Exodus 22: In the remainder of Exodus and the subsequent 3
books God puts laws in place for His people. Although some of them are
undoubtedly culture specific we should not overlook these passages as we can
discover plenty about God’s priorities as he lays down a society’s boundaries
from scratch. Here we can see that God favours restitution over vengeance and
is concerned with justice for the poor and foreigners.
Job 40: As we’ve journeyed with Job we’ve seen a man
resolutely refusing to forsake God even whilst his world comes crashing down
around him. After 2 chapters of God’s rhetorical questioning Job gets his
chance to address Him but is overwhelmed by the greatness and power of the
Lord. Job’s demands for detailed answers to his suffering fade away in the face
of Almighty God.
Judges 1: It’s easy to skim over some passages here with
their details of military tactics and various battles but there are plenty of
things to be challenged by. For instance the rather odd note in v6 where
Adoni-Bezek has his thumbs and big toes removed. One presumes this would be a
measure taken to destroy your enemy’s ability to fight in the future as they
would be unable to move quickly or grip a weapon. Reflecting on this leads me
to question if there are any ‘enemies’ in my life that I have fought and beaten
for now but failed to completely immobilise therefore leaving the possibility
for them to attack again in the future.
(lay member of staff)