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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…