Jo’s Place

​ Nazirite Laws The Lord said to Moses,  “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.  “If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow, of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart, to the Lord, in a special way, they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks.  They must not use vinegar, made from wine, or from other alcoholic drinks; they must not drink fresh grape juice; and they must not eat grapes or raisins.  As long as they are bound, by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed, to eat or drink, anything that comes from a grapevine—not even the grape seeds or skins.  “They must never cut their hair, throughout the time of their vow, for they are holy, and set apart to the Lord.  Until the time of their vow has been fulfilled, they must let their hair grow long.  And they must not go near a dead body, during the entire period, of their vow to the Lord.  Even if the dead person is their own father, mother, brother, ...

​ A Call for Justice (God continued His instructions to Moses, for the people of the covenant.)  “You must not pass along false rumors.  You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.  “You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong.  When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.  And do not slant your testimony, in favor of a person, just because that person is poor.  “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey, which has strayed away, take it back to its owner.  If you see that the donkey, of someone who hates you, has collapsed under its load, do not just walk by  (and do nothing) .  Instead, stop and help.  “In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.  “Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil.  Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death… for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.  “Take no bribes, for a bribe ma...

Protection of Property “If someone steals an ox or sheep and then kills or sells it, the thief must pay back five oxen for each ox stolen, and four sheep for each sheep stolen.  “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder.  But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder.  “A thief who is caught must pay in full for everything he stole.  If he cannot pay, he must be sold as a slave to pay for his theft.  If someone steals an ox or a donkey or a sheep and it is found in the thief’s possession, then the thief must pay double the value of the stolen animal.  “If an animal is grazing in a field or vineyard and the owner lets it stray into someone else’s field to graze, then the animal’s owner must pay compensation from the best of his own grain or grapes.  “If you are burning thornbushes and the fire gets out of con...

Cases of Personal Injury (The Lord continued His instructions to Moses, so that the people of the covenant would know how to live in His will.) “Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.  But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.  However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from My altar and be put to death.  “Anyone who strikes  (his)  father or mother must be put to death.  “Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.  “Anyone who dishonors  (his)  father or mother  (immorally)  must be put to death.  “Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.  If he is later able to walk outside again, even with a cru...

​ Ezra Reads the Law In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate.  They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey.  So on October 8th, Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand.  He faced the square just inside the Water Gate… from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand.  All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.  Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion… Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people.  When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.  Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands.  T...

Divorce and Marriage Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River.  Once again crowds gathered around Him, and as usual He was teaching them.  Some Pharisees came and tried to trap Him with this question:  “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”   Jesus answered them with a question:  “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”   “ Well, he permitted it,”  they replied.  “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”   But Jesus responded,  “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts.  But… ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation… ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife ,  and… …the two are united into one.’  (The two become one flesh.) Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”   ...

Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.  Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful?  Of course not!  In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin.  I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”  But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me!  If there were no law, sin would not have that power.  At one time I lived without understanding the law.  But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life,  …and I died.  So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.  Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.  But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.  But how can that be?  D...