to belittle someone, 00:30:40.180 --> 00:30:41.900 to make light of someone, 00:30:42.340 --> 00:30:44.440 to dishonor or slight someone. 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:47.080 And it's the opposite of honoring someone. 00:30:47.220 --> 00:30:49.400 And so God commands us to honor our parents, 00:30:49.539 --> 00:30:50.900 to honor the rulers in our society, 00:30:50.900 --> 00:30:52.660 and to honor ultimately God, 00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:55.720 because God's the one who puts these people in positions of authority. 00:30:56.320 --> 00:30:58.200 And it's by obeying people in authority, 00:30:58.280 --> 00:30:59.480 or submitting to people in authority, 00:30:59.540 --> 00:31:01.680 that we learn to submit to God's authority. 00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:04.200 Those who have no respect for authority, 00:31:04.560 --> 00:31:05.140 I guarantee you, 00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:06.640 will have no respect for God's authority. 00:31:08.600 --> 00:31:12.180 And those who have no respect for God's authority, 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:15.700 will not obey his commands to be just and compassionate. 00:31:15.700 --> 00:31:21.000 Verses 29 to 30 also emphasize this idea of being set apart for the Lord, 00:31:21.100 --> 00:31:24.340 by giving our firstfruits and firstborns to him. 00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:25.319 It says, 00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:28.220 You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest, 00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:29.799 and from the outflow of your presses. 00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:32.819 The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 00:31:33.059 --> 00:31:35.299 You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. 00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:37.600 Seven days it shall be with its mother. 00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:39.920 On the eighth day you shall give it to me. 00:31:41.080 --> 00:31:45.360 Old Testament law required God's people to bring the firstfruits of their harvest, 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:49.259 of their vineyards to God as an offering, 00:31:49.379 --> 00:31:50.259 as a form of tribute, 00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:52.819 to acknowledge that all their produce, 00:31:52.959 --> 00:31:55.039 all their blessings come ultimately from God, 00:31:55.679 --> 00:31:58.019 and to acknowledge his authority over them. 00:31:58.539 --> 00:31:59.379 In addition to that, 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:02.519 God commanded them to give their firstborns to him. 00:32:03.699 --> 00:32:06.139 And so the firstborn of all livestock, 00:32:06.339 --> 00:32:08.500 the firstborn males of all livestock had to be sacrificed, 00:32:09.199 --> 00:32:13.399 but the firstborn sons had to be redeemed for a price. 00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:18.500 And that's because of what God did during the Passover in delivering his people from Egypt. 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:24.740 He killed the firstborn sons of Egypt in order to deliver Israelites out of Egypt 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:27.240 because Pharaoh refused to let Israel go, 00:32:27.660 --> 00:32:31.600 whom God calls his firstborn son in Exodus 4.22. 00:32:32.220 --> 00:32:35.780 So it's for that reason that Israelites are to be consecrated, 00:32:35.779 --> 00:32:41.940 and by consecrating their firstborn and giving him to God symbolically by paying the redemption price, 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:45.779 they remember that they themselves are set apart for God, 00:32:46.039 --> 00:32:47.579 that they are not a common people, 00:32:47.660 --> 00:32:48.440 but they have been chosen, 00:32:48.980 --> 00:32:52.079 set apart to be a special possession of God. 00:32:52.920 --> 00:32:56.039 And that's why they are not to eat meat torn by beasts, 00:32:56.180 --> 00:32:57.139 animals torn by beasts. 00:32:57.579 --> 00:33:01.279 It's a way of distinguishing them from the pagan nations around them. 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:06.180 So having once again addressed the idea of loving God and belonging to him, 00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:10.539 we turn in chapter 23 to stipulations dealing with love of neighbor again. 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:17.259 More specifically, verses 1 to 12 teach us to be just because the Lord is just. 00:33:18.440 --> 00:33:23.039 And justice, as I mentioned earlier, is to give a person what is his or her due. 00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:28.059 Reward for the good doers and punishment for evil doers. 00:33:28.059 --> 00:33:30.279 It says in verses 1 to 3, 00:33:30.639 --> 00:33:32.399 You shall not spread a false report. 00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:36.799 You shall not join hands with the wicked man to be a malicious witness. 00:33:37.319 --> 00:33:40.519 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:43.619 nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, 00:33:44.059 --> 00:33:46.319 siding with the many so as to pervert justice, 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:50.119 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. 00:33:50.559 --> 00:33:53.119 This is an expansion of the ninth commandment. 00:33:53.159 --> 00:33:55.679 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:59.299 And we've talked, when we talked about that commandment, 00:33:59.340 --> 00:34:03.460 how important it was to have good, reliable witnesses in a day and age 00:34:03.460 --> 00:34:05.740 when the forensic science didn't really exist. 00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:07.100 There's no fingerprint. 00:34:07.580 --> 00:34:09.900 There are no photo video evidence, no DNA tests. 00:34:10.220 --> 00:34:12.780 You really had your witnesses to rely on. 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:17.400 But false witnesses were an unfortunate reality then as they are now. 00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:21.940 And there are a number of reasons why someone might bear false witness in the court of law. 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:24.099 And verses 1 to 3 gives a sampling of them. 00:34:24.700 --> 00:34:27.900 Some people might give false testimony because they are a malicious witness. 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:30.240 They have joined hands with the wicked man. 00:34:30.679 --> 00:34:31.880 They have evil intention. 00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:34.260 They have partnered with an evildoer. 00:34:34.619 --> 00:34:36.059 They have a vendetta against someone. 00:34:36.139 --> 00:34:38.860 So they give false witness to get at them. 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:42.380 Or maybe you're bearing false witness for a wicked man. 00:34:42.659 --> 00:34:45.159 And maybe because that wicked man is your relative, 00:34:45.659 --> 00:34:48.139 your father or son or brother or friend. 00:34:48.139 --> 00:34:51.739 But God commands us not to join hands with such a man. 00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:54.960 We also must not side with the many, 00:34:55.259 --> 00:34:56.559 so lest to pervert justice. 00:34:57.359 --> 00:35:00.519 Sometimes we bear false witness not out of malice, 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:01.759 but out of the fear of man. 00:35:02.339 --> 00:35:04.799 In order to avoid repercussions for ourselves. 00:35:05.579 --> 00:35:08.739 In order to avoid being on the wrong side of popular opinion. 00:35:09.219 --> 00:35:12.079 We side with the many and with the spirit of the times. 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:19.799 And then still others bear false witness because they are partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:22.840 Isn't that an interesting way to put that? 00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:26.960 It's not saying partial against the poor man, which we see later. 00:35:27.500 --> 00:35:29.460 Partial to a poor man. 00:35:30.719 --> 00:35:35.960 Sometimes it's the most empathetic and compassionate people 00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:40.800 who run the risk of being partial to the poor. 00:35:41.599 --> 00:35:43.380 And thereby being unjust. 00:35:46.780 --> 00:35:50.780 You might see a poor man in his rags and feel sorry for him. 00:35:51.820 --> 00:35:55.119 And that could dispose you to be partial to him in your judgment. 00:35:55.920 --> 00:35:59.300 But the Bible specifically tells us not to do that. 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:02.579 Because to do so is to pervert justice. 00:36:02.579 --> 00:36:07.819 A poor man might have less power than the rich man. 00:36:08.259 --> 00:36:12.639 But his heart is every bit as sinful as the rich man's. 00:36:14.099 --> 00:36:18.500 His poor circumstances say nothing about whether or not he is guilty or innocent. 00:36:19.799 --> 00:36:22.659 And that determination must be made by an impartial judge. 00:36:23.659 --> 00:36:26.139 The same principle applies to other situations. 00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:28.779 Where someone might evoke our empathy. 00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:31.460 You can be empathetic. 00:36:31.460 --> 00:36:35.900 You can be attentive and listen well to that person. 00:36:36.139 --> 00:36:38.679 But you must not be partial. 00:36:39.579 --> 00:36:40.880 You have to be impartial. 00:36:45.320 --> 00:36:48.000 Admittedly, the optics are not good. 00:36:48.240 --> 00:36:48.539 Right? 00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:51.360 When there is a power imbalance in a poor situation. 00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:54.720 Because people in positions of power have abused power in the past. 00:36:55.119 --> 00:36:57.099 But we are not to judge by appearances. 00:36:57.519 --> 00:36:59.260 But judge with right judgment. 00:36:59.260 --> 00:37:04.280 We have to love our neighbors even if they are rich and powerful. 00:37:06.840 --> 00:37:08.400 The converse is also true. 00:37:09.120 --> 00:37:13.520 We must love our neighbors even if they are poor and powerless. 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:18.219 Verse 6 to 8 serve as a counterbalance. 00:37:18.300 --> 00:37:19.000 Verses 1 to 3. 00:37:19.099 --> 00:37:19.239 It says, 00:37:19.340 --> 00:37:22.460 You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 00:37:23.099 --> 00:37:25.139 Keep far from a false charge. 00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:27.639 And do not kill the innocent and righteous. 00:37:28.259 --> 00:37:29.759 For I will not acquit the wicked. 00:37:30.179 --> 00:37:31.780 And you shall take no bribe. 00:37:32.039 --> 00:37:34.099 For a bribe blinds the clear-sighted. 00:37:34.099 --> 00:37:36.880 And subverts the cause of those who are in the right. 00:37:38.239 --> 00:37:40.719 Justice is due to the poor. 00:37:41.539 --> 00:37:43.980 Regardless of their socioeconomic status. 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:45.599 They deserve justice. 00:37:46.500 --> 00:37:49.059 So we should take care not to trample on the rights of the poor. 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:50.059 Just because we can. 00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:53.480 Rich and powerful people can use their influence. 00:37:53.619 --> 00:37:55.119 As leverage to blackmail. 00:37:55.119 --> 00:37:56.860 And silence witnesses. 00:37:56.860 --> 00:37:58.900 They can pay victims. 00:37:59.780 --> 00:38:03.780 And coax them into signing non-disclosure agreements. 00:38:04.220 --> 00:38:07.539 They can offer bribes and other gifts to the judge. 00:38:07.620 --> 00:38:09.220 In order to secure a ruling in their favor. 00:38:10.059 --> 00:38:12.559 They can employ their formidable PR team. 00:38:12.700 --> 00:38:14.039 To win over public opinion. 00:38:14.260 --> 00:38:15.559 And launch smear campaigns. 00:38:16.220 --> 00:38:19.059 They can hire the best lawyers to bring false charges. 00:38:20.059 --> 00:38:22.019 But to give into their schemes. 00:38:22.180 --> 00:38:23.840 Would be to deprive the poor. 00:38:24.019 --> 00:38:25.140 Made in the image of God. 00:38:25.139 --> 00:38:27.219 Of their justice. 00:38:27.219 --> 00:38:28.719 Of what is due to them. 00:38:29.579 --> 00:38:30.980 So we ought to be vigilant. 00:38:31.339 --> 00:38:33.059 Carefully weigh the evidence. 00:38:33.179 --> 00:38:34.960 And the merits of each case. 00:38:35.519 --> 00:38:37.619 And we must fear God rather than man. 00:38:37.859 --> 00:38:39.900 So that we can do what is right. 00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:41.619 Be courageous to do what is right. 00:38:41.739 --> 00:38:42.819 And bear true witness. 00:38:44.219 --> 00:38:45.659 Both verses 1 to 3. 00:38:45.739 --> 00:38:46.659 And verses 6 to 8. 00:38:46.759 --> 00:38:47.799 Deal with the courtroom. 00:38:48.559 --> 00:38:49.839 And sandwiched between them. 00:38:49.940 --> 00:38:51.079 Are verses 4 to 5. 00:38:51.219 --> 00:38:52.639 Which goes even further. 00:38:52.779 --> 00:38:54.039 It brings our attention to that. 00:38:54.559 --> 00:38:54.859 It says. 00:38:54.860 --> 00:38:56.900 If you meet your enemy's ox. 00:38:56.900 --> 00:38:58.280 Or his donkey. 00:38:58.519 --> 00:38:59.559 Going astray. 00:38:59.720 --> 00:39:01.440 You shall bring it back to him. 00:39:01.579 --> 00:39:04.180 If you see the donkey of one who hates you. 00:39:04.340 --> 00:39:05.800 Lying down under its burden. 00:39:05.980 --> 00:39:08.300 You shall refrain from leaving him with it. 00:39:08.440 --> 00:39:09.840 You shall rescue it with him. 00:39:10.620 --> 00:39:13.180 So not only are we to love our rich. 00:39:13.380 --> 00:39:14.740 And powerful neighbors. 00:39:15.220 --> 00:39:17.460 Not only are we to love our poor. 00:39:17.460 --> 00:39:18.640 And powerless neighbors. 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:20.780 We must love our neighbors. 00:39:20.780 --> 00:39:23.220 Even when they are our enemies. 00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:26.340 Even when they hate us. 00:39:28.220 --> 00:39:30.220 When someone's donkey goes astray. 00:39:30.420 --> 00:39:31.760 We should bring it back to the owner. 00:39:31.940 --> 00:39:33.820 When someone's donkey lies down under its burden. 00:39:33.900 --> 00:39:34.420 And is stuck. 00:39:34.500 --> 00:39:35.600 You should help rescue it. 00:39:35.700 --> 00:39:39.519 Even if the owner is an enemy who personally hates you. 00:39:39.519 --> 00:39:42.880 We are not to hate our enemies back. 00:39:43.259 --> 00:39:44.659 But to love our enemies. 00:39:45.800 --> 00:39:46.239 Again. 00:39:46.340 --> 00:39:49.239 We are now going beyond the scope of justice at this point. 00:39:50.239 --> 00:39:53.079 Justice does not demand that we help our enemy. 00:39:53.780 --> 00:39:54.840 But mercy does. 00:39:54.840 --> 00:39:58.220 In Romans 5. 00:39:58.320 --> 00:39:58.820 6-8. 00:39:58.920 --> 00:40:02.100 Paul uses three parallel participial phrases. 00:40:02.240 --> 00:40:05.120 To describe how sinful and unworthy we were. 00:40:05.480 --> 00:40:08.100 Of God's affection and rescue. 00:40:08.800 --> 00:40:09.280 He says. 00:40:09.280 --> 00:40:10.840 While we were weak. 00:40:11.579 --> 00:40:13.260 While we were still sinners. 00:40:13.600 --> 00:40:15.360 While we were enemies. 00:40:16.120 --> 00:40:17.320 But after those statements. 00:40:17.320 --> 00:40:20.180 Like a hammer driving a stake into the ground. 00:40:20.260 --> 00:40:21.320 With three powerful blows. 00:40:21.420 --> 00:40:22.160 He tells us. 00:40:22.280 --> 00:40:23.120 Three times. 00:40:23.119 --> 00:40:25.679 That even while we were still weak. 00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:28.460 Christ died for the ungodly. 00:40:29.019 --> 00:40:29.739 He says. 00:40:29.980 --> 00:40:32.719 Even while we were enemies of God. 00:40:33.679 --> 00:40:35.380 While we were still sinners. 00:40:35.519 --> 00:40:37.039 Christ died for us. 00:40:37.339 --> 00:40:38.900 While we were enemies of God. 00:40:38.980 --> 00:40:40.079 We were reconciled to God. 00:40:40.119 --> 00:40:41.239 By the death of his son. 00:40:41.279 --> 00:40:42.179 Because we're justified. 00:40:42.179 --> 00:40:44.159 By the blood of Jesus. 00:40:45.239 --> 00:40:46.539 It's important to note here. 00:40:46.639 --> 00:40:48.019 That God did not replace. 00:40:48.299 --> 00:40:49.519 Justice with mercy. 00:40:50.679 --> 00:40:52.159 As C.S. Lewis writes. 00:40:52.159 --> 00:40:53.119 In his essay. 00:40:53.119 --> 00:40:54.940 The humanitarian theory of punishment. 00:40:55.619 --> 00:40:55.699 Quote. 00:40:55.799 --> 00:40:57.759 Mercy detached from justice. 00:40:58.019 --> 00:40:59.579 Grows unmerciful. 00:41:00.420 --> 00:41:02.319 That is the important paradox. 00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:04.099 As there are plants. 00:41:04.099 --> 00:41:04.859 Which will flourish. 00:41:04.859 --> 00:41:06.119 Only in mountain soil. 00:41:06.259 --> 00:41:06.899 So it appears. 00:41:07.139 --> 00:41:08.399 That mercy will flower. 00:41:08.500 --> 00:41:09.500 Only when it grows. 00:41:09.500 --> 00:41:10.299 In the crannies. 00:41:10.440 --> 00:41:11.199 Of the rock. 00:41:11.440 --> 00:41:12.199 Of justice. 00:41:12.199 --> 00:41:14.939 A society. 00:41:14.939 --> 00:41:16.419 That forsakes justice. 00:41:16.419 --> 00:41:17.559 For the sake of mercy. 00:41:18.059 --> 00:41:19.539 Forsakes mercy itself. 00:41:19.960 --> 00:41:21.559 Because only in a system. 00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:22.779 Where there is a clear sense. 00:41:22.779 --> 00:41:23.819 Of right and wrong. 00:41:24.039 --> 00:41:25.579 And just deserts. 00:41:25.579 --> 00:41:27.179 Can mercy exist. 00:41:27.359 --> 00:41:28.059 Which is pardon. 00:41:29.019 --> 00:41:29.739 So no. 00:41:29.799 --> 00:41:31.460 God did not forget justice. 00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:32.419 Instead. 00:41:32.539 --> 00:41:33.619 He simultaneously. 00:41:34.659 --> 00:41:36.179 Satisfied the demands of justice. 00:41:36.399 --> 00:41:37.819 And showed us mercy. 00:41:37.819 --> 00:41:38.919 By bearing the punishment. 00:41:38.919 --> 00:41:39.879 For our sins. 00:41:39.880 --> 00:41:40.740 In his son. 00:41:40.840 --> 00:41:41.480 Jesus Christ. 00:41:42.539 --> 00:41:44.160 By dying on the cross. 00:41:44.160 --> 00:41:44.740 For our sins. 00:41:44.780 --> 00:41:46.039 While we were still. 00:41:46.039 --> 00:41:46.680 His enemies. 00:41:47.519 --> 00:41:48.640 Jesus graphically. 00:41:49.019 --> 00:41:49.500 Illustrated. 00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:50.860 Both the gravity. 00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:52.960 Of our sin. 00:41:53.400 --> 00:41:54.000 Our death. 00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:54.780 Deserving sin. 00:41:55.519 --> 00:41:57.240 And the graciousness. 00:41:57.240 --> 00:41:57.920 Of our sin. 00:41:57.980 --> 00:41:58.619 Atoning savior. 00:42:00.680 --> 00:42:01.800 In James 2. 00:42:01.840 --> 00:42:01.960 8. 00:42:01.980 --> 00:42:02.360 13. 00:42:02.460 --> 00:42:03.440 After warning believers. 00:42:03.760 --> 00:42:05.099 Against showing partiality. 00:42:05.099 --> 00:42:05.680 To the rich. 00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:06.579 James writes. 00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:07.920 If you really fulfill. 00:42:07.920 --> 00:42:08.640 The royal law. 00:42:08.720 --> 00:42:09.500 According to the scripture. 00:42:09.500 --> 00:42:10.579 You shall love your neighbor. 00:42:10.579 --> 00:42:11.139 As yourself. 00:42:11.139 --> 00:42:12.079 You are doing well. 00:42:12.679 --> 00:42:13.980 But if you show partiality. 00:42:14.119 --> 00:42:15.099 You are committing sin. 00:42:15.519 --> 00:42:16.880 And are convicted by the law. 00:42:17.039 --> 00:42:17.980 As transgressors. 00:42:18.820 --> 00:42:19.320 So speak. 00:42:19.539 --> 00:42:20.179 And so act. 00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:21.400 As those who are to be judged. 00:42:21.400 --> 00:42:22.599 Under the law of liberty. 00:42:23.079 --> 00:42:23.599 For judgment. 00:42:23.599 --> 00:42:24.780 Is without mercy. 00:42:24.780 --> 00:42:26.159 To one who has shown. 00:42:26.400 --> 00:42:26.960 No mercy. 00:42:27.619 --> 00:42:28.900 Mercy triumphs. 00:42:28.900 --> 00:42:29.639 Over judgment. 00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:31.820 What does it mean. 00:42:31.880 --> 00:42:32.440 That mercy. 00:42:32.679 --> 00:42:33.159 Triumphs. 00:42:33.159 --> 00:42:33.780 Over judgment. 00:42:34.179 --> 00:42:34.699 If. 00:42:34.900 --> 00:42:35.599 As recipients. 00:42:35.599 --> 00:42:36.679 Of God's mercy. 00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:38.159 We forsake the sin. 00:42:38.159 --> 00:42:39.000 Of partiality. 00:42:39.139 --> 00:42:39.940 And show mercy. 00:42:39.940 --> 00:42:40.639 To the poor. 00:42:41.359 --> 00:42:41.759 Then. 00:42:41.899 --> 00:42:42.679 The law of liberty. 00:42:42.679 --> 00:42:43.319 Will be judged. 00:42:43.319 --> 00:42:44.239 Under the law of liberty. 00:42:44.699 --> 00:42:45.920 And will be under the freedom. 00:42:45.920 --> 00:42:46.539 Of our spirit. 00:42:46.759 --> 00:42:48.119 Because God's just has. 00:42:48.420 --> 00:42:49.559 Justice has been satisfied. 00:42:49.559 --> 00:42:50.059 In Christ. 00:42:50.139 --> 00:42:50.480 And we have. 00:42:50.619 --> 00:42:51.000 Our responsibility. 00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:51.559 Of his mercy. 00:42:52.119 --> 00:42:53.539 But if we are not merciful. 00:42:53.739 --> 00:42:54.699 Toward the poor. 00:42:54.940 --> 00:42:55.239 In our. 00:42:55.399 --> 00:42:56.839 To our poor fellow brothers. 00:42:56.839 --> 00:42:57.359 And sisters. 00:42:57.759 --> 00:42:58.679 We give evidence. 00:42:58.679 --> 00:42:59.219 Of the fact. 00:42:59.259 --> 00:42:59.920 That we ourselves. 00:42:59.920 --> 00:43:01.139 Have never received. 00:43:01.139 --> 00:43:02.039 The mercy of God. 00:43:02.079 --> 00:43:02.759 Our loving father. 00:43:03.179 --> 00:43:04.139 And we are thereby. 00:43:04.440 --> 00:43:04.920 Condemned. 00:43:05.119 --> 00:43:05.940 Under the law. 00:43:06.159 --> 00:43:06.879 Rather than judged. 00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:07.980 Under the law of liberty. 00:43:08.159 --> 00:43:09.379 That's what it means. 00:43:09.420 --> 00:43:09.960 That mercy. 00:43:10.219 --> 00:43:10.859 Triumphs. 00:43:10.859 --> 00:43:11.719 Over judgment. 00:43:12.379 --> 00:43:13.399 It's the mercy. 00:43:13.399 --> 00:43:14.239 And compassion. 00:43:14.239 --> 00:43:14.859 Of God. 00:43:14.899 --> 00:43:16.039 That transforms us. 00:43:16.039 --> 00:43:16.759 To be merciful. 00:43:17.059 --> 00:43:17.859 And compassionate. 00:43:17.859 --> 00:43:18.500 Toward others. 00:43:20.859 --> 00:43:22.039 So let's remember. 00:43:22.039 --> 00:43:22.739 God's mercy. 00:43:22.739 --> 00:43:23.559 And as recipients. 00:43:23.559 --> 00:43:24.579 Of God's mercy. 00:43:24.759 --> 00:43:26.199 As those who have. 00:43:26.319 --> 00:43:27.000 Been justified. 00:43:27.199 --> 00:43:28.480 Let's do what the Lord. 00:43:28.539 --> 00:43:29.339 Requires of us. 00:43:29.420 --> 00:43:29.859 In Micah. 00:43:30.039 --> 00:43:30.399 6. 00:43:30.460 --> 00:43:30.699 8. 00:43:31.099 --> 00:43:32.039 To act. 00:43:32.500 --> 00:43:32.980 Justly. 00:43:33.460 --> 00:43:34.500 And to love. 00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:35.319 Mercy. 00:43:35.320 --> 00:43:36.740 And to walk. 00:43:37.320 --> 00:43:37.700 Humbly. 00:43:37.700 --> 00:43:38.340 With our God. 00:43:38.940 --> 00:43:39.640 Let's pray. 00:43:51.440 --> 00:43:51.920 Yes. 00:43:51.920 --> 00:43:52.260 Father. 00:43:59.539 --> 00:44:00.700 Help us to. 00:44:00.699 --> 00:44:01.699 grow. 00:44:01.699 --> 00:44:01.839 Grow. 00:44:01.839 --> 00:44:02.039 Grow. 00:44:02.039 --> 00:44:02.199 Grow. 00:44:02.199 --> 00:44:02.699 Grow. 00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:03.960 Grow. 00:44:03.960 --> 00:44:04.980 In our knowledge of you. 00:44:07.379 --> 00:44:09.119 In our understanding. 00:44:09.119 --> 00:44:09.639 Of your. 00:44:09.639 --> 00:44:10.679 Governance. 00:44:11.119 --> 00:44:11.899 Your rule. 00:44:14.099 --> 00:44:15.119 Your justice. 00:44:15.279 --> 00:44:15.679 And mercy. 00:44:15.679 --> 00:44:21.639 So that in all our dealings. 00:44:21.639 --> 00:44:22.339 With one another. 00:44:22.460 --> 00:44:23.219 We too may. 00:44:23.719 --> 00:44:24.519 Imitate you. 00:44:26.960 --> 00:44:28.659 That we might uphold justice. 00:44:29.899 --> 00:44:31.059 And show mercy. 00:44:34.960 --> 00:44:36.159 And in doing so. 00:44:36.319 --> 00:44:36.699 Point. 00:44:37.419 --> 00:44:38.679 All those around us. 00:44:39.719 --> 00:44:41.099 To the cross of Jesus. 00:44:43.099 --> 00:44:44.799 Where justice and mercy kissed. 00:44:45.679 --> 00:44:49.399 Thank you for. 00:44:50.179 --> 00:44:50.960 Your son Jesus. 00:44:52.559 --> 00:44:53.759 It's in his precious name. 00:44:53.839 --> 00:44:54.319 We pray now. 00:44:55.039 --> 00:44:55.279 Amen.