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The Punishment Must Fit the Crime
Sunday, February 20, 2022
Pastor Jojo Ma
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Exodus 21:12-36
I. Capital Crimes [vv12-17]
II. Personal Injury [vv18-27]
III. Criminal Negligence [vv28-36]
I. Capital Crimes [vv12-17]
12 Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
13 But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
14 But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15 Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
16 Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
17 Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
II. Personal Injury [vv18-27]
18-19 When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.
20-21 When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
22 When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life.
24-25 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
III. Criminal Negligence [vv28-36]
28 When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.
29 But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
Everything about the 10 Commandments and the Book of the Covenant address how to love God and love neighbor within that covenant community. Break the rules and there are consequences. That’s how much God values love and life.
33-34 When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
23-25 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
For us today, we love others in countless ways, but a big way is simply by being careful and responsible, not reckless and negligent.
Life is precious from conception to natural death. And life is so precious that if you take a life willfully, you forfeit your own.
Matt 5:38-42 You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.