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ОглавлениеRead Exodus chapters 18–21.
You might hear someone at some point in your life say something like, “The United States Constitution is based on the Bible.” While I understand why people who love both the United States Constitution and the Bible would want to make a direct correlation between the two, it just isn’t that simple. The Greeks had quite a bit to do with our modern democracy, and the theocratic form of government we see in Exodus is very different from the representative democracy we have in the United States. However, one thing the two do share is that both are systems of law interpreted by a series of district judges. All laws, whether rooted in a theocracy or a democracy, will need to be applied differently based on context, and that is what judges did for the Hebrews and what judges do in American democracy.
Jethro, Moses’s Midian priest father-in-law, gives him some sage advice. He tells Moses he can’t do everything himself; he needs to enlist some help. So he tells Moses to choose some wise leaders to help him: judges who will weigh in on decisions for groups of 1000, 100, 50, and 10. Moses will weigh in on the decisions in the concentrated echelon of ten; the other judges will weigh in for larger groups.
For the remaining chapters in this section, we are going to be working through the rest of the Torah in two ways. We will continue to follow the narrative of the Hebrews struggling in the wilderness and we will also look at selections from the laws they were developing.
Torah is the Hebrew word for “law” or “teachings” and is also typically the designation for the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also called the Pentateuch (five). In the Hebrew tradition, the scriptures are divided into three collections:
Torah (translated as teachings or instruction, sometimes called “The Law”): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Nev’iim (the prophets or the history books): Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
Ketuv’iim (the writings): Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles
If you make an acrostic of these three collections, it is TNK, which is then expanded with vowels and pronounced Tanakh (tah-knock). This is the way the Hebrew tradition refers to their scriptures, what Christians call the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures.
Torah is specifically those instructions that were given to Moses to guide the life of the Hebrews as they ventured into the wilderness and beyond. In this chapter’s reading, you learned that God gave them a baseline of ten laws. As we read in chapters 21 and 22, there are many more. All total, there are 613 laws or guidelines, and these were called “the Pathway.” In Hebrew it is pronounced Hal-a-cha. It was the way a Hebrew person was supposed to walk, and if they got off that path, it would be the reason for their demise.
When Jewish people refer to Torah, they mean the first five books (noted above); this is their main scripture. The other books in the Nev’iim and Ketuv’iim are important and seen as sacred, but not as sacred as the five of the Torah.
Receiving the Law
God assembles the people at the base of Mount Sinai, sets up a barrier, and forbids anyone to go any further. Only Moses can approach God on the dark mountain. Later Aaron may go with him. Anyone who crosses the barrier is to be put to death with stones or arrows. In this story Moses is like a second Adam, reentering the presence of God that was lost when Adam was banished from the Garden. While in his presence he is given the Ten Commandments and told this:
. . . while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain, “This is what you should say to Jacob’s household and declare to the Israelites: You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. So now, if you faithfully obey me and stay true to my covenant, you will be my most precious possession out of all the peoples, since the whole earth belongs to me. You will be a kingdom of priests for me and a holy nation. These are the words you should say to the Israelites.” (Exod. 19:3–6)
You will be a treasured people, out of all the nations, a kingdom of priests. A priest, in the Hebrew way of thinking, was someone who advocated for the people to God. So if their culture was going to be priests to the whole world (remember the call of Abraham, “You will be blessed to bless”?), they would need to be holy people. In order for this to happen, God is going to give them some guidelines to live by. These guidelines will form them into a priestly people. The Ten Commandments are the foundation of those guidelines.
God’s chosen people. God chooses Israel for a specific task, to be advocates (priests) to God on behalf of the entire world. Sometimes Israel is also described as a kingdom of priests (advocates).
The Ten Commandments, sometimes referred to as the Decalogue (ten), are divided into two categories.
1. The first four are about a person’s (or group’s) relationship to the God:
• You must have no other gods before me.
• Do not make an idol for yourself.
• Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance.
• Remember the Sabbath day, and treat it as holy.
2. The next six deal with relationships between people:
• Honor your father and your mother.
• Do not kill.
• Do not commit adultery.
• Do not steal.
• Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.
• Do not desire to try to take your neighbor’s house.
Notice the last commandment is not a law to either do or not do something, based on actions, but rather is a command not to feel a certain way. That is hard. It is called coveting. And what is so bad about coveting is that wanting what others have can lead to worse sins, like lying, theft, and murder. It can cause neighbors to hate each other and lead to violence.
What is adultery? It is when a person who is married cheats on their spouse with someone else.
Lastly, there is a pretty stunning description of the seriousness of being in God’s presence. God takes up residence in a unique manner on Mount Sinai. A strict boundary is set up on the perimeter, punishable by death if crossed by anyone other than Moses. God wants to be in their presence once again, but at this point it will only be through Moses. More on that as we move forward.
Reading chapter 21 offered you a sample of the other 603 instructions given in the Halacha.
The next reading, Exodus 32–34, jumps ahead a bit. If you want to quickly read chapters 23 through 31, go ahead. It is a listing of some of the additional laws Moses gave to the people and descriptions of some holy furniture and uniforms for the leaders. But we will come back to that topic. In fact, we will be jumping all over the Torah (or Pentateuch) in the next few chapters, looking at the instructions (laws), customs, and practices that God is instituting with Moses.
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
1. Describe an area of your life where you have tried to do everything yourself and found out it was a lot easier when you enlisted some help.
2. God calls Israel his “treasured possession,” not because they were his favorite, but because he had a special task for them to complete and the laws were guidelines to help prepare them. Can you think of something you contribute to the world that is unique to you? What kinds of guidelines do you follow to prepare you?
