Under Law Or Under Grace

20220129 Parsha Mishpatim – Under Law or Under Grace

Torah Portion                   Exodus 23:20-28

Haftarah                          Jeremiah 34:14-17

Brit Chadashah                       Galatians 3:23-29

The eighteenth reading from the Torah is named Mishpatim, which means "judgments." The title comes from the first words of the first verse of the reading,

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 Ve-E-Le   Ha-Mish-Pa-Tim   A-Sher   Ta-Sim   Lif-Nei-Hem

which could be literally translated to say, "And these are the judgments which you will place before them" (Exodus 21:1). The first three chapters of this Torah portion deliver a legal code of laws and commandments that form a nucleus for the Torah's laws. The last chapter tells the story of how the people of Israel consented to keep these laws and entered into a covenant relationship with God through a series of rituals conducted by Moses.

Last week we looked at a couple of ways to characterize the Covenant between God and Israel.  Was it a code of conduct imposed on a subjugated people or was it a marriage contract between a loving husband and his bride?  We saw that it was perhaps a little bit of both.  It was indeed a Suzerain treaty format with God as the Sovereign and Israel as the Vassal.  But it was also a marriage with the Torah serving as the Ketubah. 

Today, I want to dig a bit deeper into the characteristics of the Torah, God’s written instructions, His standard of holiness.

This week’s Torah Portion contains a lot of laws and commandments.  When Christians talk about the “Law”, they are probably thinking about lists of dos and don’ts.  But we must remember that the Torah also contains stories from creation through the days of Moses.  All that preceded Moses is a valuable commentary that is much more than just a legal code.

But, I have to admit, there are a lot of laws and commandments in the “Law”.  The word Torah actually means “instruction.”  Have you ever bought your kids something that comes in a big box with a gazillion parts in it?  What is the most important piece of information that is included in that box?  Not the warranty. That’s right, it is the instruction manual.  Without it you would be lost and perhaps never get the toy assembled properly.  In the same way, the laws and commandments found in the Torah are God’s instructions for how He wants His people to live.  The Torah is the user’s manual for life.

This week’s Torah portion contains a lot of laws. Exodus 21-23 reads like an ancient legal code. Of the 613 commandments that the sages traditionally derive from the Torah, more than fifty of them are found in this week’s portion.

For some reason, many Christian teachers seem to view the laws of the Torah as if they are a bad thing. It is commonly taught that the law is the opposite of grace. You might hear someone say, “We are no longer under the law. We are under grace.” The implication is that since we have received the Messiah, we need not concern ourselves with the laws in the Old Testament. We can call this idea “Grace vs. Law.”

But before anyone begins to think that the Law is not good, let’s look at some of the innovations brought about by the law.  These items were not practiced in the Ancient Near East in 1446 BCE.  One that immediately comes to mind that we will see in an upcoming Parsha, is the treatment of women captives after winning a battle.  Contrary to the prevailing custom of the day, Israelite soldiers were not allowed to ravage women captives.  If they found one that they were attracted to, they had to take her home and treat her with respect.  After a month in which she was able to mourn her captivity, he could marry her but she had certain rights not granted to women captured by other nations. 

The treatment of slaves was also much better than other countries.  There were provisions that allowed slaves to be free after 7 years.

Involuntary manslaughter was dealt with by having cities of refuge that allowed sanctuary against family avengers. 

Women could inherit property just like men.  Unheard of in that era of human history.

There were laws that prevented perpetual slavery and indebtedness.  Property was reverted back to the original clan at the Jubilee years.  (Every 50 years)

So we see that the Law, far from being a repressive burden was actually progressive for its day. 

Let’s think about the Grace vs. Law idea. What do we mean when we say that we are not under the law? Does that mean we do not have to keep God’s rules? For example, does it mean that we can commit adultery and theft? Of course not. No one would say that. So what does it mean?

The Grace vs. Law concept is derived from the writings of Paul. In his epistles, it seems that Paul pits the two in opposition to each other. He often says things like