Verses 12-17, “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die. And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death. And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death." God institutes capital punishment for the most severe acts of wickedness of man. The penalty alone ought to be a deterrent, even if your heart desires to commit these acts. Romans 13:2-5, "Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake."
God's will is for you to submit to government because they are instituted to punish the evildoers for your safety. The government was not established to be your spiritual overseer or pastor, and we don't want the government and church to be one and the same. We do need to set an example of obedience, first to God, then to the authority He puts over you. 1 Peter 2:13-16, "Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God."
Numbers 35:30-34, "Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty. Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. And you shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.” It makes you wonder how much blood has been shed through abortion alone in this country, not to mention those who murder and don't get brought to justice. Insanity is actually an acceptable excuse for murder these days; teens have even blamed their parents for committing murder. Our land must be utterly defiled.
Verses 28-32, “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. But if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned." These verses establish personal responsibility for owners to control their animals. If they know there is an issue yet refuse to deal with it, the owner would be guilty of murder and put to death.
If there is an expectation to control your animals, how much more so the children that you raise under your roof and authority. Deuteronomy 21:18-21, “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear." Disciplining your child so they will be obedient will save their life. Proverbs 23:13-14, "Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell."
If you fail to correct your children, you are responsible and will be held accountable. Listen to what God prophesied through Samuel regarding Eli and his sons. 1 Samuel 3:11-13, "Then the Lord said to Samuel: 'Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them." God does not listen to excuses, but expects you to restrain your kids. Evidence that you have the Holy Spirit is self control. Not only do you control yourself, but may also rule over your house.
"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever." This was a law back in the day. Now although we don't have servants, a bondservant is used as an example. We are supposed to be bondservants of Jesus Christ. A bondservant is one who willingly chooses to serve their master. In Romans, Paul introduces himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:1-"Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God." God does not force us to serve Him, but we should willingly offer our lives up to Him.
ReplyDelete“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. “But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die. “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. “And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." Although everyone likes to think of God as a merciful, gracious God (which He is), He is also a just God. Murder is in the ten commandments, and it is very clear that a am who kills another man is subject to death. So many Americans want to go against the desth penalty, but if someone is guilty of murder, they should be rightly punished. These are those who had everything premeditated. God is not against self defense. If someone breaks into your house and you use self defense, that is a different story. As christians, we shouldn't be violent anyway. God has given us peace. We know where we are going when we die, so we also shouldn't live in fear.
“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. But if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death." Even animals were dealt with. We don't own oxen around here, but it can relate to other animals. An animal is owned by an owner, and they are responsible. If they admiralty careless with their ownership, then they should be punished. We are supposed to be good stewards of everything we own. We shouldn't have people complaining about our dogs, etc.