There are few things more precious than the birth of a child. With each of our three children, I was amazed by my wife’s athletic ability in childbirth and by the miracle of human life itself. This profound value of new life is also recognized in Exodus 22, where God instructs people to perform an act of worship related to the birth of a child.
“The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me (Exodus 22:29-30).
During one of Israel’s darkest periods, they engaged in the practice of child sacrifice to the idol Molech, a horrific act condemned by God (Deuteronomy 18:10). This is starkly contrasted with what God desired regarding the birth of a child.
Rather than ending a child’s life, God commanded offerings and acts of worship that affirmed life and acknowledged His sovereignty. For instance, the law required the dedication of the firstborn (Exodus 22:29) or a purification offering after childbirth.
We see this beautifully exemplified when Mary and Joseph presented baby Jesus at the Temple, offering a “poor person’s sacrifice” of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the law of Moses (Luke 2:22-24). This act of worship honored God for the new life He had given.
Justice for All
The heading for Exodus 23 in my Bible is “Justice for All.” I believe it would be worthwhile to compare today’s newspaper headlines with the divine commands God gave the Israelites. Those laws are not obsolete; they remain eternally valid in God’s judgment.
“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness.
You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit” (Exodus 23:1-3).
Loving Your Enemy
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges us with the command to love our enemy. This passage reminds us that love is more of an action than an emotion.
“When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.
“When you see the donkey of one who hates you struggling under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free” (Exodus 23:4-5).
You don’t need to feel positive emotions toward your enemy to help their animal get free from a burden. The same principle applies if your enemy’s car breaks down on the highway: instead of driving past, you should stop and offer assistance.
The image here is crucial: Love is an action more than it is a feeling.
God’s Measure of Justice
One of my friends, a skinny high schooler, played on the offensive line for his California high school football team. In one game, they faced a championship team where every opposing lineman outweighed him by at least a hundred pounds.
He described that experience as an analogy for what it’s like to “run headlong into God.” While God doesn’t outweigh us by mere pounds, His power, and presence infinitely surpass our human capabilities.
We must keep this in mind, especially when we disregard His laws of compassion towards the poor and the most vulnerable among us.
“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty.
You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds officials and subverts the cause of those who are in the right”
“You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt (Exodus 23:6-9).
R.G. Lee was a well-known preacher from Memphis, Tennessee, famous for his sermon “Payday Someday.” I’ve heard a recording of him delivering it, where he repeatedly emphasized the statement: “There is payday someday.”
Considering the commands discussed, we cannot disregard God without also acknowledging that a “payday someday” will come for those who violate His directions.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 