Miscellaneous Laws (Ex. 22:16-20 & 23:13)

7/2/2008 8:35 AM

My Worship Time           Focus:  Miscellaneous laws (Part 1) 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Exodus 22:16-20; 23:13

            Message of the verses:  “16 ¶  "If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and sleeps with her, he must pay the customary dowry and accept her as his wife.  17  But if her father refuses to let her marry him, the man must still pay the money for her dowry.”  18  "You shall not allow a sorceress to live.  19  "Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.  20  "He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the LORD alone, shall be utterly destroyed.

            13  "Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.”

            This section covers the miscellaneous laws of rape, sorcery, bestiality, and idolatry.

            Rape:  (Vs 16-17).  The word in verse sixteen is seduced and not rape and it is the seduction of a virgin, the daughter of her father.  Fathers had control of their daughters until they were married and if a daughter was not a virgin then the father would not be able to get the dowry price for her so if a man would seduce her he had to pay the dowry price whether he married her or not.

            Sorcery:  (V-18).  God make this law so that Israel would stay away from the occult, for the occult deals with Satan and his demons and therefore is not something that would be good to be involved in, but in fact would cause a lot of trouble.  “Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth” is a book written in the 1970’s showing the activity of Satan in our world today, and things are even worse today.  This law, as all laws given by God is to protect His children, and in this world today there is much going on with the occult and it is causing untold problems for many.

            Bestiality:  (V-19).  This practice was an abomination to what the Lord had designed for the gift of sex and was practiced by the heathen nations of that day and is also practiced today in this country.

            Idolatry:  (V-20; 23:13).  As in our day today idolatry is something that is very prevalent, maybe not in the same way that it was in Moses’ day, but prevalent just the same.  Why is God such a jealous God?  God knows that His children will have the best that He has to offer them if they only worship Him, because that is engrained in every person and if a person chooses to get involved in idolatry then they will be missing the best that God has to offer them.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I continue to look at the laws that God has given in His Word I am beginning to understand that these Laws actually bring freedom to me as I keep them.  Man was created by God to keep His Laws, because both God and His Laws are Holy, but because of sin the Laws have become a burden to man.  After my new birth God has written His Laws in my heart as Jeremiah and the writer to the Hebrews says, and by following these laws they bring freedom to me.  I am so thankful to God that He has shown me this freedom in His Law.

My Steps of Faith for Today: 

1. Trust the Lord to guide my path today.
2. Give myself to the Lord for service and worship today.
3. Seek the Lord to search my heart in order to cleanse me from sin.
4. Believe that the Lord will give me a way of escape when times get to hard for me to handle.
5. Learn contentment from the trials and tests of life.
6. Do things by faith, and not on my own.

Memory verses of the week:                                   Colossians 4:12-13

12.    Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.

13.    For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

7/2/2008 9:54 AM  (I spent some time on the phone)