Exodus 22:16-25:40
The LORD speaks the Ten Commandments to the entire congregation of Israel, and the experience is so terrifying that the people beg Moses to act as an intermediary (Ex. 20:18-21). The LORD accommodates them and conveys the rest of the Law to the people indirectly through Moses. And there is quite a bit of Law, as we shall see. There are civil case laws and ceremonial laws, instructions for the Tabernacle and instructions for travel, rules for diet and rules for disease control.
As we go through all these different laws, let’s remember that this is all new territory for the people of Israel. They are newly released from centuries of slavery. They may identify with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — or they may not! Yes, they just saw the LORD at work in the plagues and in crossing the Red Sea, but before that they all grew up under Egypt’s gods. So the LORD needs to pry them away from all they have known. He needs to instruct them in His ways. He needs to form them into a nation, even a culture. And the Law is a tool for doing that.
Generally speaking, these laws do not apply to us, but we can still learn from them, and we can still let them shape us. What principles should drive our interactions with one another? How is justice to be applied? For that matter, what is justice, anyway? What attitudes do I have that don’t square with these laws? Do I need to do things differently?