Tag: bsf moses week 9

09.3 Moses 9, Day 3

Make things right

We all understand the principle of restitution. It ties deeply to our concept of fairness and justice.  If someone takes from us, we should be compensated.  Their punishment is insufficient if we are still at a loss for what they took, it doesn’t seem fair.  It isn’t made right.

Simply replacing something isn’t restitution because there are always complications.  There might be a time with which you were at a loss for what was taken.  There might be inconvenience or suffering that takes place while the item is missing.  Even if you are paid back, you still have the effort to replace the item.

So on one hand we understand the obligation to attempt to make things right.  On the other we understand that we can’t turn back the clock or completely make things right again.

This is critical because it is at the heart of God’s covenant.  In his original covenant with Adam and Eve, He gave them life and in return He asked for obedience.  But they chose to disobey.  The only fair thing is for them to give back, then, what God gave them.  But like our attempts at restitution, even that is insufficient because it is counter to God’s original plan and goal.  We face the same obligation under the covenants.  God calls us to obey and each day we choose disobedience and sin.

But Jesus paid our restitution for us.  Jesus lived a life in complete obedience to God.  As a result, he owed no restitution.  But Jesus willingly chose to pay the highest price possible and in so doing, completely restored those who accept His provision.  In effect, He set back the clock to a time when man and God walked together in community with each other.

We, like Israel, have a long way to go in our journey to become holy.  But by accepting Jesus and asking for the Holy Spirit to live in and with us, we are on the path and it is now a toll-free road

 

My Answers:

5.
a.
property rights and laws

b.
a “make-good”, a repayment-in-kind

c.
i.
Negligence and equipment damage, faulty tools, faulty vehicles

ii.
Theft, breaking and entering

iii.
property damage

iv.

Fiduciary responsibility and trust

d.
When I have taken or damaged something of value to another person.  When  my sin against someone can be monitized

6.
a.
Respect and care of virgins, widows, orphans, foreigners, the poor. Laws against social deviants.  In other words, things that cannot be adequately restored (restitution is not possible)

b.
So they could begin learning how to become His holy people

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09.2 Moses 9, Day 2

Stumbling Block

The people of Israel no longer simply represented themselves; they now represented God.  When He committed in his covenant to make them a holy nation, to make them priests, He was welcoming them onto His team.  Not just as spectators, but as fully uniformed members of the team.

When you wear a uniform, your words and actions, the things you do and don’t do, your character, reflects not only you but also on everything that uniform stands for.

God provided Israel with laws and training to develop themselves as a community.  For 430 years all they had to witness was Egypt, but now God was beginning the retraining to set them on a new path to become a holy nation, set apart, to be His people and for He to be their God.  But the laws were not just for them.  The laws also set a higher standard so that as other tribes and nations looked at Israel they saw this was something different.  There was something here that was missing from their nation and their lives.

We have the same obligation.  When the lives of the Christian community look the same as non-Christians, we misrepresent the uniform that we choose to wear.  We face the same struggles, temptations and battles as non-Christians, but we are held to a higher standard.  We are not just held to the rule of law, but also to the New Covenant of Jesus Christ.

 

My Answers:

3.
a.
Book of the Covenant

b.
Because of their time in Egypt and because of the specific Mosaic covenant

c.
Luke 12:48; Ezek 34:1-10; James 3:1; Heb 13:17; Matt 5:14; 1 Cor 4:2; Rom 3:19

d.
Teaching responsibility has made me study deeper.  Parenting responsibility has made me a more conscientious role model

4.
They spent 430 years in Egypt.  He is starting with community as they have known it and beginning the retraining to shape them ultimately into a holy nation.  This does not necessary mean that God is condoning these behaviors (slavery, seduction, etc.), but he is starting them on a journey and training them as they go.