A matter of life and death – disrespect for parents (Exod 21:15, 17)
Exod 21:15, 17 The regulations we encounter in today’s reading are a good example of what readers struggle with concerning OT law. For most of us, the death penalty seems an unduly harsh punishment, especially for the kind of thing…
Lost lives, stolen years – murder and kidnapping (Exod 21:12-14, 16)
Exod 21:12-14, 16 A girl I know quickly got into a relationship as she started her undergraduate studies at uni. However, her boyfriend turned out to be very possessive and controlling, unhappy to let her meet with friends without him.…
Betrothed forever (Exod 21:7-11)
Exod 21:7-11 As noted in the previous post (see it here), these initial laws on slaves seem to be as much a commentary on Israel’s experience with God as they are instructions on how the people should conduct themselves. Other…
Shaped by our experience of God (Exod 21:1-6)
Exod 21:1-6 A friend, who worked in IT and was nearing retirement, decided to take a significant salary cut by leaving his well-paying job to support a rather smaller Christian institution. He asked and was promised flexible hours, since some…
Pointers towards reading OT Law
Making sense of OT law is one of the hardest parts of reading Scripture. First of all, we get side-tracked when some OT regulations (like the ones on slavery) shock us, so that we wonder how God could mandate or…
Encountering God in the mundane II (Exod 20:22-26)
Exod 20:22-26 Once, I overheard a woman talking to her friend describing her partner or spouse, ‘One minute, he is so sweet, it melts my heart and the next I could hit him, he irritates me so much’. Anyone who…
Encountering God in the mundane I (Exod 20:22-26)
Exod 20:22-26 Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had been one of the Israelites coming out of Egypt, seeing God’s hand so tangibly in the plagues, the parting of the waters and experiencing His presence at Sinai? The truth is…
Is fear bad for you? (Exod 20:18-21)
I continue the series on Exodus with chapters 20-24 (see my introduction to Exodus 1-24 here), which are mainly ancient Israelite laws. Reading these is hard work, but if we believe that all Scripture is God-breathed, we should not skip…
Learning a new perspective on life (Psalm 73)
Ps 73:1-28 A single friend confessed to me once how hard she found going to weddings. On one occasion, it was particularly riling when the bride was known to have had a rebellious phase earlier in her faith. At the…
Giving thanks in time of trouble (Ps 138)
Ps 138:1-8 As we leave behind 2020, many may heave a sigh of relief. For some, who have found it a particular struggle, giving thanks may seem the last thing they want to do. Notice, however, that the psalmist is…