Martyn Lawrence – Paradox of Liberty – Class 3 – You Are Not Your Own

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All right, our first speaker
this morning is Brother Martin

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Lawrence from the Cleck Keaton
UK Ecclesia.

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The theme for Brother Martin’s
classes this week is Paradox of

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Liberty.
Today’s class is entitled You

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Are Not Your Own.
For the Martin, the narrative of

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liberty, brothers and sisters,
is just rolling on.

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We’ve seen those early
principles about how God’s

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guardrails are, are therefore
our benefit.

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But it’s based on a on a
freedom, on a liberty that he

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gives his creation that is broad
and wide and generous.

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And we added two more
principles.

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To that list.
Yesterday morning #1 or #6 is it

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is on that list that service to
no one is not an option.

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And the final one that freedom
is, is doing what you were

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called to do.
And we made that surprising, I

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think, revelation that there at
the the end of the book of

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Genesis, it’s not that the
Israelites are working and the

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Egyptians are free, but it’s the
other way around.

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And suddenly when the new
Pharaoh turns up with his

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revised immigration policy,
everything turns on its head.

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And that’s begin.
That kick starts the process

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that that moves us into the
actual Exodus itself.

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This is our, this is our agenda
for the day.

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If you can make out the numbers
on the slides, we’re in #3 of

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course.
And we’re thinking this morning

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about what it looks like.
When the nation of Israel have

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been formed or are being formed,
and how exactly things will work

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in that way.
We finished, if you remember

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yesterday, brothers and sisters,
right at the end of the morning

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with a mention of Paul’s words
in Second Corinthians.

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Where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom.

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And of all the New Testament
writers, it seems that Paul is.

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The one who captures this idea
of the exodus more than anybody

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else.
Israel, he says, are under hard

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bondage in Egypt.
They have escaped on Passover

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night.
They have been baptized into

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Moses in the cloud and in the
sea as dawn has broken, the

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Egyptians have been swept away.
God has led his people on

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eagle’s wings and brought them
under himself at Mount Sinai.

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And then when they come to the
mountain and the laws begin to

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be given, the very first law of
600 plus laws in the Torah is

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about a slave who doesn’t want
to go free.

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So how does that work and what
are we to make of that based on

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everything that we’ve done in
the first two sessions?

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How on earth does it make sense
that when we finally get them,

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as it were, liberated, we seem
as if things are not quite what

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they should be?
Exodus chapter 21, please.

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We are going to spend our
morning session.

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In an intriguing chapter, Exodus
chapter 21, and just for

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context, just to make sure we’re
all on the same pace they have,

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they have come out of Egypt.
Chapter 19 is when they’ve come

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to Mount Sinai.
There has been Thunder and fire

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and lightning and smoke.
The 10 commandments are given in

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Exodus chapter 20 and then
chapters 21 and 22 and 23 are

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the.
First tranche of laws that God

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gives to his new nation and if
they ever look confusing try to

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anchor them back in the 10
commandments all of chapters 21

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and two and three are LinkedIn
some way to the 10 commandments.

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So if we’re reading something
that looks a bit odd, looks a

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little bit tricky to understand,
that’s because everything is

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coming from chapter 20.
And, and interestingly, when we

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come to the end of those those
those laws and we drop into

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chapter 24 very briefly, there
is a mention in verse 7 of

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Exodus 24 of the book of the
Covenant, which.

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Well, there are various
different views on what that

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might be.
But, but, but my, my, my, my

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idea is that it’s, it’s the
chapters from 21 to 23.

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That’s the section that Moses is
reading out to the people and

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they are being given these,
these early commandments.

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Now here’s the interesting
thing.

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You and I often overlook the
fact that Israel had never been

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a nation before.
How do you?

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Form a nation from scratch, I
would say, well, you get a

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Declaration of Independence, but
you know, we’re not going to go

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back there a couple of days.
But 70 people went into Egypt

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and there they multiplied.
And suddenly we’ve got to build

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a nation and a society from
nothing.

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And there is nobody in their
midst, probably other than

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Moses, who can organize a
society and the way of life.

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There is no legal framework.
There is no employment system.

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There’s no financial
arrangements.

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There’s no institutional memory.
There’s no well, what do we do

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last time so it will steer us
this time.

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And you and I know these events
so well that we almost forget

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what it’s like to see a nation
being formed from nothing.

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And as Israel have been living
under total injustice, God by

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his mercy is going to teach them
how to live.

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He’s going to teach them what
justice looks like.

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How do we avoid falling into the
very same traps?

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That the Egyptians fall into,
that started this whole problem

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in the 1st place.
And if you’re in chapter 21, you

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just cast your eye down it.
There’s a whole bunch of clauses

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there which we’ll get into in a
moment, but lots of them start

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with if.
Or when or when it comes to pass

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or if it happens to be.
And I just want to make sure

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that we understand that this is
not a utopia which is being

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described.
God is not describing perfection

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in these chapters.
There is almost an expectation

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that stuff will go wrong because
people are people and therefore

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these laws are being laid down
for the hardness of their hearts

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to catch the phrase that the
Lord uses in the New Testament,

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God is is looking ahead and in
his grace, limiting the

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consequences of what might go
wrong.

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And I just made that point
before we get into this chapter

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because I think it’s quite
important.

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These are not ideals for
humanity.

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These laws are are going to work
as a net to protect the

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vulnerable.
And to to.

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Care for the oppressed against
human sin.

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Why does that matter?
Well, because you know what it

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was like in Egypt.
And that will be the the refrain

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that comes time after time after
time.

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And that, I think, is why
slavery or servanthood, as we’ll

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see it’s better translated in a
minute, is the first thing

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that’s regulated.
Don’t treat people like you were

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treated in Egypt, which I
suppose is why I’ve said 21, but

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actually 22 And verse 21 is
quite important, isn’t it?

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Chapter 22, verse 21.
You shall neither vex a stranger

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nor oppress him because you were
strangers in Egypt.

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In other words, there’s the.
Anchor there’s the point that

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make sure you don’t miss it.
This is what God is trying to

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help us to understand.
He’s asking his people to be

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trained in wisdom, and one part
of biblical wisdom is being able

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to understand that sometimes
God’s Word does not always apply

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in a very specific situation, or
maybe I need to say that

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slightly differently.
Sometimes we can’t find the

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exact words to deal with our
circumstances and that God has

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been laying down principles that
we need to exercise our wisdom

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to understand.
And that’s what a lot of chapter

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21 is about.
Genesis has set the scene

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already here.
We have already seen people

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working for somebody else
throughout the book of Genesis.

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They’ve worked as herdsmen and
domestic servants.

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We’ve seen that certain people
can inherit.

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You remember Eliezer of Damascus
was going to inherit from

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Abraham if he’d not had
children.

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There’s an interesting marker
laid down that that servants can

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go free.
Servants in the book of Genesis

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are trusted, that they’re
allowed to travel with valuables

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and weapons.
Their weapons were not handed

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out on plantations in the South,
but in Genesis there they are.

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They’re entitled to make
marriage negotiations, and there

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is no approved selling of
people, which when we come into

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Exodus 21, is quite important.
Now, Abraham in chapter 17 of

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Genesis does acquire people in
exchange for money, which might

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make you feel a little
uncomfortable, but would make

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you a pretty good case that
living in Abraham’s household

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was a good place to be and that
you were not likely to find

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yourself oppressed there, and
that you would be taught good

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things about God when you were
there.

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So although he does acquire
people for money, I think there

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is a good, a good precedent for
what’s happening there.

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Now it’s Wednesday.
So as I say, we’re halfway

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through the week.
We’re in that middle of the week

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dip where nobody’s quite sure
what their name is or where they

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live.
And, and we’re going to do a

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Hebrew lesson.
Oh, we’re not really, we’re

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going to learn one Hebrew word
and it’s only got 4 letters

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long.
It’s only got 4 letters.

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So we should be able to just
about keep track of it.

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It’s the Hebrew word evid.
And it means somebody who works

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for somebody else.
Hebrew would evid.

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I’m going to come across it a
whole series of times.

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If you have well, if you have an
older translation, the chances

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are that your your title for
Exodus 21 if you have one.

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Talks about laws for servants.
If you have a modern version, I

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probably, let’s let’s say 1
published after about 1960.

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It probably says laws about
slavery, but just put your hand

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up.
If you’ve got one that’s

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published before 1960, let’s.
Let’s work out what’s in the

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room.
They’ll be shy.

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There are no cameras.
Not many, anyway.

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Most of us.
What about after 1960?

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OK, so we’ve got both.
That’s useful.

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It just helps me work out what
we’re actually likely to have

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here.
OK.

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That Hebrew word evid is
translated as the English word

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slave or slavery only once in
the AV Interestingly, it’s

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translated 130 times as slave or
slavery in the New International

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Version.
Can you see this?

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Yes, you can. 47 times in the
New American Standards. 166

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times in the New Revised
Standard.

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Only once in the American
Standard version of 19 O1.

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Three times in the Jewish
Publication Society’s 1917

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edition. 135 times in the 1985
edition.

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In other words, depending on the
translation you’ve got, you

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might see the word servanthood a
lot, or you might see the word

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slave a lot.
And that’s going to have an

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interesting impact on what we do
now.

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You know, interesting perhaps to
see those bubbles on the screen.

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If I just group them together it
makes a bit more sense the

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versions published earlier on.
And this is not in praise of old

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versions, but just want to make
the point because it’s an

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important one.
If you have an older version,

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you will very rarely come across
an English word translated as

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slave in the Old Testament.
Everett is almost inevitably

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translated as servanthood.
If you’ve got a version

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published after about 1960,
maybe just before, there are 10s

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dozens if not hundreds of
occasions where the Hebrew word

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evad is translated as the
English word slave or slavery.

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And that’s not just true in
English.

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If you were to take the German
Luther Bible of 1912, there are

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no occurrences where the Hebrew
word evad is translated as the

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German word sklave or sklavin.
Same true for the Spanish Rhino

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Valera version of 19/09.
There are four places, and only

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four where the Hebrew word ebbed
is translated as the Spanish

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word esclavo or esclava.
Apologies for my pronunciation

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for those who are better at
Spanish than me.

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But if you move forward in time,
the Revised Luther Bible of 1984

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has got 70 places where the
Hebrew word ebbed is translated

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as the equivalent of slave or
slavery.

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And the Elbafelda version of
1993, which is not a great

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translation, has got 161 places
where the Hebrew word avid is

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translated as slave.
Same pattern in the Spanish as

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well.
The updated reign of Alera

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version of 1960s got 25 places
and the 1995 editions got 65

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occurrences.
Same pattern occurs in French,

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same in Dutch, same in Finnish,
same in Afrikaans.

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00:12:01,840 –> 00:12:04,400
The only one that I’ve come
across that is different is the

220
00:12:04,400 –> 00:12:07,240
Russian Bible.
I have a theory as to why that

221
00:12:07,240 –> 00:12:09,280
might be, but we are not going
down that robot hole in this

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00:12:09,280 –> 00:12:10,840
session, so we’ll have a
conversation about it

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00:12:10,840 –> 00:12:13,040
afterwards.
So why am I telling you that?

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00:12:13,040 –> 00:12:16,840
Why does that matter other than
pretty pictures on the screen?

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00:12:16,840 –> 00:12:19,120
Well, again, if we just group
that stuff together and draw a

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00:12:19,120 –> 00:12:21,040
line down the middle, we get an
interesting idea.

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00:12:21,640 –> 00:12:26,520
Because all of the versions
published prior to, let’s say,

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00:12:26,520 –> 00:12:31,360
the end of World War One, almost
inevitably translate the Hebrew

229
00:12:31,360 –> 00:12:34,360
word avid as the English word
servant.

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00:12:35,920 –> 00:12:40,600
When we get to after 1950, that
word is almost inevitably being

231
00:12:40,600 –> 00:12:43,960
translated as servant, as slave
or slavery.

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00:12:45,520 –> 00:12:49,520
Now, what happens between about
1920 and about 1950 or 1960?

233
00:12:49,520 –> 00:12:51,800
There are a whole bunch of
social changes that are going on

234
00:12:51,800 –> 00:12:54,000
in our world.
You’ve got the end of European

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00:12:54,000 –> 00:12:56,680
empires.
You’ve got decolonization.

236
00:12:57,240 –> 00:13:00,520
You’ve got the decline of the
class system, particularly in

237
00:13:00,520 –> 00:13:04,520
the UK, and you’ve got the rise
of the civil rights movement

238
00:13:04,520 –> 00:13:09,760
over here.
And those social changes are

239
00:13:09,760 –> 00:13:13,600
being reflected in the words
that are being used to translate

240
00:13:13,600 –> 00:13:17,360
our scriptures.
In other words, by the 1970s in

241
00:13:17,360 –> 00:13:21,680
particular and afterwards we are
seeing servant and we are

242
00:13:21,680 –> 00:13:26,520
thinking slave because our word
servant has shifted and now the

243
00:13:26,520 –> 00:13:28,280
word servant just means non
slave.

244
00:13:29,800 –> 00:13:33,280
If you are really hard up for
sleep and you look in a 19th

245
00:13:33,280 –> 00:13:35,920
century Hebrew dictionary you
will see that the first

246
00:13:35,920 –> 00:13:42,320
definition of the Hebrew word
evad is servant and only the

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00:13:42,320 –> 00:13:46,560
second or the third is slave.
If you look in a modern Hebrew

248
00:13:46,560 –> 00:13:51,520
dictionary, the first definition
of evad is slave and only the

249
00:13:51,520 –> 00:13:52,800
second or the third is
servanthood.

250
00:13:52,800 –> 00:13:55,840
Everything has completely
flipped upside down and the ABS

251
00:13:55,840 –> 00:13:58,320
only got 1.
And actually it’s not really one

252
00:13:58,320 –> 00:14:00,880
because it’s in Jeremiah 2.
And it doesn’t even translate

253
00:14:00,880 –> 00:14:02,560
the word Evert.
It just fills a gap where the

254
00:14:02,560 –> 00:14:06,720
English needs a noun to make
sense, but it influences the way

255
00:14:06,720 –> 00:14:09,760
that we read.
And I’m not suggesting that you

256
00:14:09,760 –> 00:14:12,200
should check your newer version
out and get an older version

257
00:14:12,200 –> 00:14:14,240
just for this, But I just want
to make sure that what we’re

258
00:14:14,240 –> 00:14:18,440
reading is conditioned in some
way by what we’ve got around us.

259
00:14:18,880 –> 00:14:21,560
Because you and I, brothers and
sisters, use the word slave as

260
00:14:21,560 –> 00:14:25,680
opposite for free.
But Scripture doesn’t do that.

261
00:14:27,240 –> 00:14:30,680
But if you are reading a version
on the the right hand side of

262
00:14:30,680 –> 00:14:33,440
that screen, the chances are
that you are coming to Exodus 21

263
00:14:33,440 –> 00:14:37,200
with this particular image,
consciously or unconsciously

264
00:14:37,200 –> 00:14:40,880
somewhere in your mind.
And Exodus 21 is not giving us

265
00:14:40,880 –> 00:14:43,640
that picture.
It’s almost impossible to read

266
00:14:43,640 –> 00:14:46,160
that if you are consistently
reading the word slavery and

267
00:14:46,160 –> 00:14:49,360
particularly some of the things
going on in Exodus 21 without

268
00:14:49,360 –> 00:14:54,160
thinking of Greek or Roman or
North Atlantic shuttle slave

269
00:14:54,160 –> 00:14:56,080
systems.
And Exodus 21 is not that.

270
00:14:58,240 –> 00:15:02,400
It’s describing voluntary
contractual employment with an

271
00:15:02,400 –> 00:15:05,400
end date.
And we will see what that means

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00:15:05,400 –> 00:15:07,040
as we get into the text in just
a minute.

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00:15:07,040 –> 00:15:09,200
Just it’s not describing easy
work.

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00:15:09,200 –> 00:15:11,840
If you’ve cast your eye down
Exodus 21 already, you will, you

275
00:15:11,840 –> 00:15:14,520
will know this.
It’s not describing easy work,

276
00:15:16,040 –> 00:15:18,520
but it’s not quote the slave
system.

277
00:15:18,720 –> 00:15:22,000
End Quote, as we sometimes think
that it might be right.

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00:15:22,000 –> 00:15:27,280
That was a very long preamble.
Exodus 21 and, and, and here we

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00:15:27,280 –> 00:15:30,600
are.
These are the judgements which

280
00:15:30,640 –> 00:15:35,560
you will set before them.
If you buy a Hebrew servant 6

281
00:15:35,560 –> 00:15:37,840
years he will serve, and in the
seventh he will go out free for

282
00:15:37,840 –> 00:15:41,320
nothing.
If he came in by himself, he

283
00:15:41,320 –> 00:15:43,840
shall go out by himself.
If he were married, then his

284
00:15:43,840 –> 00:15:47,080
wife shall go out with him.
If his master have given him a

285
00:15:47,080 –> 00:15:50,640
wife, and she has borne him sons
or daughters, the wife or her

286
00:15:50,640 –> 00:15:54,080
children shall be her masters,
and he shall go out by himself.

287
00:15:55,680 –> 00:15:58,480
If the servant shall plainly
say, I love my master, my wife,

288
00:15:58,480 –> 00:16:00,480
and my children, I will not go
out free.

289
00:16:01,320 –> 00:16:03,360
Then his master will bring him
to the judges, and bring him to

290
00:16:03,360 –> 00:16:07,600
the door of the doorpost, and
his master shall bore his ear

291
00:16:07,600 –> 00:16:10,920
through with an awl, and he will
serve him forever.

292
00:16:12,280 –> 00:16:14,800
What you notice here?
Which we did not see when we

293
00:16:14,800 –> 00:16:16,800
were in exit at the early Exodus
chapters yesterday.

294
00:16:16,800 –> 00:16:19,360
Is the freedom to opt in or opt
out?

295
00:16:20,320 –> 00:16:22,160
This is 1.
Remember we said that was one of

296
00:16:22,160 –> 00:16:25,320
the fundamental problems that
they had when new Pharaoh turned

297
00:16:25,320 –> 00:16:27,120
up with his different
immigration policy yesterday.

298
00:16:27,120 –> 00:16:31,560
That was the lack of opt out.
You were unable to be freed from

299
00:16:31,560 –> 00:16:35,480
that hard bondage which was in
Egypt, exactly the same in

300
00:16:35,480 –> 00:16:37,640
Greece, exactly the same in
Rome, exactly the same on the

301
00:16:37,640 –> 00:16:41,360
southern plantations.
Opt out did not exist, same as

302
00:16:41,360 –> 00:16:43,560
it is in some of the modern
concentration camps in other

303
00:16:43,560 –> 00:16:47,560
parts of the world today.
And it again, just pushes us

304
00:16:47,560 –> 00:16:50,320
into an area of some some some
deeper doctrinal thinking,

305
00:16:50,320 –> 00:16:52,120
doesn’t it?
That without agency, free will

306
00:16:52,120 –> 00:16:56,640
does not exist.
But this is this is a situation

307
00:16:56,640 –> 00:16:59,800
where opt out is there those
early verses in chapter 21.

308
00:16:59,800 –> 00:17:03,400
It’s time limited to serve and
you can go out free in year 7

309
00:17:03,800 –> 00:17:08,400
verses 3 and 4.
If you came in by yourself, well

310
00:17:08,400 –> 00:17:15,520
then your family stay behind
until year 7 until the release.

311
00:17:15,839 –> 00:17:20,200
So they would own a maximum of
six years of employment.

312
00:17:20,200 –> 00:17:22,800
Now what are these verses saying
and what are they not saying?

313
00:17:22,800 –> 00:17:27,079
They are not sanctioning
separation of families, they are

314
00:17:27,079 –> 00:17:29,240
saying.
That or they’re not saying it,

315
00:17:29,240 –> 00:17:32,600
but they’re implying it, that
the man who goes out free in

316
00:17:32,600 –> 00:17:36,800
verses 1-2 and three can stay
locally if he chooses and and

317
00:17:36,800 –> 00:17:38,800
still be with his wife and his
children.

318
00:17:38,800 –> 00:17:40,320
It’s not as if he gets to clear
off.

319
00:17:40,520 –> 00:17:43,600
And leave them behind.
It simply means he is no longer

320
00:17:43,600 –> 00:17:48,320
under the employment of those
early verses, time limited

321
00:17:48,320 –> 00:17:51,880
indentured service with an opt
out and an end date.

322
00:17:52,360 –> 00:17:55,160
And if you choose to stay
through your free will, through

323
00:17:55,160 –> 00:17:58,000
your decision, your willingness
to, to, to serve that master,

324
00:17:58,360 –> 00:18:02,160
then he will honor your decision
and, and, and you will stay with

325
00:18:02,160 –> 00:18:04,040
him.
What’s the scenario that’s being

326
00:18:04,040 –> 00:18:06,640
painted there?
Because we struggle to get back

327
00:18:06,640 –> 00:18:09,840
into it from from this distance.
I think it’s a subsistence

328
00:18:09,880 –> 00:18:13,280
economy.
There is no economic surplus, so

329
00:18:13,280 –> 00:18:14,640
how are you going to feed your
family?

330
00:18:16,200 –> 00:18:21,000
Where you pledge your future
work to an employer in return

331
00:18:21,000 –> 00:18:24,800
for a meal today.
What happens if in the future

332
00:18:24,800 –> 00:18:27,920
somebody falls into poverty?
What happens if the crops fail?

333
00:18:28,000 –> 00:18:30,960
What happens if the animals die?
What happens if they get sick

334
00:18:30,960 –> 00:18:33,560
long term and cannot?
Work well, then they can

335
00:18:33,560 –> 00:18:36,680
contract with an employer and
they can receive housing and

336
00:18:36,680 –> 00:18:39,480
food and clothing and
protection, which we’ll come to

337
00:18:39,480 –> 00:18:43,040
in just a second and pay in
return for the work that they

338
00:18:43,040 –> 00:18:46,240
are going to do.
Remember that example from

339
00:18:46,240 –> 00:18:49,920
Genesis 47 yesterday?
When the Egyptians do this year

340
00:18:49,920 –> 00:18:53,400
by year, first it’s corn for
cash and then it’s corn for

341
00:18:53,400 –> 00:18:55,680
animals, and then it’s corn for
themselves.

342
00:18:57,200 –> 00:18:58,840
And the same principles are
running through here.

343
00:18:58,840 –> 00:19:02,760
God is providing a safety net to
prevent certain people from

344
00:19:02,760 –> 00:19:06,320
becoming destitute.
But I say again, it’s voluntary

345
00:19:06,320 –> 00:19:08,920
contractual employment with an
end date, not suggesting.

346
00:19:08,920 –> 00:19:11,680
It’s straightforward or simple
or easy, but that’s the process

347
00:19:11,840 –> 00:19:14,600
that we are going through.
I just want to make the point as

348
00:19:14,600 –> 00:19:17,440
well.
I think it’s important that we

349
00:19:17,440 –> 00:19:19,800
understand that God is not
reducing people to property.

350
00:19:20,440 –> 00:19:24,600
And in fact, the laws about
about serving, about servanthood

351
00:19:25,000 –> 00:19:28,040
sit separately in the Law of
Moses from the laws about

352
00:19:28,040 –> 00:19:32,080
property, as if we are to take
the hint that people are not

353
00:19:32,080 –> 00:19:34,200
property because they’re being
treated separately.

354
00:19:35,640 –> 00:19:39,080
The law is humanizing people by
by limiting unnecessary

355
00:19:39,080 –> 00:19:42,440
suffering and managing the
vengeance that is inevitably

356
00:19:42,440 –> 00:19:44,160
going to come when stuff goes
wrong.

357
00:19:44,720 –> 00:19:46,720
And we will see a little bit of
that in just a moment.

358
00:19:48,400 –> 00:19:50,960
Which is why if you’re in
chapter 21, just glance down to

359
00:19:50,960 –> 00:19:54,560
verse 16.
You are not allowed to traffic

360
00:19:54,600 –> 00:19:58,360
people.
He that steals a man and sells

361
00:19:58,360 –> 00:20:01,920
him, or if he’d be found in his
hand, he will surely be put to

362
00:20:01,920 –> 00:20:04,400
death.
Human trafficking is a capital

363
00:20:04,400 –> 00:20:05,880
crime.
The apostle Paul will pick that

364
00:20:05,880 –> 00:20:08,680
up later in his letters.
And but he talks about things

365
00:20:08,680 –> 00:20:13,120
that are contrary to sound
doctrine and and that slightly

366
00:20:13,120 –> 00:20:16,280
awkward phrase, men’s Steelers
is one of the things which he

367
00:20:16,280 –> 00:20:17,680
lists.
And he’s talking about this.

368
00:20:18,880 –> 00:20:22,800
He’s saying people who traffic
others will will meet the

369
00:20:22,800 –> 00:20:24,400
consequences.
And Paul had had direct

370
00:20:24,400 –> 00:20:26,160
experience of that when he went
to Philippi.

371
00:20:26,600 –> 00:20:29,680
And but he met the slave girl,
the one with the spirit of

372
00:20:29,680 –> 00:20:34,840
Python, when he could make a
snake talk, which is an

373
00:20:34,840 –> 00:20:37,160
interesting picture in itself.
So he knew exactly what it was

374
00:20:37,160 –> 00:20:39,160
like to come into contact with
somebody who was like that.

375
00:20:39,440 –> 00:20:42,480
Exodus 21 is saying you cannot
exploit those in service for

376
00:20:42,480 –> 00:20:45,360
money.
And it just throws some light on

377
00:20:45,360 –> 00:20:46,640
what Pharaoh was thinking,
wasn’t it?

378
00:20:47,240 –> 00:20:49,480
Doesn’t it rather when when when
you think back to the the

379
00:20:49,480 –> 00:20:54,600
dialogues that Pharaoh has with
with Moses and and with Aaron

380
00:20:54,600 –> 00:20:57,800
earlier on, you remember after?
Is it the 7th or the 8th plague

381
00:20:57,800 –> 00:21:00,040
when Pharaoh grants Moses and
Aaron permission to leave?

382
00:21:00,040 –> 00:21:03,200
But he wants to know who’s
going, and he encourages the men

383
00:21:03,200 –> 00:21:05,960
to go out and and the women and
the children and the animals to

384
00:21:05,960 –> 00:21:09,160
stay behind.
And Moses and Aaron say, no, if

385
00:21:09,160 –> 00:21:10,960
we’re going, we’re all going
together.

386
00:21:11,480 –> 00:21:13,280
And it’s an anticipation of
these verses.

387
00:21:13,280 –> 00:21:17,960
Here this idea that that keeping
families together is absolutely

388
00:21:17,960 –> 00:21:21,320
fundamental and and these
verses, as I say, just provide a

389
00:21:21,320 –> 00:21:22,440
little bit of background for
that.

390
00:21:24,600 –> 00:21:26,840
So if the servant says he loves
his master, his wife and his

391
00:21:26,840 –> 00:21:29,560
children and will not go out
free, then he is bored through

392
00:21:29,560 –> 00:21:31,920
his ear is bored through with an
awl.

393
00:21:32,320 –> 00:21:34,640
And he commits to serve his
master forever.

394
00:21:35,200 –> 00:21:39,600
Only place incidentally, where
external marking is allowed,

395
00:21:39,600 –> 00:21:40,920
right?
You could do it in Egypt, you

396
00:21:40,920 –> 00:21:44,120
could brand your servant and you
would do it in Babylon because.

397
00:21:44,120 –> 00:21:46,120
They’d wear a tablet around
their necks or around their

398
00:21:46,120 –> 00:21:48,680
ankles.
Certainly did it in later

399
00:21:48,680 –> 00:21:50,440
centuries as well.
But this is the only place in

400
00:21:50,440 –> 00:21:54,600
Scripture where external marking
is, as it were sanctified.

401
00:21:55,360 –> 00:21:58,200
And there are more significant
echoes there which which you may

402
00:21:58,200 –> 00:22:01,120
well be aware of and which we
will return to later in the

403
00:22:01,120 –> 00:22:03,640
week.
So verses one to six in Exodus

404
00:22:03,640 –> 00:22:08,600
21, it tells us about unmarried
men.

405
00:22:09,560 –> 00:22:15,480
If he comes in by himself, it
tells us about married men and

406
00:22:15,480 –> 00:22:21,000
it tells us about married women,
unmarried men, married men,

407
00:22:21,280 –> 00:22:25,000
married women.
What about unmarried women?

408
00:22:25,880 –> 00:22:30,160
What about those who who in that
society certainly are the most

409
00:22:30,160 –> 00:22:33,960
vulnerable, the most, as it
were, in need of some kind of a

410
00:22:33,960 –> 00:22:36,440
protection?
We’ll come down to verse 7.

411
00:22:36,440 –> 00:22:38,800
If a man sell his daughter to be
a maidservant, that’s going to

412
00:22:38,800 –> 00:22:40,960
make a stand up.
The teens are getting this in an

413
00:22:40,960 –> 00:22:42,560
hour’s time.
This is the verse.

414
00:22:42,560 –> 00:22:44,480
That’s going to make them run
around in circles, I think.

415
00:22:44,800 –> 00:22:47,680
If a man sell his daughter to be
a maidservant, he shall not go

416
00:22:47,680 –> 00:22:50,640
out as the men’s servants do.
If she please, not her Master

417
00:22:50,640 –> 00:22:53,320
who’s betrothed him to herself,
then he shall let her be

418
00:22:53,320 –> 00:22:56,000
redeemed to sell her to a
strange nation.

419
00:22:56,000 –> 00:22:59,280
He shall have no power because
he’s dealt deceitfully with her.

420
00:22:59,840 –> 00:23:02,880
And if he’s betrothed her to his
son, he shall deal with her

421
00:23:02,880 –> 00:23:06,560
after the manner of daughters.
If you take another wife, her

422
00:23:06,560 –> 00:23:08,760
food and her clothing and her
duty of marriage, he shall not

423
00:23:08,760 –> 00:23:11,680
diminish.
And if he doesn’t do these three

424
00:23:11,720 –> 00:23:14,800
unto her, then she goes out free
without money.

425
00:23:15,000 –> 00:23:17,880
Why can’t she go out like the
man in verse 2?

426
00:23:20,360 –> 00:23:22,560
Doesn’t this therefore reduce
women to property?

427
00:23:23,240 –> 00:23:26,160
So the the Internet echo will
ask, you will know because it’s

428
00:23:26,160 –> 00:23:31,400
for her protection that the man
who is her employer in verse 7

429
00:23:31,400 –> 00:23:34,200
can’t transfer her service to
another nation.

430
00:23:34,520 –> 00:23:37,760
He can’t treat her as a servant
if she becomes his

431
00:23:37,760 –> 00:23:42,040
daughter-in-law, and he can’t
treat her as second class if she

432
00:23:42,040 –> 00:23:45,800
remarries.
And only after those 3 clauses

433
00:23:45,800 –> 00:23:48,680
are exhausted does she get to go
out free.

434
00:23:50,360 –> 00:23:52,280
And I just wonder whether there
is a picture there of the

435
00:23:52,280 –> 00:23:55,320
ecclesial bride, there is
something bigger happening under

436
00:23:55,320 –> 00:23:57,760
the surface in those verses that
we might want to get hold of as

437
00:23:57,760 –> 00:24:00,440
well.
So what are these laws doing?

438
00:24:01,520 –> 00:24:03,120
They are, they are protecting
the vulnerable.

439
00:24:03,800 –> 00:24:09,520
They are safeguarding unmarried
women that the most at risk in a

440
00:24:09,520 –> 00:24:12,080
society like this.
Verse 22 has got that as well.

441
00:24:12,600 –> 00:24:13,880
And we’ll come there in just a
moment.

442
00:24:14,200 –> 00:24:18,440
It’s ensuring that those at the
bottom of the social structure

443
00:24:19,080 –> 00:24:23,120
are not mistreated, and it’s
teaching wisdom to those in

444
00:24:23,120 –> 00:24:27,680
power, which I think in our day
and age we could do with a bit

445
00:24:27,680 –> 00:24:28,960
more of personally, but there we
are.

446
00:24:28,960 –> 00:24:30,560
But it’s teaching it there as
well.

447
00:24:31,000 –> 00:24:34,400
Have a look at the social
circumstances which God paints

448
00:24:34,400 –> 00:24:39,680
for His people here.
If you were a servant under the

449
00:24:39,680 –> 00:24:44,320
law of Moses, you’ve got
holidays, or at least you’ve got

450
00:24:44,320 –> 00:24:47,320
days of rest.
You’ve got food.

451
00:24:48,120 –> 00:24:51,680
There were a whole series of
legal protections and redresses

452
00:24:52,000 –> 00:24:56,240
that you could fall back upon,
and you had sexual protection.

453
00:24:58,240 –> 00:25:00,800
Those did not exist in Rome.
Those did not exist in the New

454
00:25:00,800 –> 00:25:04,560
World slave systems.
By contrast, the Law of Moses

455
00:25:04,560 –> 00:25:05,880
did not allow you to be
kidnapped.

456
00:25:05,880 –> 00:25:07,960
It did not allow you to be
chained up, it did not allow

457
00:25:07,960 –> 00:25:10,160
torture, and it did not allow
physical abuse.

458
00:25:10,160 –> 00:25:11,800
And Rome and the New World
allowed all of those.

459
00:25:12,920 –> 00:25:15,360
This is a radical way of looking
at things.

460
00:25:17,480 –> 00:25:19,920
This is God’s way of protecting
his people.

461
00:25:20,640 –> 00:25:28,520
Come down to verse 21.
If a man smites his servants or

462
00:25:28,520 –> 00:25:31,760
his maid with a rod, and he’d
die under his hand, he will

463
00:25:31,760 –> 00:25:35,400
surely be punished.
Notwithstanding, if he continue

464
00:25:35,400 –> 00:25:39,640
a day or two, he shall not be
punished for he is his money.

465
00:25:41,160 –> 00:25:43,320
It’s another one of those
phrases that just makes us sit a

466
00:25:43,320 –> 00:25:45,160
little uncomfortably in our
chairs, isn’t it?

467
00:25:45,160 –> 00:25:47,880
Because it, it makes us feel
like people are being treated as

468
00:25:47,880 –> 00:25:52,000
cash, makes us feel that that
the the employer can beat his

469
00:25:52,000 –> 00:25:56,520
slave because he owns him.
Well, is that what that’s

470
00:25:56,520 –> 00:25:58,120
saying?
No, no it isn’t.

471
00:25:58,160 –> 00:26:00,080
We’re going to look at the
context to understand why it’s

472
00:26:00,080 –> 00:26:01,800
not.
But again, it’s a verse that

473
00:26:01,800 –> 00:26:04,200
just needs a little bit of
unpeeling so that we can

474
00:26:04,200 –> 00:26:06,280
understand what’s going on.
Just go back to verse 19, verse

475
00:26:06,280 –> 00:26:09,360
18.
Verse 18 and 19 says that if

476
00:26:09,360 –> 00:26:12,200
there’s a fight.
And the one who who comes off

477
00:26:12,200 –> 00:26:16,240
worst can still walk.
If he rise again and walks on

478
00:26:16,240 –> 00:26:19,880
his staff, well, then you have
to pay him for the loss of his

479
00:26:19,880 –> 00:26:21,480
time.
You have to cover his wages.

480
00:26:22,920 –> 00:26:25,800
You have to make sure there is
some kind of balance and ensure

481
00:26:25,800 –> 00:26:30,240
that he’s healed.
But that’s between equals, IE

482
00:26:30,240 –> 00:26:33,800
if, if, whether Tom and I,
whether Frank and I rather have

483
00:26:33,840 –> 00:26:36,520
something to do and one of us
comes off worse and it’ll

484
00:26:36,520 –> 00:26:39,360
probably be me then then he gets
to pay my wages until I’m

485
00:26:39,360 –> 00:26:41,200
better.
But that’s between equals.

486
00:26:41,200 –> 00:26:42,960
What about an unequal
relationship?

487
00:26:42,960 –> 00:26:45,440
What about something where
somebody who is more vulnerable

488
00:26:45,600 –> 00:26:47,880
is mistreated?
What about a master and a

489
00:26:47,880 –> 00:26:51,360
servant instead?
Well, again, look on the other

490
00:26:51,360 –> 00:26:54,880
side of those tricky verses.
Come down to verse 26.

491
00:26:55,120 –> 00:26:58,080
If a man smite the eye of his
servant or the eye of his maid

492
00:26:58,080 –> 00:27:01,720
that it that it perishes, then
he should let him go free for

493
00:27:01,720 –> 00:27:04,560
his eyes sake.
And if he knocks out his

494
00:27:04,600 –> 00:27:07,600
manservant’s tooth or his
maidservant’s tooth, he should

495
00:27:07,600 –> 00:27:10,000
let him go free for his tooth’s
sake.

496
00:27:10,240 –> 00:27:12,840
So if there’s a fight between
equals, you balance out the

497
00:27:12,840 –> 00:27:14,920
wages and make sure somebody’s
not disadvantaged.

498
00:27:15,080 –> 00:27:18,920
If there is a fight and there is
a physical damage, well then you

499
00:27:18,920 –> 00:27:21,800
actually get to go free because
of the loss of your limb or your

500
00:27:21,800 –> 00:27:23,000
tooth.
It’s pretty unpleasant.

501
00:27:23,000 –> 00:27:24,600
I’m not advocating this over in
the lunch.

502
00:27:24,600 –> 00:27:27,840
Queue.
But we’re remember, this is not

503
00:27:27,840 –> 00:27:29,440
the utopia that we wanted it to
be.

504
00:27:29,440 –> 00:27:32,640
This is God managing the
hardness of people’s hearts and

505
00:27:32,640 –> 00:27:35,680
laying down some kind of redress
in case something goes wrong.

506
00:27:35,880 –> 00:27:38,960
And these therefore are the
boundaries for that tricky verse

507
00:27:39,120 –> 00:27:42,800
in verse 21 where we’re talking
about is this man his money?

508
00:27:43,120 –> 00:27:45,520
Because if knocking out a tooth
means that you get to go free,

509
00:27:45,760 –> 00:27:49,440
then verses 20 and 21 are
clearly not giving employers

510
00:27:49,440 –> 00:27:53,360
license to abuse their servants.
What the law is doing, brothers

511
00:27:53,360 –> 00:27:55,920
and sisters, is not, is not
advocating beating.

512
00:27:56,320 –> 00:28:00,440
It’s ensuring liability when a
case comes before the judges.

513
00:28:00,720 –> 00:28:04,280
If due to the hardness of your
hearts, if due to your sin, if

514
00:28:04,280 –> 00:28:06,400
due to the fact that you are
mortal and this is a fallen

515
00:28:06,400 –> 00:28:09,320
world and freedom has changed
from what God originally set it

516
00:28:09,320 –> 00:28:14,120
up to be, well then God will
create a legal framework to

517
00:28:14,120 –> 00:28:18,200
ensure fairness.
God will ensure that those who

518
00:28:18,200 –> 00:28:23,720
are disadvantaged are made right
as best as is possible in this

519
00:28:23,720 –> 00:28:28,400
life.
Doesn’t mean that your your limb

520
00:28:28,400 –> 00:28:31,760
or your eye or your tooth gets
magically returned.

521
00:28:32,440 –> 00:28:36,800
There is not a mystical healing
process here, but but you are

522
00:28:36,800 –> 00:28:38,520
made right in some other way and
the.

523
00:28:38,520 –> 00:28:41,760
Spirit of the law is picked up
by the Lord, who of course

524
00:28:41,760 –> 00:28:44,880
realizes that this is about
humanizing people by limiting

525
00:28:44,880 –> 00:28:48,680
unnecessary suffering, by
limiting unnecessary vengeance

526
00:28:49,560 –> 00:28:52,160
because these verses down here,
of course.

527
00:28:52,760 –> 00:28:56,520
In.
In verses well 24 and 25, an eye

528
00:28:56,520 –> 00:28:58,720
for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth and a hand for a hand.

529
00:28:59,360 –> 00:29:00,760
This is the first time we come
across.

530
00:29:00,760 –> 00:29:04,520
This I think.
And the law will, will, will

531
00:29:04,520 –> 00:29:07,400
capture this, won’t he?
And we, we look at these verses

532
00:29:07,400 –> 00:29:11,200
and we sometimes get told that,
well, this means that if you

533
00:29:11,200 –> 00:29:13,560
knock somebody’s tooth out, you
get to knock somebody else’s

534
00:29:13,560 –> 00:29:15,960
tooth out by comparison, because
that’s the trade off, right?

535
00:29:15,960 –> 00:29:17,960
Or if somebody takes your eye,
then you get to go and take

536
00:29:17,960 –> 00:29:19,800
theirs because that’s what the
law is sanctioning.

537
00:29:22,360 –> 00:29:25,280
Only it isn’t.
That’s not what the law is

538
00:29:25,280 –> 00:29:27,680
suggesting at all.
What the law is saying is that

539
00:29:27,680 –> 00:29:32,720
punishment should be exactly
proportional and no more than

540
00:29:32,720 –> 00:29:37,760
you suffered yourself.
There is a proportion here.

541
00:29:37,760 –> 00:29:42,400
It’s not identical retribution.
It’s proportional justice.

542
00:29:42,680 –> 00:29:46,680
You may go as far as that if you
have to, but you may go no

543
00:29:46,680 –> 00:29:52,120
further, which is why in the
Sermon on the Mount, when the

544
00:29:52,120 –> 00:29:55,760
Lord Jesus picks this up and
begins to open up what the

545
00:29:55,760 –> 00:29:59,640
spirits of the law really seems
to mean, he says, well, I say to

546
00:29:59,640 –> 00:30:02,560
you, you should turn the other
cheek.

547
00:30:03,840 –> 00:30:05,960
And he was not saying, brothers
and sisters, well, you used to

548
00:30:05,960 –> 00:30:08,760
be able to claim body parts, but
now you have to love each other.

549
00:30:09,080 –> 00:30:13,360
He is saying the law offered a
proportional response because of

550
00:30:13,360 –> 00:30:16,200
the hardness of your hearts, and
now you have to limit yourself

551
00:30:16,280 –> 00:30:20,080
even further.
Now you have to manage your own

552
00:30:20,080 –> 00:30:23,400
relationships with each other in
a way that doesn’t have a

553
00:30:23,400 –> 00:30:28,360
specific legal framework but has
the perfect law of liberty,

554
00:30:30,920 –> 00:30:34,280
which is harder, much harder.
Come over to Deuteronomy chapter

555
00:30:34,280 –> 00:30:46,100
15.
We haven’t exhausted Exodus 21,

556
00:30:46,100 –> 00:30:47,780
but I’m just conscious of time
again.

557
00:30:49,120 –> 00:30:51,720
Deuteronomy 21 is is a chapter
of liberty.

558
00:30:51,720 –> 00:30:53,320
It’s a chapter of release.
If you just.

559
00:30:53,440 –> 00:30:56,160
Cast your eye across it.
You’ll keep seeing phrases like

560
00:30:56,480 –> 00:30:59,160
letting go or opening up or
releasing.

561
00:30:59,640 –> 00:31:04,040
It’s an anti legalism chapter.
Almost nothing in this chapter

562
00:31:04,040 –> 00:31:08,200
is quantified.
It’s it’s one of those chapters

563
00:31:08,200 –> 00:31:10,040
that the Pharisees must have
absolutely hated.

564
00:31:10,040 –> 00:31:11,000
There’s there’s where’s the
verse?

565
00:31:11,000 –> 00:31:14,160
I’m, I’m thinking of this idea
of having an open handed giving

566
00:31:14,160 –> 00:31:17,200
I, I losing my verse doesn’t
matter anyway, somewhere in

567
00:31:17,200 –> 00:31:18,960
verse 9 I think, isn’t it?
No, it doesn’t matter.

568
00:31:18,960 –> 00:31:22,400
We’ll find it in just a moment.
But the Pharisees have got this

569
00:31:22,400 –> 00:31:25,120
process, haven’t they, where
everything is is controlled.

570
00:31:25,120 –> 00:31:28,400
How much do I have to give Lord?
I want to make sure that I give

571
00:31:28,400 –> 00:31:32,040
the right amount, Lord.
And, and the law says, well, if

572
00:31:32,040 –> 00:31:34,720
your brother needs it, then you
open your hand up and you open

573
00:31:34,720 –> 00:31:39,120
it wide and you give it and you
can hear the ring of the

574
00:31:39,120 –> 00:31:42,280
Pharisees voice in your ear
saying, well, how much do I have

575
00:31:42,280 –> 00:31:44,160
to open my hand, Lord?
What does an open hand look

576
00:31:44,160 –> 00:31:45,480
like?
How many fingers do I get to

577
00:31:45,480 –> 00:31:47,520
fall back on it, Lord, Because I
just want to manage what I’m

578
00:31:47,520 –> 00:31:50,360
giving Lord.
And maybe you think that when

579
00:31:50,360 –> 00:31:52,600
the bag goes round on Sundays,
or maybe you think that when

580
00:31:52,600 –> 00:31:55,080
you’re tired and it’s just hard
to give a little bit more to the

581
00:31:55,080 –> 00:31:56,680
ecclesia.
But but the Lord is saying this

582
00:31:56,680 –> 00:31:59,720
is an open handed process.
I sometimes think, you know,

583
00:31:59,720 –> 00:32:02,960
that we misunderstand the
problem that Jesus had with the

584
00:32:02,960 –> 00:32:06,120
Pharisees.
It was not that they were not

585
00:32:06,120 –> 00:32:12,640
religious, they were religious,
but they were lazy because

586
00:32:12,640 –> 00:32:17,280
freedom is really hard.
Freedom is is difficult because

587
00:32:17,280 –> 00:32:19,200
you have to do lots of grown up
thinking.

588
00:32:20,800 –> 00:32:23,760
Unless they veered further and
further away from what the

589
00:32:23,840 –> 00:32:27,320
actual Law of Moses said.
And as they layered their own

590
00:32:27,320 –> 00:32:31,440
teachings on top of it over the
centuries, then it became so

591
00:32:31,440 –> 00:32:33,360
much more straightforward just
to fall back on.

592
00:32:33,880 –> 00:32:38,680
Well, the laws said or the rabbi
said or the custom said.

593
00:32:39,640 –> 00:32:42,080
Being legalistic is really easy
because you know exactly how

594
00:32:42,080 –> 00:32:46,680
much to open your hand and you
can fulfill it and take it off

595
00:32:46,680 –> 00:32:52,120
and achieve it.
Freedom is a challenge to us for

596
00:32:52,120 –> 00:32:56,920
the precise reason that there
are no quantifiable limits told

597
00:32:56,920 –> 00:32:59,760
some of people this week.
My wife is a is a doctor and a

598
00:32:59,760 –> 00:33:03,880
couple of days a week she works
in prisons with, with, with well

599
00:33:04,000 –> 00:33:05,720
sick criminals.
That’s not the way that I should

600
00:33:05,720 –> 00:33:08,320
be describing it, but with
people who are incarcerated, who

601
00:33:08,320 –> 00:33:10,840
are ill and she gets to talk to
them when she’s there.

602
00:33:10,840 –> 00:33:12,880
And most of them don’t know what
they’re going to do when they’re

603
00:33:12,880 –> 00:33:16,600
released.
Because when you’re behind bars,

604
00:33:17,440 –> 00:33:21,200
everything is managed for you.
Your schedule is managed, your

605
00:33:21,200 –> 00:33:22,840
foods comes at a particular
time.

606
00:33:24,120 –> 00:33:25,600
You know exactly where you’re
going to live.

607
00:33:25,600 –> 00:33:28,680
And although it’s not exactly
great, you know, your sleeping

608
00:33:28,680 –> 00:33:32,240
accommodation when you go free,
you suddenly have to start

609
00:33:32,240 –> 00:33:34,440
thinking for yourself again.
And lots of the prisoners who

610
00:33:34,440 –> 00:33:37,080
are about to get released are
nervous about what happens

611
00:33:38,280 –> 00:33:40,400
because they don’t know exactly
what they’ll do when they, when

612
00:33:40,400 –> 00:33:43,240
they come out.
That’s that’s the exact

613
00:33:43,240 –> 00:33:44,960
challenge, brothers and sisters,
that you and I have with

614
00:33:44,960 –> 00:33:48,120
freedom.
What do we do when we’re free if

615
00:33:48,120 –> 00:33:50,160
somebody’s not telling us
exactly how to behave?

616
00:33:51,560 –> 00:33:54,000
Same for D mob soldiers when
they come home from the front.

617
00:33:55,520 –> 00:33:57,440
Because when you’re in the Army
or the Navy or the Air Force,

618
00:33:57,440 –> 00:33:59,800
people are telling you exactly
what to do at particular times.

619
00:33:59,960 –> 00:34:03,960
And when you’re not, suddenly
there is a latitude there that

620
00:34:03,960 –> 00:34:07,120
you’re not used to.
I know Brother Steve was talking

621
00:34:07,120 –> 00:34:09,560
to us last night about some
about the commands of the

622
00:34:09,560 –> 00:34:11,920
soldiers and how that comes
through into everyday life and

623
00:34:11,920 –> 00:34:14,440
absolutely does.
But there is a sense in which

624
00:34:14,440 –> 00:34:16,840
when I have to plot my own
course, when I have to make my

625
00:34:16,840 –> 00:34:20,199
own decisions, when I’m no
longer given a framework for it,

626
00:34:20,199 –> 00:34:23,400
but I but I actually have to, to
exercise the perfect law of

627
00:34:23,400 –> 00:34:26,280
liberty, then things become a
lot more difficult.

628
00:34:27,880 –> 00:34:32,159
It’s the difference between the
Lord going to the cross because

629
00:34:32,159 –> 00:34:36,719
the Father told him to and the
Lord going to the cross because

630
00:34:36,719 –> 00:34:40,560
he loved his disciples.
The Lord going to the cross

631
00:34:40,560 –> 00:34:43,840
because he said I love my
master, my wife and my brothers,

632
00:34:43,840 –> 00:34:48,960
and I will not go out free.
That’s how that stuff gets

633
00:34:48,960 –> 00:34:51,320
exercised in daily life.
Deuteronomy 15.

634
00:34:51,320 –> 00:34:54,840
We are there, aren’t we?
And what this will do is fill in

635
00:34:54,840 –> 00:35:01,040
some details that are missing in
Exodus 21, or at least that are

636
00:35:01,040 –> 00:35:04,760
now relevant for the second
generation as they go to inherit

637
00:35:04,760 –> 00:35:07,080
the land that were less
important for the first

638
00:35:07,080 –> 00:35:09,320
generation when they were going
through the wilderness.

639
00:35:09,880 –> 00:35:14,160
And come to verse 12.
And I’ve just seen the verse I

640
00:35:14,160 –> 00:35:16,240
was trying to get to with an
open hand is in verse 11.

641
00:35:17,040 –> 00:35:19,240
But we’ll we’ll come back to
that maybe another time.

642
00:35:19,240 –> 00:35:23,640
Verse 12 of Deuteronomy 15 if
your brother a Hebrew man.

643
00:35:23,760 –> 00:35:27,680
Or a Hebrew woman be sold to
you.

644
00:35:27,680 –> 00:35:31,600
So that’s.
That’s a build from Exodus 21.

645
00:35:31,600 –> 00:35:35,000
We didn’t get the detail of the
woman in chapter 21 in Exodus.

646
00:35:35,000 –> 00:35:37,080
We’ve got it here.
So we’ve opened things up.

647
00:35:37,080 –> 00:35:39,200
Now.
If you’re brother, a Hebrew man

648
00:35:39,200 –> 00:35:41,880
or a Hebrew woman be sold to you
and served six years, then in

649
00:35:41,880 –> 00:35:44,200
the 7th year you should let him
go free from you.

650
00:35:44,840 –> 00:35:47,600
When you send him out free from
you, you shall not let him go

651
00:35:47,600 –> 00:35:52,360
away empty.
You shall furnish him liberally

652
00:35:53,160 –> 00:35:57,280
out of your flock, out of your
floor, and out of your wine

653
00:35:57,280 –> 00:36:00,800
press, of that wherewith the
Lord your God has blessed you.

654
00:36:00,800 –> 00:36:04,800
You shall give to him, and you
shall remember that you were a

655
00:36:04,800 –> 00:36:08,360
bond man in the land of Egypt,
and the Lord your God redeemed

656
00:36:08,360 –> 00:36:11,200
you.
Now, therefore, I command you

657
00:36:11,200 –> 00:36:15,560
this thing this day.
There’s a little.

658
00:36:15,560 –> 00:36:17,880
Summary of some of the things
which are going on in

659
00:36:17,880 –> 00:36:21,120
Deuteronomy 15.
Why is it that he is to go out

660
00:36:21,400 –> 00:36:23,800
not empty?
Verse 13.

661
00:36:24,120 –> 00:36:26,920
Why is it that he is to be
furnished liberally?

662
00:36:27,240 –> 00:36:30,240
From the flock and the floor and
the wine press.

663
00:36:30,920 –> 00:36:33,520
Because surely if I’m an
employer and I’ve got somebody

664
00:36:33,520 –> 00:36:36,440
who’s going free at the end of
six years, it’s enough that I’ve

665
00:36:36,440 –> 00:36:40,360
lost my lost my laborer and I
need to go out and find somebody

666
00:36:40,360 –> 00:36:43,160
else.
Let alone the fact that I have

667
00:36:43,160 –> 00:36:45,960
to be happy about it and I have
to give him things when he goes

668
00:36:45,960 –> 00:36:49,600
out as well, and thus impoverish
myself so that he can become

669
00:36:49,600 –> 00:36:51,400
richer.
Why should I have to do that,

670
00:36:51,400 –> 00:36:55,160
Lord?
Or because what’s happening here

671
00:36:55,600 –> 00:37:00,000
in Deuteronomy 15 is that these
people are being prepared for

672
00:37:00,000 –> 00:37:03,840
their own individual worship so
that they don’t come before

673
00:37:03,840 –> 00:37:08,520
Almighty God with nothing.
And those three things out of

674
00:37:08,520 –> 00:37:12,960
your flock, out of your floor,
and out of your wine press, just

675
00:37:12,960 –> 00:37:16,480
picked up in the next chapter in
16 and verse 16, when the three

676
00:37:16,480 –> 00:37:19,520
males will come before the Lord
three times in the year.

677
00:37:19,640 –> 00:37:20,720
Sorry.
When the men will come three

678
00:37:20,720 –> 00:37:24,680
times a year before the Lord in
the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

679
00:37:25,320 –> 00:37:29,640
In the Feast of weeks and in the
Feast of Tabernacles, so you

680
00:37:29,640 –> 00:37:33,680
were to furnish the servant who
went out liberally from your

681
00:37:33,680 –> 00:37:36,800
flock, from your floor, from
your winepress, and it

682
00:37:36,800 –> 00:37:39,280
anticipated the times when they
would come before the Lord in

683
00:37:39,280 –> 00:37:43,680
those three feasts.
In other words, godly freedom is

684
00:37:43,680 –> 00:37:47,440
explicitly about the freedom to
worship the God in Israel.

685
00:37:47,960 –> 00:37:50,000
It’s not just about you get to
go free.

686
00:37:50,720 –> 00:37:52,560
So I no longer have you working
for me.

687
00:37:52,960 –> 00:37:57,760
It’s specifically making sure
that somebody who is released is

688
00:37:57,760 –> 00:38:00,960
able to be set up in such a way
that they can then come before

689
00:38:00,960 –> 00:38:04,600
the Lord and worship.
Let’s go back to that slide

690
00:38:04,600 –> 00:38:05,840
because I know people were
writing things down.

691
00:38:05,840 –> 00:38:08,480
So I’m just going to go back to
those those earlier verses.

692
00:38:09,960 –> 00:38:14,400
You will remember that you were
a bond man in the land of Egypt

693
00:38:14,440 –> 00:38:17,360
and the Lord your God redeemed
you again.

694
00:38:17,360 –> 00:38:19,520
Just helps us to shed a little
bit of light on the Exodus

695
00:38:19,520 –> 00:38:22,760
process as well, doesn’t it?
When after one of the other

696
00:38:22,760 –> 00:38:26,280
plagues, Pharaoh’s restriction
for them going out of Egypt was

697
00:38:26,280 –> 00:38:28,920
that the Israelites could go
out, but they had to leave their

698
00:38:28,920 –> 00:38:31,880
flocks and herds behind.
And Moses says we’re not going

699
00:38:31,880 –> 00:38:34,480
to do that and insists that the
flocks and the herds.

700
00:38:34,480 –> 00:38:37,360
Have to go out with them, just
like the women and the children

701
00:38:37,360 –> 00:38:40,520
had to go out with them because
they were going to go and make

702
00:38:40,520 –> 00:38:43,120
sacrifices in the wilderness.
And Pharaoh is, if you like,

703
00:38:43,120 –> 00:38:45,840
undercutting what God will later
do for his people.

704
00:38:46,080 –> 00:38:48,160
He doesn’t want to give the
Israelites the biblical rights

705
00:38:48,160 –> 00:38:49,720
that are going to be given to
servants.

706
00:38:51,360 –> 00:38:55,080
And they have to do it willingly
when they come out, because you

707
00:38:55,080 –> 00:38:57,480
will remember that you are a
bond man in the land of Egypt

708
00:38:57,760 –> 00:38:59,200
and the Lord your God redeemed
you.

709
00:39:00,360 –> 00:39:04,440
Pharaoh, time after time is so
unwilling to let his people go.

710
00:39:04,760 –> 00:39:07,000
The Israelites are to understand
that this is a new.

711
00:39:07,000 –> 00:39:09,680
World.
Not a utopia, but a new world

712
00:39:09,960 –> 00:39:12,800
and that things are being set up
for them in such a way that they

713
00:39:12,800 –> 00:39:15,720
should worship Almighty God in
spirit and in truth.

714
00:39:17,360 –> 00:39:20,760
Exodus gets associated with a
lack of freedom to worship,

715
00:39:21,280 –> 00:39:23,720
whereas the land what the
wilderness journey and then the

716
00:39:23,720 –> 00:39:27,000
land when they come in is about
setting themselves up with

717
00:39:27,000 –> 00:39:31,200
enough to be able to come before
God for worship every time an

718
00:39:31,200 –> 00:39:33,720
Israelite encounters a needy.
Brother or sister, they have a

719
00:39:33,720 –> 00:39:35,800
choice.
We’re back to this same idea

720
00:39:35,800 –> 00:39:37,760
again.
Every time you see somebody who

721
00:39:37,760 –> 00:39:39,280
needs something, you have a
choice.

722
00:39:39,520 –> 00:39:42,320
You get to make a decision.
Are you going to enact an Exodus

723
00:39:42,520 –> 00:39:44,000
or are you going to be a mini
pharaoh?

724
00:39:45,320 –> 00:39:49,320
You get to choose when you see
somebody and you’re thinking

725
00:39:49,320 –> 00:39:51,760
about opening up your hand and
how, why do I have to do it,

726
00:39:51,760 –> 00:39:53,160
Lord?
And is there a quantity, Lord?

727
00:39:53,160 –> 00:39:58,520
And I don’t want to do it all,
Lord, you get to choose mini

728
00:39:58,520 –> 00:40:02,640
Exodus or mini Pharaoh.
That’s the comparison which is

729
00:40:02,640 –> 00:40:04,480
being set up.
And the law is trying to embed

730
00:40:04,480 –> 00:40:08,280
the idea that the father sees
every transaction and every

731
00:40:08,280 –> 00:40:11,280
exchange that we might make.
And we can give without thought

732
00:40:11,280 –> 00:40:14,280
of return, because the Father
himself gives without thought of

733
00:40:14,280 –> 00:40:18,480
return.
And that’s why the Sermon on the

734
00:40:18,480 –> 00:40:22,000
Mount opens up so many of these
ideas and talks about open

735
00:40:22,000 –> 00:40:25,080
handed giving and no legalistic
limits and turning the other

736
00:40:25,080 –> 00:40:28,160
cheek and making sure you go the
extra mile rather than just the

737
00:40:28,160 –> 00:40:30,040
specific mile that the law
commanded you.

738
00:40:30,560 –> 00:40:34,840
Because it’s trying to embed in
your heart and mine this idea of

739
00:40:34,840 –> 00:40:37,520
something bigger than just the
legal commandments that are

740
00:40:37,520 –> 00:40:41,360
there.
And I just wonder whether in,

741
00:40:42,920 –> 00:40:46,800
well, certainly my discipleship
and, and maybe it’s yours as

742
00:40:46,800 –> 00:40:48,840
well, and you can just kind of
listen in to the challenges that

743
00:40:48,840 –> 00:40:53,960
I have that that we just lean
towards the bare minimum, like,

744
00:40:54,000 –> 00:40:57,960
like the Pharisee in his prayer.
I thank you, Lord, that I’m not

745
00:40:57,960 –> 00:41:00,520
like him.
Thank you, Lord, that I didn’t

746
00:41:00,520 –> 00:41:02,280
commit adultery today.
I thank you, Lord, that I didn’t

747
00:41:02,280 –> 00:41:03,600
steal anything from anybody
today.

748
00:41:03,600 –> 00:41:05,120
I thank you, Lord, that I didn’t
do that today.

749
00:41:05,120 –> 00:41:06,960
And I didn’t do this today.
And doesn’t matter about all the

750
00:41:06,960 –> 00:41:09,240
things I did, I could have done.
But I thank you, Lord, that I’ve

751
00:41:09,240 –> 00:41:11,440
ticked off these things over
here and I didn’t actually

752
00:41:11,440 –> 00:41:13,920
commit those crimes.
We are not very good.

753
00:41:14,040 –> 00:41:18,000
I am not very good at seeing an
opportunity for an open handed

754
00:41:18,000 –> 00:41:22,000
moment when I’m just grudgingly
counting out the coins in my

755
00:41:22,000 –> 00:41:24,200
mind and making sure I don’t
give more than I feel that I

756
00:41:24,200 –> 00:41:27,000
should.
We are much better at checking

757
00:41:27,000 –> 00:41:29,680
boxes and contriving to give the
least that we can.

758
00:41:30,280 –> 00:41:32,440
Think of all those issues in the
Sermon on the Mount Brothers and

759
00:41:32,440 –> 00:41:36,240
sisters, that the law works his
way through murder, adultery,

760
00:41:36,480 –> 00:41:41,760
anger, theft, things that that
the legal framework in this

761
00:41:41,760 –> 00:41:44,480
country and in mind have got
absolutely nailed down to

762
00:41:44,800 –> 00:41:48,200
multiple sub, sub sub.
Clauses and we still get it

763
00:41:48,200 –> 00:41:50,680
wrong.
What the Sermon on the Mountain

764
00:41:50,680 –> 00:41:52,520
is doing is is trying to teach
us principles.

765
00:41:52,520 –> 00:41:54,480
Being angry doesn’t equate to
murder.

766
00:41:55,160 –> 00:41:58,480
It’s hyperbole.
But in the gospel, Jesus is

767
00:41:58,480 –> 00:42:00,400
saying where do you think murder
starts?

768
00:42:01,120 –> 00:42:02,960
Well, it starts with anger.
When?

769
00:42:02,960 –> 00:42:04,840
When I didn’t get something and
you did.

770
00:42:04,880 –> 00:42:07,480
And, and then I, I feel
contemptuous towards you and it

771
00:42:07,480 –> 00:42:10,240
makes me act.
It’s the same.

772
00:42:10,280 –> 00:42:13,240
It’s the same with adultery,
which is rooted in contempt.

773
00:42:13,480 –> 00:42:15,840
You don’t cheat on a spouse that
you hold in high regard.

774
00:42:16,800 –> 00:42:19,760
You cheat on a spouse that you
secretly have contempt for and

775
00:42:19,760 –> 00:42:21,880
therefore undermines your other
feelings towards her.

776
00:42:22,600 –> 00:42:24,200
That’s what the Lord is trying
to get to with this.

777
00:42:24,200 –> 00:42:27,440
It’s the same with theft.
It’s the same with bearing false

778
00:42:27,440 –> 00:42:29,600
witness.
It’s easier if you have low

779
00:42:29,600 –> 00:42:32,200
regard for somebody because you
can mistreat them.

780
00:42:32,200 –> 00:42:34,800
You don’t care as much.
That’s how slave societies

781
00:42:34,800 –> 00:42:38,560
happen, because you other
somebody else, you dehumanize

782
00:42:38,560 –> 00:42:39,480
them.
It’s the Tower of Babel

783
00:42:39,480 –> 00:42:41,320
principle.
We’re going to build this tower

784
00:42:41,320 –> 00:42:42,840
up with the slaves.
We’re going to go in and be safe

785
00:42:42,840 –> 00:42:44,960
from another flood, but they
will stay on the outside.

786
00:42:46,120 –> 00:42:50,360
We hold them in lower regards.
And the Lord is said, the law

787
00:42:50,360 –> 00:42:52,400
has said.
And the Lord then echoes all of

788
00:42:52,400 –> 00:42:54,560
these ideas and says there is
something bigger.

789
00:42:56,520 –> 00:42:59,000
Our discipleship is more than
just this.

790
00:42:59,160 –> 00:43:01,680
Once you’ve dehumanized
somebody, it’s much easier to

791
00:43:01,680 –> 00:43:05,000
treat them as nothing.
And if we can hold each other

792
00:43:05,000 –> 00:43:10,400
higher in our hearts, if we can
esteem each other better than

793
00:43:10,400 –> 00:43:14,680
ourselves, then we are less
likely, I do want to underline,

794
00:43:14,680 –> 00:43:18,680
less likely to fall prey to some
of these temptations which in

795
00:43:18,680 –> 00:43:21,200
turn lead us into very dark
places.

796
00:43:22,160 –> 00:43:26,320
I will not use this opportunity
to build myself up at the

797
00:43:26,320 –> 00:43:29,760
expense of somebody else.
I will not choose to be offended

798
00:43:30,040 –> 00:43:32,720
when it was really obvious that
that person just made a slip of

799
00:43:32,720 –> 00:43:37,040
the tongue and I’ve decided and
said to give them the benefit of

800
00:43:37,040 –> 00:43:39,680
the doubt.
I will not explode in anger, but

801
00:43:39,680 –> 00:43:42,240
I will take a deep breath and
give that person a second

802
00:43:42,240 –> 00:43:43,880
opportunity to hear the whole
story.

803
00:43:43,880 –> 00:43:46,560
I will not take that second look
of lust, but I will make a

804
00:43:46,560 –> 00:43:51,360
covenant with my eyes.
Discipleship is really hard.

805
00:43:51,800 –> 00:43:57,160
Freedom is really difficult.
That’s why these whole studies

806
00:43:57,160 –> 00:44:00,280
are not about let’s get into the
law and work out specifically

807
00:44:00,280 –> 00:44:06,000
what the commandments are.
It’s about realizing that as we

808
00:44:06,000 –> 00:44:10,320
move from milk to meat, as the
Hebrew writer said, we are

809
00:44:10,320 –> 00:44:12,680
beginning to learn what
discipleship really means.

810
00:44:13,160 –> 00:44:15,640
Which is why James does talk, as
I have alluded a couple of

811
00:44:15,640 –> 00:44:17,920
times, to the perfect law of
liberty.

812
00:44:18,160 –> 00:44:19,920
Come to Chapter 23.
We’ve just got a couple more

813
00:44:19,920 –> 00:44:21,760
minutes to think about another
principle here.

814
00:44:25,440 –> 00:44:29,160
As this cumulative process of
making right choices.

815
00:44:29,640 –> 00:44:32,640
Leads us towards godliness, just
as it tried to lead the

816
00:44:32,640 –> 00:44:35,000
Israelites towards godliness.
It didn’t make them perfect, it

817
00:44:35,000 –> 00:44:37,560
didn’t fix things, it didn’t.
It never will this side of the

818
00:44:37,560 –> 00:44:39,640
Kingdom.
Deuteronomy 23 is the law about

819
00:44:39,640 –> 00:44:42,960
runaways.
Verse 15 of of Deuteronomy

820
00:44:42,960 –> 00:44:45,480
chapter 23.
You shall not deliver to his

821
00:44:45,480 –> 00:44:47,960
master the servant who has
escaped from his master to you.

822
00:44:48,400 –> 00:44:51,680
He shall dwell with you, even
among you, in the place which He

823
00:44:51,680 –> 00:44:55,920
shall choose in one of your
gates where it likes him best.

824
00:44:56,080 –> 00:44:58,480
You shall not approve, You shall
not oppress him.

825
00:44:59,160 –> 00:45:00,400
That’s an interesting 1, isn’t
it?

826
00:45:00,400 –> 00:45:02,600
I mean, again, she puts Philemon
in the whole other light as

827
00:45:02,600 –> 00:45:07,680
well, so if he’s gone and you
find him.

828
00:45:09,920 –> 00:45:13,960
He lives with you not just like,
you know, in the shed at the

829
00:45:13,960 –> 00:45:17,920
bottom of the garden, but he
lives among you in the place

830
00:45:17,960 –> 00:45:24,640
that he gets to choose, in the
place that he likes best, which

831
00:45:24,640 –> 00:45:26,920
takes.
Our hospitality to another

832
00:45:26,920 –> 00:45:29,480
level, I think, doesn’t it?
You will not oppress him there.

833
00:45:29,600 –> 00:45:32,720
Just compare other legal
situations here.

834
00:45:32,720 –> 00:45:34,560
Sorry, that’s the summary of
what we just looked at.

835
00:45:35,880 –> 00:45:38,800
Let him live with you, in the
middle of you, where he chooses,

836
00:45:39,000 –> 00:45:41,760
in one of your towns, where it
suits him best.

837
00:45:42,040 –> 00:45:46,960
Just compare that with other
ancient world laws.

838
00:45:47,560 –> 00:45:50,720
Code of Hammurabi.
If anyone finds a runaway male

839
00:45:50,720 –> 00:45:54,440
or male or female slave in the
open country and bring them to

840
00:45:54,440 –> 00:45:58,120
their masters, the master of the
slaves will pay him two shekels

841
00:45:58,120 –> 00:46:00,720
of silver.
Somebody runs away, take them

842
00:46:00,720 –> 00:46:04,760
back and you get cash.
Think about the South Carolina

843
00:46:04,760 –> 00:46:08,360
Act of 1740, of which there are
multiple other examples in other

844
00:46:08,360 –> 00:46:10,600
states.
Any slave out of the house or

845
00:46:10,600 –> 00:46:13,040
plantation where the slave lives
shall refuse to submit or

846
00:46:13,040 –> 00:46:16,000
undergo the examination of any
white person.

847
00:46:16,800 –> 00:46:20,000
That any such white person shall
pursue, apprehend, and

848
00:46:20,080 –> 00:46:23,520
moderately correct such slaves,
you probably don’t want to think

849
00:46:23,520 –> 00:46:26,640
too much about what that meant.
And if any such slave shall

850
00:46:26,640 –> 00:46:29,840
assault or strike any such white
person, such slave shall be

851
00:46:29,840 –> 00:46:32,680
lawfully killed.
Law of Moses does not say any of

852
00:46:32,680 –> 00:46:36,480
those things.
The kind of circumstances that

853
00:46:36,520 –> 00:46:40,200
our world across the centuries
has built up to deal with people

854
00:46:40,200 –> 00:46:43,800
in this situation is completely
and utterly alien from what the

855
00:46:43,800 –> 00:46:47,520
things of God are there the
American South there was a £1000

856
00:46:47,520 –> 00:46:49,800
fine and a six month prison
return if you didn’t return a

857
00:46:49,800 –> 00:46:54,480
fugitive and the consequences
for the slave were too gruesome

858
00:46:54,880 –> 00:46:59,080
to comprehend.
Exodus Deuteronomy 23 verses 15

859
00:46:59,080 –> 00:47:02,560
and 16 says if there is a
runaway slave, he gets to come

860
00:47:02,560 –> 00:47:05,120
and hang out with you.
He gets to come and hang out

861
00:47:05,120 –> 00:47:06,720
with you in your family as part
of your house.

862
00:47:06,720 –> 00:47:08,440
You get to give him dinner and
you get to give him somewhere to

863
00:47:08,440 –> 00:47:11,160
sleep.
He gets to be where he chooses

864
00:47:11,160 –> 00:47:13,800
best.
If God’s people had implemented

865
00:47:13,800 –> 00:47:16,960
Deuteronomy 23, they would have
been the only safe haven for

866
00:47:16,960 –> 00:47:20,760
runaway servants or slaves in
the world at that time.

867
00:47:21,480 –> 00:47:26,360
It was absolutely revolutionary.
Now there are differences in how

868
00:47:26,360 –> 00:47:30,400
Israelite servants and Gentile
servants were treated in the

869
00:47:30,400 –> 00:47:33,400
law.
Hebrew servants were freed every

870
00:47:33,400 –> 00:47:35,960
seven years.
Foreign servants were not given

871
00:47:35,960 –> 00:47:38,360
that particular kind of
protection, but they would have

872
00:47:38,360 –> 00:47:42,960
had other benefits if they had
come to work for, for Hebrew.

873
00:47:43,440 –> 00:47:45,440
There would have been the rest
on the Sabbath.

874
00:47:45,800 –> 00:47:48,280
There would have been the
gleaning laws that we’ve alluded

875
00:47:48,280 –> 00:47:50,400
to with, with the book of Ruth
already this week.

876
00:47:50,680 –> 00:47:53,440
There would have been protection
from physical harm, as we’ve

877
00:47:53,440 –> 00:47:57,520
seen in Exodus chapter 21, and
they would have had access to

878
00:47:57,520 –> 00:48:02,440
the gospel.
So there are differences and we

879
00:48:02,440 –> 00:48:04,040
haven’t had a chance to go
through those.

880
00:48:04,040 –> 00:48:06,880
But but the very fact that they
had become part of the camp of

881
00:48:06,880 –> 00:48:09,240
Israel meant that they were
better off than they would have

882
00:48:09,240 –> 00:48:13,640
been on the outside.
Some people accuse the Old

883
00:48:13,640 –> 00:48:17,240
Testament and say that it’s just
about bloodshed and violence.

884
00:48:18,080 –> 00:48:21,320
Some people say there is no
gospel in the Old Testament.

885
00:48:23,680 –> 00:48:26,880
If that’s not gospel, I don’t
know what is.

886
00:48:27,760 –> 00:48:31,720
These are these are laws in the
service of grace and in the

887
00:48:31,720 –> 00:48:35,880
service of love, and they are
motivated by the memory of God’s

888
00:48:35,880 –> 00:48:37,640
redemption of his people from
Egypt.

889
00:48:37,920 –> 00:48:40,960
God in the Exodus has broken
into history and revealed

890
00:48:40,960 –> 00:48:44,000
himself in great acts of
salvation and mercy.

891
00:48:44,360 –> 00:48:46,080
And it points, brothers and
sisters for.

892
00:48:46,080 –> 00:48:50,600
Us unrelentingly,
uncompromisingly, to the fact

893
00:48:50,600 –> 00:48:52,200
that we are not to build our own
Kingdom.

894
00:48:52,200 –> 00:48:56,000
Here on earth that the things
that we have been given are

895
00:48:56,000 –> 00:48:59,320
temporary, that knowledge of
salvation moves the boundaries

896
00:48:59,320 –> 00:49:02,760
of our thinking, makes us do
things in particular ways.

897
00:49:03,400 –> 00:49:08,320
It’s why it’s why Mary sings of
herself as a handmaiden when

898
00:49:08,320 –> 00:49:10,520
Gabriel tells her that she will
bear the Messiah.

899
00:49:11,360 –> 00:49:14,600
It’s why Simeon, when he sees
the baby Jesus in the in the

900
00:49:14,600 –> 00:49:17,760
temple at 8 days old, says, now
let your servant depart in

901
00:49:17,760 –> 00:49:19,520
peace.
Because he recognized these kind

902
00:49:19,520 –> 00:49:24,400
of principles, and because the
Exodus is the founding story of

903
00:49:24,400 –> 00:49:28,200
Israel as a people, and because
generosity towards servants and

904
00:49:28,200 –> 00:49:33,440
foreigners lay at the very heart
of it, it therefore becomes

905
00:49:34,120 –> 00:49:36,520
unavoidable that it should
become part of our lives as

906
00:49:36,520 –> 00:49:39,000
well.
Because you are in Egypt, you

907
00:49:39,000 –> 00:49:41,960
must let this man go free.
You must supply him liberally.

908
00:49:42,200 –> 00:49:44,080
You must not deprive him of
justice.

909
00:49:44,480 –> 00:49:49,600
Your, your freedom, your liberty
underwrites the command to be

910
00:49:49,600 –> 00:49:53,400
just and generous towards those
less fortunate than you.

911
00:49:53,400 –> 00:49:57,480
It helps us to understand
Philemon, where reconciliation

912
00:49:57,480 –> 00:49:59,520
was more important than than
freedom.

913
00:50:00,320 –> 00:50:03,560
Helps us to understand Matthew
18, where that wicked servant is

914
00:50:03,560 –> 00:50:07,560
freed from debt and then goes
out and throws somebody else

915
00:50:07,560 –> 00:50:09,120
into prison because he doesn’t
get it.

916
00:50:11,360 –> 00:50:12,640
These laws are not teaching
that.

917
00:50:13,560 –> 00:50:16,200
That’s why the later cycles of
invasion and captivity are so

918
00:50:16,200 –> 00:50:18,760
profound, because they are about
God’s response to Israel’s

919
00:50:19,360 –> 00:50:21,880
stubbornness, their inability to
see all of these different

920
00:50:21,880 –> 00:50:25,040
things.
Now we will look tomorrow

921
00:50:25,040 –> 00:50:28,080
morning, God willing, at that a
broader application.

922
00:50:28,880 –> 00:50:31,520
Of the slave who loves his
mother or the servant who loves

923
00:50:31,520 –> 00:50:34,800
his master.
But but these laws are reminders

924
00:50:34,800 –> 00:50:38,320
of the consequences of sin and
the opportunities for serving

925
00:50:38,320 –> 00:50:41,080
others.
And and they tell us that our

926
00:50:41,080 –> 00:50:45,160
response, my brothers and
sisters, to the Creator of the

927
00:50:45,160 –> 00:50:51,800
universe, the one who who counts
the stars and makes oceans from

928
00:50:51,800 –> 00:50:56,600
raindrops, is to gladly and
thankfully and willingly declare

929
00:50:56,600 –> 00:51:01,000
to the world what a transformed
life looks like, what grace can

930
00:51:01,000 –> 00:51:02,960
do in the heart of sinners.