Êxodo 23
J. Vernon McGee · Citado em PreceptAustin
Êxodo 23
Vernon McGee - Be careful what you say; this is God’s rule of conduct. A gossiper is as bad as a murderer, a thief, or an adulterer in your midst, yet in our society a gossiper gets by easily.
Êxodo 23
Vernon McGee - Judgment should not be swayed toward the rich or toward the poor. Judgment and justice should be exercised fairly. The Romans depicted justice as a woman, tender but also blindfolded. She was no respecter of persons and held a sword in one hand and scales in the other. The sword meant that when the judgment was handed down, there would be the execution of the penalty. The scales meant that justice would be fair. Judgment should be exercised without respect of persons. We could also subtitle it "No mob rule in Israel." As Duncan goes on to say "It doesn’t matter if the multitude is doing it if the multitude is wrong. We are not to follow along with a perverted majority." You shall not follow the masses (literally "many men," crowds) in doing evil - This law calls God's people to "go against the flow" (when the flow is flowing the wrong direction!) The masses are bent on acting wickedly and are not to be joined! The temptation for our fallen human nature is to go with the majority opinion but in this context it will result in perversion of justice! If we go with the evil flow, we sin. As Paul warned "Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”" (1 Cor 15:33) NET - "You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things." Majority opinion does not justify doing evil. The prevalent opinion is not always the truth opinion! If you know something is true, you are not to be swayed for the majority opinion. Boy, does America need this law in Summer, 2020 with Coronavirus and race riots! NET Note - The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15). G Campbell
Êxodo 23
Vernon McGee - If we were to follow God’s precept, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil,” it would put us out of the marching, protesting and rioting business. Also it would rid our society of the growing menace of gangs. I talked with a very attractive young fellow in this category. He said he dressed as he did because he wanted liberty and freedom. I noticed there were several thousand dressed just like him. So I asked him, “Would you dare dress differently? Would they accept you?” He said, “No.” Then I said, “When they protest, you have to get in line and protest, don’t you?” He said, “Yes, I do.” “Well,” I replied, “then you really do not have much freedom, do you? You have to do certain things. When they protest, you have to protest. When they dress a certain way, you have to dress a certain way. This is not freedom.” My friend, freedom is not following a multitude to do evil! David Thompson - God’s people are never to join in with a majority mob that is moving away from God and His Word and is out to do evil. Justice is never to be perverted even if the multitude of people is behind it. This is exactly what happened to Jesus Christ. There are many people today who are in clear violation of this principle in their church. The church is moving away from a careful devotion to God’s written Word and the majority is okay with it. No one should ever just tolerate that because the majority wants it. They need to oppose it and get away from it. Nor shall you testify (answer) in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice - This statement takes the preceding directive from the general populace into a legal setting. NIV = "When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd." NLT = "When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice." Duncan observes the "Same issue (AS IN THE PRECEDING PROHIBITION) but there is active involvement. In the one previous you went along with the multitude, here you are actually fostering the wrong thing that the multitude is doing. So you are neither passively nor actively to acquiesce or be involved with a multitude in perverting justice. Related Resources: What does the Bible say about injustice? | GotQuestions.org Torrey Topical Textbook Justice Courts of Justice American Tract Society Justice Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Justice Baker Evangelical Dictionary Justice Easton's Bible Dictionary Justice Justice of God Holman Bible Dictionary Justice Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Justice Hastings' Dictionary of the NT Justice Justice (2) King James Dictionary Justice Watson's Theological Dictionary Justice International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Justice McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia Justice of God Justice The Nuttall Encyclopedia Justice Exodus 23:3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute. NET Exodus 23:3 and you must not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit. NLT Exodus 23:3 And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor. ESV Exodus 23:3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. LXE Exodus 23:3 And thou shalt not spare a poor man in judgment. KJV Exodus 23:3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. NIV Exodus 23:3 and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. ASV Exodus 23:3 neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause. CSB Exodus 23:3 Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit. NKJ Exodus 23:3 "You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute. NRS Exodus 23:3 nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit. YLT Exodus 23:3 and a poor man thou dost not honour in his strife. Ps 82:2,3 Jas 3:17 Exodus 23 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries DO NOT SHOW PARTIALITY TO THE POOR Related Passage: Leviticus 19:15+ ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer (same verb hadar as Ex 23:3) to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. Partiality means favorable prejudice or bias, an inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternatives. Just as God is not on the side of the rich, He is not on the side of the poor. In short, He is always perfectly just. Nor shall you be partial (hadar) to a poor man in his dispute (riv/rib/riyb) - NLT - "do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor." Enns - The rights of the poor are emphasized, but here the Israelites are warned not to take this to the extreme...Verse 3 must, however, be read in conjunction with verse 6. Although the poor are not to be shown favoritism, they are not to be denied justice either. Their case cannot be kept from court simply because they are poor and of little account in society. All of Israel is God’s, and all are to be treated equally. (NIVAC-Ex) Currid - The Torah enjoins people to have compassion on the poor, but this should not lead to the perversion or distortion of justice. If it did, it would be a case of reverse prejudice. J Ligon Duncan points out that this prohibition "is revolutionary for near eastern law because even if you take time to sit down and for instance read the Code of Hammurabi or the Laws of Hammurabi, there are all sorts of distinctions made on the basis of the social standing of the individuals involved. But God’s law is to be impartially administered. What is the significance of this for us? Our love for God is to be made manifest in our personal commitment to justice, fairness, and truth-telling in relationship to our neighbor. Personal piety is to reflect itself in a personal commitment to justice, to the truthfulness of our speech, our fairness in judicial dealings, and our personal commitment to holiness is to show itself in public fairness and truthfulness in disputes. Rayburn - God is truth and justice Himself and God’s people must be like Him. They should not favor the rich and powerful, nor follow the crowd, nor bend the truth to benefit the poor. Together with vv. 6 and 7, these commandments require a dispassionate justice: “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” with neither fear nor favor. Related Resource: What does the Bible say about favoritism? | GotQuestions.org Exodus 23:4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. NET Exodus 23:4 "If you encounter your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return it to him. NLT Exodus 23:4 "If you come upon your enemy's ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. ESV Exodus 23:4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. De 22:1-4 Job 31:29,30 Pr 24:17,18 25:21 Mt 5:44 Lu 6:27,28 Ro 12:17-21 1Th 5:15 Exodus 23 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries DON'T JUST "LOOK THE OTHER WAY!" Related Passage: Deuteronomy 22:1-3 “You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. 2 “If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. 3 “Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them. If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him - It would be one thing if this was your friend's animal. God up's the ante so to speak. Watch out even for your enemy's animal! In so doing you are in effect treating your enemy as your friend! Currid points out that "The Hebrew term for ‘enemy’ can refer to either a personal foe or to a public national antagonist....This act of the Hebrew is not voluntary. The construction of ‘You shall certainly return it’ is a Hiphil infinitive absolute followed by a Hiphil imperfect of the same verb. It is emphatic and has the force of a command." Kaiser - This act of compassion was owed to one another regardless whether the man was an enemy (v.4) or one who hated him (v.5). Kindness to one’s enemy is commanded in Job 31:29 and Proverbs 25:21–22. (EBC-Ex)