PASTOR’S NOTES
Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them…….”
Exodus 21-31 could be some of the hardest text to preach through. God took 17 verses in chapter 20 to lay out the Ten Commandments which are known by all, and now gives us His “Book of the Covenant” in the next 10 chapters which is known by very few. The challenge with teaching and understanding this portion of the book is that God addresses everything from sunup to sundown. Most of the issues that are addressed in these chapters not only don’t apply to our current circumstances but are not even required of us today.
However, we must remember that the Israelites were starting from scratch. They had never been free in their life and needed God’s help in structuring their newfound freedom. Not only did they not know what direction they were suppose to walk in, they did not know what to do once they arrived to where they were going!
Even though these requirements are hard to relate to and might not be required of us, God’s word proves to be for all of us no matter the timeline or situation it was written in. I fully believe that every word of the Bible is for our good and contains a message that we need to hear. The next 10 chapters will show that this is truth!
Thankfully, God cares and is interested in all aspects of our life. From the mountaintop issues laid out in the Ten Commandments to the daily mundane decisions being made laid out in the next 10 chapters.
God greatly cares about all parts of our life!
God’s great care of His people explains why He starts the Book of the Covenant with the topic of slavery. The Israelites were former slaves, now freed by God. God begins by calling His people to treat each other as freed brothers and sisters. Everything in their life would trickle down from how theY view God and how they treated each other.
They were finally free, now they had to ensure they saw each other that way.
SCRIPTURE TO GO ALONG WITH THE MESSAGE
Read Deuteronomy 15:12-15 that goes along with the message.
HIGHLIGHT IN YOUR BIBLES
Highlight verses 1-2 & 5-6 in Exodus 21 as this will be the focus of the message.
