22. GOD EXPECTS HIS PEOPLE TO LIVE UNDER HIS MORAL AUTHORITY.
Excerpts from Exodus 20:1-17:
"And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image...You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain...Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy...Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet..."We all know them--the 10 commandments! God dictates what is and what isn't moral. Man has no right to fashion his own ethical standards. Since God has created all people, He owns everyone and can therefore establish what the human standard of conduct should be. Although those living today are not under the authority of the Old Testament, God still has law that is applicable--the law of Christ (cf. Gal. 6:2). We must live under the moral authority of the New Covenant.
23. GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONCERNED WITH MODESTY.
Exodus 20:26 - "Nor shall you go up by the steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it."
Isn't it interesting that one's "nakedness" could be exposed even while clothes were still on? Priests needed to avoid going up steps where one's "private parts' could be seen by those below. Later they were instructed in Exodus 28:42 - "And you shall make them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs." The idea here is that they would cover from the waist to the end of the thighs (i.e., just above the knee). God has always cared about how much flesh men and women expose. The fig leaves Adam and Eve made for themselves were not sufficient covering (much like most of today's swimwear), so He provided them tunics. The New Testament contains important instructions on modesty for Christian women and men (cf. I Tim. 2:9,10; Luke 17:1,2; Matt. 5:28).
24. TRUE JUSTICE MUST ALWAYS TAKE INTENT INTO CONSIDERATION.
Exodus 21:13,14 - "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."
Intent does not negate guilt if a wrong has been committed, but it should be considered when punishment is being meted out (cf. Luke 12:47,48).
25. LIFE BEGINS IN THE WOMB AND IS VALUABLE TO GOD.
Exodus 21:22,23 - "If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life."
Under the Mosaic law, if you killed the unborn due to reckless behavior, you would forfeit your own life! Yet today some intentionally slay the unborn as they worship the god of "self" in the name of "choice"! What an abomination! Life begins at conception; there are no words or emotions that can alter that reality.