Exodus 21:1-24:18 (judgments) understanding some difficult commandments

[Jacob Ben Avraham]

PARASHA: “Mishpatim” (Judgments) “bringing to light the meaning of some difficult commandments
 

EXODUS 21:1-24:18

     This Parashat study starts with  "V'eleh haMishpatim"  "and these are the laws..."  So, when we see the word "and" or in Hebrew the letter "V" it is a continuation of the last study!  We learned about the 10 Commandments, now, these are some more in detail.  It would be like mom saying:   "Son, clean your room" but what does "clean your room mean?"  Then mom says:  "You must dust under your bed, put the dirty clothes in the hamper, change the sheets on your bed, etc.."  These are the "mishpatim" of mom's "commandment" (in a way) 

     There are 3 kinds of commandments:   "Mishpatim" (rational laws that make logical sense to us)  and "Eidot" (laws that are more symbolic that point to Yeshua or illustrate the essence of God.   "Hukkim" (laws that perhaps don't make logical sense to us, but have a deeper meaning if we delve deeper into the understanding of said laws)  like "Speak to the ROCK" or "Look at the Bronze Serpent" for healing.  
 
     This parashah involves the giving of a variety of commandments, that Elohim gave to Moshe to give/write down and teach to the Israelites.  The first has to do with slaves and the treatment of slaves. The system of slavery in Israel back in Biblical times was very different than the cruel slavery of Africans in the United States, starting from the 1600s, into colonial days, up until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. 

         The Hebrew word for "slave" is also "Servant" (Eved) So, when we talk about slaves, we are also looking at the word "servant"  (are we not all "servants" of Adonai?) 

     Unfortunately, the slave owners used the bible as a “reason” to own slaves, as they said, “The Bible permits slavery!”  Yes, but only in extreme circumstances when one could not pay one's debts. The person was only a slave for 6 years, in year 7, the master had to release the slave and give the slave gifts of oil, wine, and wheat, so he or she could start a life over again.  The slaves could not be abused, like slaves were whipped and abused under American slavery.

  But if the slave wished to remain with the master, the master could make a hole in the slave's ear and put in a ring, indicating that the slave was a slave for life, (being the choice of the slave) but “life” was up to 50 years, until the year of “Jubilee” if the slave chose to be with his or her master for “life” and the year, let's say was “40” then, “Life” was 10 years more, and then the slave would be released. 

     If the slave was hurt in any way, say the master hit the slave and knocked a tooth out, or put an eye out, the slave was to be released immediately, and with compensation.  Not so in America during the years of slavery.

    Rav Shaul/Paul the Apostle talks about being “bond slaves” to Messiah Yeshua, and that is our state.  Would we want to be “released” from following HIM? Would we want to be under a “different master?” There are only two that claim our lives; Yeshua or HaSatan. We were “bought with a price” the price of blood, and we were released from Satan's bondage, to follow and subject ourselves to a new master, “Adonai” which means; “my master” We are “servants” to the Most High God. The Hebrew words for “Slave” and “servant” is the same in Hebrew; “Eved” slaves/servants were not considered “objects of purchase” or “property” they were considered “human beings” just like we are considered in the eyes of YHVH his “servants” “children” “adopted sons and daughters”.  Do not sons and daughters serve their parents?

     ”An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe; (21:24....) if you read on, we see that it doesn't mean, “if you knock out my tooth, I have a right to knock your tooth out too” or “if you blind me in on eye, I have the right to put out your eye” or in modern terminology, “If you break my stereo, I have the right to go into your house and smash your stereo” how, I ask you, does that solve the problem? It doesn't, it just creates more problems.  If we look at this situation in light of scripture, it is saying in other words; “just compensation for hurt or damage received”

     How would that work? If I broke your arm accidentally or on purpose, I would be responsible for taking you to the doctor and paying the medical bill, and even, paying you “lost wages” if you couldn't work.  It doesn't mean that the other guy could break “my arm too”.  If you broke my stereo, then I would expect you to either pay to have it fixed or buy me another one of equal value, (arm for arm, stereo for stereo, etc.)

     We continue to read about many rules, commandments, and judgments, that make very good sense, even today, yet many of these judgments are not practiced today, everyone is off to the lawyers for a lawsuit.  My opinion is that if the legal system today, was set up to reflect the Biblical standards of criminal justice in accordance to God's Word, there would be a lot less crime.  The criminals would think twice before committing crimes. 

     An example would be the following; A man goes to prison for stealing a car, sells it, and spends the money, so the prisoner has to work in prison and the money he would make would be sent to the victim to compensate the loss.  His sentence would end only when the sum is completed.  Or...the court system would pay the victim the money lost in the theft, and the thief would have to work to pay back the court.  This type of punishment would reflect more the Torah standard of criminal justice.

     We come now to Exodus 23:19. “You shall bring the first fruits of thy land unto the House of YHVH, thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk” One commandment does not even reflect the other.  It would be like saying, “turn out the lights when you leave the house, hey, don't forget to check the mailbox for mail”. What has one got to do with the other?  G-d is saying is saying here to bring your tithe to the House of YHVH but then goes on to a different subject.  Would this; “seething a kid in its mother's milk” be taken literally? To break this commandment, one would have to take a kid goat, butcher it, cut up the meat, then take the mother goat, milk her, then boil the meat in the mother's milk.  Who would go to the trouble to do all that? Today, when people make stew, the meat is usually boiled/seethed in water with condiments, not in milk. But if we look at this commandment in a derashic sense, (the moral and spiritual sense) we could get this understanding; 

     It may be all about the separation of life and death, of the clean from unclean (Tamei from tahor) good from bad.  In “Basar v'chalav” (meat and milk) we can see that the word “Chalav”(milk)  spelled in Hebrew is “Chet, Lamed, Beit  (ch+l+v) yet the word “fat” is also spelled (ch+l+v) yet pronounced “Chelev” They are related, “milk” is a form of “fat”, and the fat of an animal was offered up on the altar to YHVH, as a “sweet savor” a “pleasant smell” unto YHVH, this was part of the worship service.  We worship G-d with our full “heart” and the word “Ch+l+v” contains the letters “lamed” and “beit” (l+v) (Lev) which means “heart” Milk symbolizes “life” a baby is nurtured by its mother's milk to live, to have life.  Yet the flesh (Basar) symbolizes death, as a believer, to be in the “flesh” is the opposite to being “in the spirit, full of life”.  Once the animal is cut up, if not used, the flesh sits and rots, flies come around, and it becomes “Tamei” (unclean) when we are in the “flesh” we are in a way of speaking, “unclean” spiritually, until we confess our sins, and become as “milk” (full of life) again, walking in the spirit, and, like the fat of a clean animal, being a “sweet savor unto YHVH” .

     Remember that this is just one way we can look at this prohibition of boiling a kid in its mother's milk, from a Derashic (moral and spiritual) standpoint.

     ”if you meet an enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you will bring it back to him again” (Ex 23:4) This is one way to make your enemy, your friend, make peace with him.  Would not this be for today as well, of course, it would!   “Do not oppress the stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt” Other Bibles say “foreigner” The USA used to welcome all immigrants, but now many are being oppressed, being deported, being cheated in wages, we must turn this around and start helping those who come to this country to seek a better life, thus turning a curse into a blessing.  If you read from chapters 21 to 24, and look carefully at the commandments/judgments, you will see that most make perfect sense even today.  God's Word is right on the money! 

     We must remember this.  Following God's commandments does not give us salvation.  Salvation is a separate yet related issue.  We are saved by grace and by faith, and not of works.  Yet we are saved to "walk in" righteous words.  We are righteously saved to do righteous works.  Our works will count towards rewards in Heaven.  Yes, not all 613 commandments are for today.  Many are not.  Yet quite a few are for today.  Study them, ask yourself,  "Can I apply "this" for today?"  When all else fails, just do and ask questions later.  

   Blessings to all of you.  Let's get down and study the WORD