THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST: GENESIS AND EXODUS (24)

Civil and Ceremonial Laws

Key Passage: Exodus 24

CHAPTER 21- 22	CHAPTER 23	CHAPTER 24
Relationships Under the Law	Religious Observances Under the Law	Ratification of the Law
Civil Laws	Ceremonial Laws	Compulsory Laws

OVERVIEW The law given by God to Israel at Sinai falls into three categories: moral and spiritual laws (Exodus 20), civil and social laws (Exodus 21-23), and religious laws (Exodus 24-Leviticus). Today’s reading contains the civil and social laws which comprise "the Book of the Covenant" (24:7) given along with the Ten Commandments. Following a formal ceremony ratifying the covenant, Moses is called again by God to Mount Sinai to receive further revelation.

Where law ends, tyranny begins.

OUR DAILY WALK Some things bear repeating, and even then they don’t always sink in. God’s word to Israel in the first two commandments could hardly have been clearer: "No other gods…no idols." Yet He would later repeat those same warnings again and again. He wanted to impress upon His people the seriousness of His lordship, and to make certain they understood the necessity for exclusive devotion to the God of Israel.

God knew that we eventually worship that which we serve (23:24). Therefore, whatever or whoever commands our attention becomes our god. Recognizing that fact can help us guard against idolatry. Here are two good questions that point to the real "Lord" of your life.

1. What do you think about when your mind is in neutral?

2. What do you do during your idle moments?

Review your own loyalties, and then fill in the blank: "An objective observer of my life over the past week would conclude that________is my god." Is there something that needs to change so that you, like Israel, have "no other gods" besides the Lord?

INSIGHT A Forbidden Recipe

The prohibition against boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk (23:19) made little sense to modern scholars until archaeological discoveries revealed that the practice was current in Canaan as a pagan magic spell connect with agricultural fertility rites.