Exodus 22:16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
In our text God was continuing to declare His law regarding the respect for property and for people. If we cannot respect one another in these practical ways we have a big problem. That is certainly the situation in Canada. A Godless society cannot think clearly and it cannot enact just laws. God’s Word is available for all and there is no justification for the current tyrannical situation in Canada. It is the direct result of the rejection of God.
In our text today, God addressed lust and immorality. Men need to be taught how to control their emotions and their bodies. This is not possible without the fear of the Lord.
Here we read of a man who “entices” a maid. The Hebrew word translated as “entice” here has the sense of “persuasion and deception”. This man is using language and actions to lure this maid into his arms and more. In lying with her, he has defiled her body. He has broken something very special in her.
God stated that this man now needed to marry this woman. He may have wanted a short term fling, but God did not create women to satisfy the lusts of men. They are not a play thing for the man. God created women to be the “help meet” for the man. Intimacy is designed to be practiced inside the marriage bond.
In verse 17 we see that the father has the final say on this situation. God created a patriarchal world. He is the Head and the man is to be the human head of the home. Adam was to protect his wife. He allowed her to step outside of her place of protection and then she encouraged him to disobey God. Adam could not blame Eve. He was the head and he chose to disobey God. In our text, the father is to protect his daughter. If the father does not think a certain man is good for his daughter, he has the responsibility of telling him to leave his daughter alone. His love for his daughter will be demonstrated in helping to protect her from making a bad choice. We need to keep in mind that marriage is for life. It is not something that is for a short time and then can be broken. True salvation is essential and then prayer is essential in guiding a man and a woman to the place of marriage. Dating this one and then another and so on is not a wise plan. Praying for guidance in being the right person and then asking to be led to the right person is important.
If the father did not want his daughter to marry the man that defiled her, then he could refuse that and the man then needed to pay money according to the dowry of virgins. We see again that God provided protection for maids. God does not want people running off under the “puppy love” attitude and committing immorality. Jesus clarified this and stated that to look on a woman with lust is already adultery.
The answer to this situation is for people to live in the fear of God. When the God of the Bible is your God, then immorality will not be a problem. When a fictitious god is your god, then immorality will be one of many problems you will face. When a person chooses to step outside the boundaries that God has established they will suffer untold grief. God warns of the consequences of rejecting His law.
In verse 18 we see that God has zero tolerance for witches. A witch is someone who chooses to serve the devil. Witches are not innocent people. They make a conscious choice to reject the Truth and actively choose to follow the devil. God said Israel was not to allow a witch to live. We know that king Saul took this command seriously for a while but when he was near the end of his life, he stooped to seeking the counsel of a witch because God had rejected him. King Saul made a conscious choice to reject God and yet he wanted to know his future. Witches can know certain things. The devil is limited by God in what he knows.
In the case of Saul, God allowed that witch to call up Samuel, who in turn gave Saul the bad news. God is in charge. Even if a witch can foretell some future event, it does not mean they should be consulted or respected. Today we have psychics who invite people to come to them for guidance. Police and others will consult these people at times to try to help them solve a crime. It is a foolish thing to consult these people for anything. They need to be rebuked and rejected.
Today, we are not told to kill witches. We are not Israel. No God-fearing person would ever consult a witch, nor would be want to tolerate witchcraft.
In verse 19 God condemned beastiality. This is a practice that was obviously around at that time, and it is around in our time as well. It is wickedness. Again, God is not telling us to take matters into our own hands and kill someone who we know is involved in this wickedness. The nation of Israel was to deal with this according to the elders and the judges. Gentile societies would also be wise to condemn this type of conduct.
In verse 20 we see God does not tolerate the worship of false gods. One of the downfalls of the nation of Israel was the worship of false gods. Idolatry became quite common among them. Again, we are not Israel, but true Christians need to reject idolatry and we need to speak out against it. That is why we speak out against Catholicism. We do not go around smashing idols. We remind those we have contact with that idolatry is sin.
God had zero tolerance for idolatry in Israel. We have many examples of how idolatry destroyed that nation. God sent them into exile in part due to their idolatry. He could not bless them due to their worship of false gods.
In verse 21 God taught the nation how to deal with strangers. The children of Israel needed to allow for strangers to come into their land. This is not talking of open borders like our country is plagued with. In Israel, God declared that in order for a stranger to be accepted as a Jew, he needed to be circumcised. He needed to be taught the law and needed to submit to the law of God. His heart needed to be changed and he needed to accept the God of Israel.
Israel was a stranger in Egypt. They came into Egypt during the time of Joseph. They were a respected people and did not try to overthrow the land of Egypt. God told them they would eventually leave that land and go to the land He had promised to Abraham.
In verse 22 we see that the people needed to respect a widow and a child that did not have a father. God’s design is for a family to consist of a father and a mother and then children. If the father dies, then other families needed to help the widow look after the family and her property. They were not to take advantage of her because there was no husband and she might be desperate for help.
God would hear their cry if they were being mistreated. He would not tolerate this abuse. God would judge them severely for such sin. Israel broke many of God’s laws later on and they did face His judgment. God would kill the men and leave their wives as widows. He would also cause their children to become fatherless. This is never a good thing in a society.
In verses 25-27 God gave commandments regarding financial matters. People could sometimes get into a financial bind. If a person would lend to a Jew, he needed to do so without usury. Usury was interest. Interest is a burdensome thing. It takes much longer to pay back a debt when there is interest to be paid.
The nation of Israel was to look at itself as one big family. There is a benefit to helping a family member become financially independent. This is not talking of stealing. God has already addressed that matter. Someone that was poor might just need a little help to get on his feet.
God allowed for the owner to take a pledge of his neighbour. He could take his raiment as a pledge. The person that was covering a debt could keep that pledge during the daytime. However, he needed to return that pledge to the borrower for the night. The person would need that raiment to keep himself warm during the night.
Again, God would hear the cry of the poor that was being mistreated. God is a gracious God. He treats people fairly. The person that has the money to lend, is not hurt by being fair to the poor. God will bless him for being gracious to him.
We see again that life is good when we know the Lord. It makes a big difference when people walk in the fear of the Lord. Others will see that blessing and they might even want to know the true God for themselves. The blessings of the Lord are first and foremost spiritual blessings. Out of that flow the material blessings. If the spiritual aspect is not dealt with, the the material aspect will not be dealt with properly.
Pastor Bartel
