Thursday: The Civil Law of Israel

Sermon: The Civil Law of Israel

Scripture: Exodus 21:1-24:8

In this week’s lessons, we study the section dealing with the civil law given for the people of Israel, and look at how we can apply its principles today.

Theme: Personal Harm and Morality

The second category are laws relating to personal injury: homicide, physical injuries such as being kidnapped, maimed, or even hurt by words, and injuries caused by animals. The first part of this section makes a distinction between murder, which is intentional, and manslaughter, which is an accidental killing without malice or premeditation (see 21:12-14). Murderers were to be put to death. That’s not because the Bible treats life lightly. Quite the opposite! We are the ones who treat life lightly. The Bible treats life with respect because people are made in the image of God, such that if somebody murders another, he must be put to death. It’s as serious as that. 

There’s no specific legal penalty in the case of manslaughter, but the person who may have killed another by accident was still subject to this law of retaliation. It seems to have been common in the ancient Near East for a duty to be upon a relative to go after the one who had killed a member of his family and kill him in return. And so what the Old Testament provides is a way of escape for somebody who finds himself in that situation. He was to be provided asylum. When the Israelites entered the promised land they set aside six cities that were called cities of refuge, three on one side of the Jordan and three on the other side. Anybody who had committed a killing by accident could run to one of those areas and he would be safe. The elders of that city would then conduct a trial to see if the killing was accidental or not. If it was found to be intentional, then the murderer was to be put to death.

The second part of this section deals with physical injuries (see 21:15-27), and what is significant here is that there is no distinction between the various classes of society. Everybody is to be treated alike. This wasn’t true in other ancient law codes, but in the Old Testament individuals are protected and the rights of individuals are acknowledged even if the person is a slave. 

The third part of this section addresses injuries caused by animals (see 21:28-36). In this area, negligence is important. If an animal like an ox should kill somebody, it made all the difference whether that animal was known to be dangerous and therefore whether anything had been done to keep it from harming someone. If the animal was cantankerous and killed someone, the animal would be put to death. But if the owner knew there was a problem and he was negligent by not making sure that it stayed in the pen, the owner could be put to death. However, the owner could redeem his life back by giving the family an agreed upon amount of money in exchange for the owner’s life. It was a way of paying indemnity.

The third section of the civil law deals with theft and damage to personal property (see 22:1-15), and the idea of restitution is developed even more strongly. It was not viewed as a crime against the state, but against the individual whose property was damaged. The principle is that for nonviolent crimes, restitution should be made directly to the person who suffered the loss. A distinction is made between losses that occur through negligence or guilt, and those that happen from what we today call acts of God. For example, if you lend somebody something, he is obliged to take care of it. But if his house gets hit by lightning and your item is destroyed, that’s not his fault and there is no guilt. However, if there is negligence or guilt, then he has to repay the one who has lost something, either one for one, two for one or five for one, depending on the degree of guilt.

The fourth section concerns laws dealing with sexual and civic morality (see 22:16-31), and deals with a number of crimes: seduction; sorcery; sexual relations with an animal; the worship of a god other than Jehovah; taking advantage of a foreigner, widow, orphan or the poor; blasphemy; and offerings—particularly offerings of the firstborn. Now what holds them together is that our behavior to others is to mirror the treatment that we have received from God. For example, the Israelites were not to mistreat foreigners because they themselves were foreigners in Egypt, and God had delivered them and treated them well. They had been blessed, so they were to bless other people. Another example is that they were to help the poor. Why? Because they themselves had been poor. God had delivered them from their poverty and enriched them, so they were to take an interest in the poor. They were to offer the firstfruits of their fields and the firstborn of their sons and animals to God, because God had spared their firstborn when He had struck down the firstborn of the Egyptians.

When you begin to think of how you ought to act toward other people, you first have to ask yourself: How has God acted toward me? Has God been good to me? Has He retaliated against me? Has He insisted tit for tat? Has He been unmerciful? No, He hasn’t. He has been very merciful. We were poor, and we have been made rich in Jesus Christ. That’s the way we’re to treat other people. 

The most important verse in this section is the very last one, which says, “You are to be my holy people” (v. 31). That verse is repeated four times in Leviticus, and picked up 1 Peter 1:15, “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Study Questions:

1. What was the punishment for murder? What truth lies behind it?
2. How were cases of manslaughter handled? Describe what would happen in these cases of an accidental killing.
3. What was significant in how the Old Testament law handled cases involving physical injury?
4. For injuries caused by animals, what important point needed to be established to determine whether or not punishment was to be given?
5. What important principle is seen in how people’s personal property is protected?

Application: How can you more consistently treat other people as you would want them to treat you?

Key Point: When you begin to think of how you ought to act toward other people, you first have to ask yourself: How has God acted toward me? Has God been good to me? Has He retaliated against me? Has He insisted tit for tat? Has He been unmerciful? No, He hasn’t. He has been very merciful. We were poor, and we have been made rich in Jesus Christ. That’s the way we’re to treat other people. 

For Further Study: Download and listen for free to Philip Ryken’s message, “The End of the Law.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)