1,101 lambs sacrificed a year did not accomplish what One Lamb Sacrificed once and for all did.

Numbers Chapter 29: Three More Yearly Offerings – Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacle

Numbers 29:1-40

Day 86. Companies struggling with high absenteeism as a result of Covid-19 lockdown privileges; and labor lawyers are getting richer by the minute. Meanwhile, the world has gone crazy now trying to remove statues of famous historical people, and the change the names of things if they were named after those who supported slavery. In Seattle six city blocks have been taken over by the domestic terrorist group called Antifa and the city is allowing it.  In Toronto, there is pressure to change the name of historical Dundas Street, a main downtown artery, because it was named after a Scottish politician who supported Wilberforce but delayed the abolition of slavery by 15 years. You can read about it here Henry Dundas. Lord have mercy on us because we have lost our way. Meanwhile, I press on with our study of Numbers looking for gems. Read on.

The Passage

Verses 1-6 describe the day of blowing trumpets accompanied by a number of sacrifices to be observed on the first day of the seventh month (Tishrei). [See first note under Thoughts section below.]

Verses 7-11 describe the offerings of Atonement to be made on the 10^th day of the seventh month (Tishrei).

Verses 12-40 describe the offerings associated with the Tabernacle starting on the 15^th day of the 7^th month (Tishrei) and continuing with various requirements for eight days.

Needless to say, the seventh month was to be a very busy month for the Israelites. And Moses passed all of this on to the new generation of Israelites.

Thoughts on the Passage

Before we go any further, I want to draw something to your attention. There is a big difference between the Jewish calendar of the Old Testament times and the Jewish calendar of today. See O.T. Jewish Calendar. Here is a comparison of the Biblical calendar with the more modern Hebrew Civil calendar.

Month Number*		Hebrew month	Length	Gregorian
Ecclesiastical/ Biblical	Civil
1	7	Nisan	30	Mar-Apr
2	8	Iyar	29	Apr-May
3	9	Sivan	30	May-Jun
4	10	Tammuz	29	Jun-Jul
5	11	Av	30	Jul-Aug
6	12	Elul	29	Aug-Sep
7	1	Tishrei	30	Sep-Oct
8	2	Cheshvan (or Marcheshvan)	29/30	Oct-Nov
9	3	Kislev	30/29	Nov-Dec
10	4	Tevet	29	Dec-Jan
11	5	Shevat	30	Jan-Feb
12	6	Adar	29	Feb-Mar
Total			353, 354 or 355
* – For the distinction between numbering systems, see § New year below.

Notice, the first month in the Biblical calendar is Nisan, and thus Numbers 27:16 says the Passover is observed during Nisan. But for the modern Hebrew, that is the 7^th month and Tishrei is their first month (7^th on the old biblical calendar).  Okay, now that we got that straight, let’s move on.

The number ‘7’ is a symbolic spiritual number in the Bible and thus it makes sense that many of these key annual special days fall in that month.

So, the Day of Trumpets takes place in the month of Tishrei (biblical 7^th month) on the first day.

Then on the tenth day of Tishrei there is a holy convocation which involves offerings with respect to atonement. So, the month starts with a Day of Trumpets and then the next ten days are for purposes of introspection and repentance, culminating in the Day of Atonement (on the 10^th day of the month). This was not a happy feast by any means.

And the five days later, the day days of the Feast of the Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Ingathering, or more commonly, the Festival of Shelters, or Booths, begins. That goes on for eight days. David Guzik says that this feast, was indeed, “a happy memorial of God's faithfulness to Israel during the Exodus. The sacrifice of so many animals was a demonstration of the richness of God's provision to them through the years in the wilderness.”

It is important to note for all of these days, no laborious work is to be done. That’s a lot of holidays. Some workers and all unions would be happy with these arrangements. But for the Israelites, each one of these holidays had a purpose.

Verse 39 tells us that all the associated sacrifices and offerings were to be presented to the Lord “at your appointed times” and were in addition to their pledged or promissory offerings, and their freewill offerings. Corporate celebrations and offerings do not replace individual offerings and worship and adoration of our God.

Here is a site from the government of Israel that lays out the various holidays we need to be aware: Jewish Holidays Today.

What sticks out for the believer here in this chapter is the number of “lambs” that were being sacrificed. Here are the verses that tell us about the lambs being sacrificed and the number of lambs each time shown in brackets: in verse 2 [7], 8 [7], 13 [14], 17 [14], 20 [14], 23 [14], 26 [14], 29 [14], 32 [14], and 36 [7]. That is a total of 119 lambs.

Robert Jamieson talks about the total number of animals being sacrificed in a year as follows:

From the statements made in this and the preceding chapter, it appears that the yearly offerings made to the altar at the public expense, without taking into account a vast number of the voluntary vow and trespass offerings were calculated at the following amount:--goats, fifteen; kids, twenty-one; rams, seventy-two; bullocks, one hundred thirty-two; lambs, 1,101; sum-total of animals sacrificed at public cost, 1,241. This, of course, is exclusive of the prodigious addition of lambs slain at the Passover, which in later times, according to JOSEPHUS, amounted in a single year to the immense number of 255,600.

No matter which numbers you would like to take, that’s a lot of animals, and especially a lot of lambs.  So why so many lambs? David Guzik answers as follows:

The most prominent animal of sacrifice was the lamb. This is an obvious prophetic reference to Jesus, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

What does all this mean for you and me? First, I think we need to be aware of would God’s chosen people were asked to do by God Himself in the Old Testament. Second, we need to realize that all these sacrifices were replaced once and for all, by the single sacrifice of Christ on the cross when He died for the sins of mankind. Third, even though we do not have to make these kinds of animal and grain sacrifices today as believers, I believe we have to live a life of “sacrifice” for our Lord. What that means, for each one of us, is between God and each of us. But that requirement for sacrificial living as evidence of our thanksgiving and in appreciation of our salvation and blessings, cannot be ignored. Would you agree?

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Consecrated or devoted anyone or anything to God lately? Here's the fine print.

Leviticus Chapter 27: On Consecration, Tithes, and Conclusion

Leviticus 27:1-34

Day 31 of self-isolation. A beautiful sunny, but cool, day here in Toronto. Everyone is hearing rumors of areas in the world opening up again and we’re all itching for our local government to give us the go ahead. In the meantime, let’s take advantage of our ‘downtime’ as best we can. A friend of mine who knows I have been studying Leviticus sent me this picture earlier today, just in time as we look closely into the last chapter of the book.  I knew there was another reason for doing this. 

The Passage

The majority of this passage is about consecration. You would do best to open a modern translation of your Bible and read it for yourself before we dig into it. Alternatively, I have tried to summarize the key points for you below.

Verses 1-8 discusses the consecration of persons. Verse 2 reads: “When a man makes a difficult vow, he shall be valued according to your valuation of persons belonging to the Lord.” Then verses 3-8 go on to describe that ‘valuation’ based on age and gender.
Verse 8 reads: “But if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall be placed before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the means of the one who vowed, the priest shall value him.”

Verses 9-13 deal with the consecration of animals, primarily as offerings to the Lord, making the person presenting the offering ‘holy’. However, if one is not sure it a clean animal, the priest decides, and puts a value on it, which would need to be paid if the one who owned wants to redeem it, and a one-fifth amount of the value would be added to the redeeming price.

A person can also consecrate his house to God and the priest will put a value on it (14-15) and if the person wants to redeem the house – take it back for his own use, he would need to add one-fifth of the valuation price.

Fields could also be consecrated (16-24). The passage talks about how that is done, and how the value varies depending on when it is done. It also talks about the fact that it cannot be redeemed if once consecrated, it is sold. And when the year of jubilee comes around, it does not go back to the one who consecrated in the first place, but rather to the Lord, the original Owner and passed over to the priest. The section goes describes how if someone consecrates a field to the Lord that he has bought, it requires a valuation by the priest and at the year of jubilee returns to the person from whom he bought it.

Verse 25 may stand on its own or may be applicable to all the consecrations identified earlier in the chapter.  It reads: “Every valuation of yours, moreover, shall be after the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs.”

Verses 26-27 deal with the commandment that first-born clean animals already belong to the Lord and cannot be consecrated by man. Unclean (first-born) ones (e.g. a horse) can be redeemed and/or sold if not redeemed.

Verses 28-29 is about devoted things: “Nevertheless, anything which a man sets apart to the Lord out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the fields of his own property, shall not be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction is most holy to the Lord. No one who may have been set apart among men shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.”

Verses 30-33 deal with tithes. This section talks about how we are to tithe on the land and its produce, and the herds or flocks. It also says that if a man “wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one-fifth of it.”

And the last verse (34) closes off the chapter and whole book of Leviticus by stating “These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai.”

Thoughts on the Passage

This is a difficult chapter to make heads or tails out of, not only as to what God expected of the Israelites in those days, but what it may be saying to us today. Let’s start off with a modern (Wikipedia) definition of the word ‘consecration’:

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word consecration literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups.

Chuck Smith says this whole chapter is about us “being totally serious” when we commit something or someone (like ourselves) to God. We need to think about it, because going back on that commitment has an incredible cost. Sometimes we dedicate our children or animals and they turn out to be so good in some other area of life, that we want them back for ourselves. I think of parents who dedicated their children to the Lord, and they grow up to be doctors who want to serve in a third world country, but the parents want them to stick near home now that they’re doctors. God says, “okay, but it will cost you a 20% premium.” He doesn’t like this changing of our minds back and forth.

The consecration of persons. David Guzik suggests a person could dedicate themselves to God, or their children. I would assume that the Israelites could dedicate their slaves to God’s work, too. Valuation of those individuals was assigned as per God’s instruction. This was according to their age and general usefulness or potential contribution to society. More importantly, even a poor person could if they wanted to, give their life to the Lord, and the priest would assign a special value for them. I would assume that this value was in case one changed their minds and had to buy back their consecration as discussed above. Matthew Henry seems to indicate that some of the “redemption” may have been due to an over-supply of manpower for the tabernacle. Certainly not the case we find ourselves in today. Also, we note that females were less esteemed in those days, but that changed with Christ and the New Covenant for we know, “in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female” (Gal. 3:28).

The consecration of houses. Sometimes people would sanctify their houses to be used for God’s service.

Verse 25 implies a fee of some sort, but little information or commentary can be found on that. [Do let us know if you are more successful.]

For animals and First-born clean animals – see me thoughts in the passage section above.

Devoted things. David Guzik talks considerably about this as he writes:

To devote something to the Lord was a further step than consecration by a vow; it often had the meaning of destroying the item (or executing the person) so that it could not be utilized by anyone else, and all of its [deemed or assessed] value was given to God.  Joshua 6:17 among other passages, translates this word ‘devoted’ with the word ‘accursed’ – because that thing devoted to God would be destroyed, being used for no other purpose. For these reasons, an item devote to God could not be “bought back” by giving its value plus 20% to the tabernacle treasury; it had to be given – and presumably destroyed – unto the Lord. . .. In this sense also, one could not escape execution by being “bought back” from the Lord; they had to face the penalty [that God had set] for their crime.

Tithing. Smith says you need to understand that God just takes claim of one-tenth of everything. There’s no room for quibbling here. Image how much better off the world would be if every person in it just followed that one commandment. And we are not to borrow on our tithes – keep our hands off of it, God says. If you do borrow, you need to add 20%. That’s some interest. What do I mean by borrowing? Well, perhaps for some of us it means delaying paying out title – especially our regular title to our local church. Perhaps this interest penalty should apply to us?  Hey, I’m not making this up – it’s right here in God’s Word and the concept of tithing has not disappeared with the New Covenant.

Last words. Guzik reminds us that these were not mere traditions and customs, though men began to attach traditions and customs to these commandments; these were - and are - the commandments (not suggestions) of the LORD. Woe to us who may neglect the ones that can be and were intended to continue with the New Covenant.

I have found Leviticus to be much more interesting than I expected. I hope you did as well. Next time we embark on the study of what many may consider the least interesting book of the Bible perhaps because of its name – Numbers.  That’s it. Numbers. Well, some people find numbers to be fascinating. Let’s find out.  Thanks for joining me on these studies. Let me leave you and Leviticus with these words from Chuck Smith:

Now as we go through the book of Numbers, whenever you get into the numbers, just skip [them] if you want. It's not required reading. When you get into the genealogies of the families, skip those, they're not required reading. I'll let you off on that, but there are some neat little nuggets buried in some of these genealogies, and truths, and thoughts.

I look forward to finding those gems with you.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Linking Being Unclean, the 1350 Plague, & the #MeToo movement

The Carcasses of Unclean Animals

Leviticus 11:24.28

²⁴ ‘By these, moreover, you will be made unclean: whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, ²⁵ and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. ²⁶ Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof but do not make a split hoof, or which do not chew cud, they are unclean to you: whoever touches them becomes unclean.²⁷ Also whatever walks on its paws, among all the creatures that walk on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, ²⁸ and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you.

Thoughts on the Passage

Chuck Smith considers all these rules are about God’s people staying clean and washing up. It’s about taking care of ourselves after touching dead carcasses. God, he says, is just teaching us “good hygiene”.

[An aside: And speaking of good hygiene, I am still appalled by how few people take the time to wash their hands after visiting a restroom.  And I’m not talking about those who may not know better, I’m talking about professionals – engineers and others.  I observed the omitting to do so practice for years in large corporate offices where I worked.]

David Guzik goes says that “Unclean animals, when dead, couldn’t just be left in the community to rot; they had to be disposed of. But the people who disposed of the unclean animals had to remedy their uncleanness by washing and a brief (until evening) quarantine.”  The whole point was to prevent disease and the spreading of disease – the kind that Europe experienced in 1350.  Even then, Jewish communities were “largely spared because they followed these hygienic regulations,” says Guzik.

What is sad, is, as Guzik goes on to say, “because they were often largely preserved, they were often accused and punished for being ‘masterminds’ behind the plague.”  (Sounds a lot like the claims of ‘white privilege’ many are accusing whites of these days.)

Taking the matter to some myths about how we treat people who may be “unclean” today, Guzik wants us to note that due to the fact this quarantine was short and required the thorough washing of clothes, it was a “ceremonial uncleanness” and thus did not mean the person was “in a state of sin”.  No sacrifice was required. The impurity just needed to be addressed.

Matthew Henry says those that were ceremoniously unclean were forbidden to go into the tabernacle for a while, or to eat of any of the holy things, or to even converse familiarly with their neighbors.

He draws a parallel between the uncleanness coming to an end at night just like our sin is all addressed by Christ’s death on Calvary that night He shed His blood for us.  Henry goes on to say, “And we must learn, by daily renewing our repentance every night for the sins of the day, to cleanse ourselves from the pollution we contract by them, that we may not lie down in our uncleanness.”

He points out that God allowed the use of animals for service in their daily work (e.g. farming), but once they were dead, they could not eat them – and what must not be eaten, must not be touched. (A reference to Genesis 3:3.)

With all the #MeToo activity going on today, this lesson is an important one for many of us to learn. Sometimes people in our lives are there for us to work together with, either in business, or on a project, or even in a ministry.  But they are not there for us to take advantage of in any way.  Anyone that has not been given to you as your spouse, is simply not to be touched in any way that would make you (or them) unclean. Work with them, help them, encourage them – but do not make them your possessions. Stay clean.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

God’s Commands re. the Earth’s Animals Present Us with a Dilemma

Leviticus 11:1-8

The Lord spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. ³ Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. ⁴ Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you. ⁵ Likewise, the shaphan, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; ⁶ the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; ⁷ and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. ⁸ You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

Thoughts on the Passage

Once again, we are faced with the dilemma of “how much of these commands apply to us today?”  The fact remains that not all of us follow these rules. We eat various foods mentioned in this passage.  Some don’t because they believe this applies to God’s people even today. Others don’t because science has said they are bad for us, at least in larger quantities.  Others just can’t stand the thought that they are eating some of them. Others won’t eat them because doing so is cruelty to animals.

So, what can we take from it all that most of us can agree with?

Chuck Smith says when we look at these practical laws, we need to be thinking of the spiritual laws that God has laid down for us. The bottom line is that if we seek to follow God’s laws we will be blessed and if we neglect to do so, we will not. And Smith has the references in Scripture that back him up. If we start with the Spiritual laws, including the law to obey God, the issue then becomes how far down the “commandments” towards the practical (read ‘food’ laws) do we need to go to still have the blessing?

Smith sees it this way. Those food laws show that God is in interested in our health and wants us to have strong bodies. If He were talking to us today about this topic, He would probably hit on ‘junk food’.  He shares the story about going “home from Bible school at night and buy ice cream and chocolate syrup and whipped cream and the whole thing. And then some guy would say, "Who's going to ask the blessing?" I said, "You can't ask God to bless this. It's no good for you, you know, it's not good for you." Eat it and take the consequences, but don't ask God to bless it.”

On the other hand, we can’t misquote I Corinthians 10:23 where Paul states, “all things are lawful for me” and claim that we can eat all the pork, ham, and bacon we want. We cannot misquote God in Acts 11:9 when He says, “Don’t call unholy what I have cleaned.”  That does not mean you can eat anything you want. Why? Because the passage is not about food – it’s about Paul taking the message to the Gentiles who were considered ‘unclean’ by the Jews up to that point.

The animals God lists here as being off limits to the Jews were animals that carried disease, especially if not cooked thoroughly. This is especially a problem in warm climates, according to Robert Jamieson. David Guzik notes that God wasn’t just coming up with new rules here about what animals were clean and what were unclean. In fact, these distinctions were known way back in the days of Noah (Genesis 7:2 and 8:20).

Matthew Henry reminds us that “God’s Will” is a manifestation of “God’s Wisdom”. So, anything He commands that we obey is ultimately the wisest decision we could make.  God was interested in teaching His people then and His people now that we are to distinguish ourselves from other people, not only by our belief in Him, but also in our practices, day to day.

We just presented the background to these verses and tied them in with some other passages in both the Old and New Testaments. It is now up to each of us to become aware of what God had commanded, and to decide what He intends for us today, and then to follow through on that decision. Here’s to your health and mine.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Everything and Everyone Needs A Rest -- Exodus 23:10-12:

“And you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat.  You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.  Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor; in order that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.”
 

At face value, this instruction is addressed to those who farm the land. But does that excuse the majority of us who today find ourselves otherwise occupied? I don’t think so. This “6 and 1” rhythm seems to have been established earlier in scripture.  Back in Genesis we noted that God Himself worked six days and then rested on the seventh. Earlier in Exodus (chapter 20) we are told we must do all our work in six days and then rest on the seventh. And now here, God says that “6 and 1” rhythm is good for the land as well. Farm it for six years, reap the harvest that it yields, and then let it rest. If God rested, and if He requires that His creation (the earth) rests, how much more important is it for our working animals and us to rest?

And then God interweaves a key principle into this direction. He is in essence saying, “Don’t be so fanatical about this to the point where you do not allow others with real need to gather what I provide naturally as you allow the land to lie fallow (tilled but not seeded).” Directly or indirectly, God is saying, while you have food in your stockrooms and silos for this year of rest, you still have to be conscious of the needs of others; you still need to take care of widows and orphans.

God also shows His care for animals, for as we leave our farmland to lie fallow allowing the needy to be taken care of, so too, what they leave, will take care of the beast of the field. It never fails to amaze me how well things would work if we were to follow God’s plans in every detail. In this case, the needy, as well as the beggar on the street would be fed and so would our four-legged friends.

This passage deals with years – allowing the land to rest on the seventh after it was worked for six. The “6 and 1” rhythm principle is not to be limited to those among us who till the ground and grow our food. It is a principle that can, and should, be transferred to all of our labor activities – in the office, in the classroom, on the professional sports arena, and so on. We can transfer the idea of “years” to days in keeping with God’s other commandments. Failure to apply the principle is at our own risk. I have recently started speed walking daily with my wife but we both realize that our bodies need rest each week. If we don’t take that rest, we do not make it through the next week.

Ask yourself “Am I maximizing on the rhythm that God established for the physical aspect of my life? Am I taking the rests that I need? Am I giving my family, my workers, and my staff that rest? Am I thinking creatively about those in need?” I cannot vouch whether or not “Things Go Better With Coke!” but I can tell you “Life Is Better In God’s Rhythm!”

- - 30 - -

Thanks for dropping by. Sign up to receive free updates. We bring you relevant information from all sorts of sources. Subscribe for free to this blog or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar. And please share this blog with your friends. Ken Godevenos, Church and Management Consultant, Accord Consulting.  And while you’re here, why not check out some more of our recent blogs shown in the right hand column.  Ken.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Returning Goods Damaged -- Exodus 22:10-13:

“If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is hurt or is driven away while no one is looking, an oath before the Lord shall be made by the two of them, that he has not laid hands on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.  But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.  If it is all torn to pieces, let him bring it as evidence; he shall not make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.”

  

This passage is also about the case of asking people to safeguard something for you and then the item is lost, damaged, or stolen from them.  It then becomes your word versus their word.  So God calls for an oath to be made before Him by each of you – both the person under whose care the item was when lost, stolen, or damaged and the owner.  The former would be required to swear before God that he/she had nothing to do with the loss or damage.  The owner would then accept that as sufficient proof if the item was only lost or damaged and not demand to be repaid for the item.  However, if it were stolen from the person who was supposedly guarding it, he would have to pay for it.  God seems to be placing a high emphasis here on our human responsibility to safeguard the property of others, at least from being stolen.  We need to have taken the proper precautions to prevent theft.

One may ask why this is not the case if the property was simply lost or stolen?  The only thing that comes to mind is that in the passage before us, God was dealing with the turning over of animals to someone else’s care.  If we stick with that context, it becomes next to impossible for a person to prevent all the trouble that an animal could get into on its own and thus some grace is given to the one who was charged with safeguarding it.  The only condition where he/she would be responsible for an animal getting lost or damaged is if he/she willfully arranged for that to happen.

In today’s world, at least in North America, we tend to live our adult lives more self-sufficiently, seldom asking others to take care of our things.  As an example, even when going away, those who own dogs or cats often take them to a cat- or dog-sitting establishment rather than ask their neighbors or relatives to feed them or check in on them daily.   Secondly, it is not always the case when we do ask others to take care of our possessions that they are people who would make an oath before God.

In its context, one area this may apply today is when a farmer sends his/her cattle or other animals to market or to the stockyards.  These animals would be entrusted to the care of the transporter.  But again, today these lawful outfits would be well insured for the goods they transport.

In the days of Exodus, one could rely more on this oath from the other person.  But even then, the onus was on the owner to accept the oath made by the person under whose care the item was lost or damaged.  The owner had to trust in God that this was right and to accept the outcome.  Much more so today when sometimes we have to act alone in so many things, because the other person is not a believer – it becomes a personal matter of our own trust in God.

Finally, the passage speaks of the animal being “torn to pieces” in which case if the torn carcass can be presented to the owner, no restitution needs to be made or paid.  One would assume that this has nothing to do with the animal being stolen, but rather with the animal being killed by another animal, again without any willful intent of the person who was to safeguard it.  The fact that the remains are presented should be sufficient to free him/her of any guilt.

Here are Matthew Henry’s comments with respect to the “oath of the Lord”:

It is called an oath for the Lord (v. 11), because to him the appeal is made, not only as to a witness of truth, but as to an avenger of wrong and falsehood. Those that had offered injury to their neighbor by doing any unjust thing, yet, it might be hoped, had not so far debauched their consciences as to profane an oath of the Lord, and call the God of truth to be witness to a lie: perjury is a sin which natural conscience startles at as much as any other. The religion of an oath is very ancient, and a plain indication of the universal belief of a God, and a providence, and a judgment to come . . .. That there is no reason why a man should suffer for that which he could not help: masters should consider this, in dealing with their servants, and not rebuke that as a fault which was a mischance, and which they themselves, had they been in their servants' places, could not have prevented.

Two interesting points that Henry’s writing brings out.  First of all, the lesson here today may well be for employers with respect to their employees.  We cannot hold employees responsible for something that they could not have prevented.  And that includes the things that we had not properly instructed or trained them in.

Secondly, his writing about “the religion of an oath” as he calls it, causes us to consider that such religion, especially with its direct dependence on God, does not exist for many today.  One only needs to look at the oaths taken by many politicians, and their subsequent practices.

All to say, “entrusters beware”.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.