Torah Portion: Exodus 21:1-24:18
Mishpatim (‘judgments’, ‘sentences’)
In preparing ancient Israel to be His witness among the nations around them, God gave them His Torah. Not so much a ‘law’ in the legal sense, the word ‘Torah’ is derived from the word yarah meaning to shoot at a target. So, God’s Torah was His direction, guidance, instruction, teaching and pattern for living – a target to aim at in all of life’s activities.
For Holy Living
Our Torah portion this week covers specific aspects of this, concerning house servants, personal injuries, care of livestock and property and social responsibilities. The Children of Israel were to ensure that their actions in every area were appropriate for the holy people and witness that God called them to be (Ex 19:6).
This guidance encompassed areas like justice, honesty and love for enemies (appropriate judgments were made if the teaching was ignored). Special emphasis was given to obeying the Sabbath (Shabbat) and Sh’mitta laws – the seventh day and the seventh year were to be times of rest (for the people and for the land), times to focus on the Lord. Also included were instructions for three major festivals: Chag Motzi (unleavened bread), Shavu’ot (harvest) and Sukkot (ingathering).
These judgments reflected and expanded the ‘Ten Words’ (the Ten Commandments) - covenant requirements given earlier (Ex 20) - to be obeyed as part of Israel’s exclusive worship of God.
Covenant Response
A covenant is a mutual pact that requires willing and whole-hearted agreement.1 It is at the heart of Torah. As part of the Mosaic covenant, the Children of Israel responded: “We will do everything the Lord has said – we will obey” (Ex 24:3, 7). This covenant was sealed with blood (signifying life), which reminds us of the superior covenant Jesus makes with believers in Him, sealed with His blood, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matt 26:28).
Jesus’ covenant also requires whole-hearted obedience from us (bringing blessing), as part of our exclusive worship of Him, as the living Torah. Do we seek willingly and whole-heartedly to obey all He has said to us in His Word, through the power of His Holy Spirit? Many in the Church today do not.
Walking by Faith
The first Chief Rabbi of the nascent State of Israel described2 two forms of reliance on God:
- Trust that God will assist us in our efforts to help ourselves
- Childlike faith that God will perform a miracle when appropriate
We need to do our part, but with the assurance that our strength and help come from Him, so we can in faith depend on Him to work His purposes out.
Derek Prince testified to the latter form of faith when praying for a lady who had been paralysed in her face, arm and leg for ten years. He simply prayed and then watched God’s miracle, as in ten minutes He restored her arm and leg and then gave her a radiant smile, restoring the years that the locust had eaten (Joel 2:25).3
Let us be careful to obey willingly all of God’s direction for us, so clearly laid out in Scripture for our blessing and benefit, to live in His way as a holy people (1 Pet 2:9), as part of our exclusive worship of our faithful, covenant-keeping Lord.
References
1 Hirsch, S. The Pentateuch, p423. Commentary on Exodus 24:8.
2 Rabbi Chanan Morrison. Gold from the Land of Israel. ‘Mishpatim’.
3 Prince, D. Prophetic Guide to the End Times: Facing the Future without Fear. Chosen Books, pp164-165.
Author: Greg Stevenson
