Caleb Walker

Click Here to Downlaod Free PowerPoint for Lesson: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lwus59yjpzwq0mmuyx6u9/Ex-22-Lev-19-PPNT.pptx?rlkey=x6yy4htnjxbgfes7ue4xzwzjh&st=anava1un&dl=0

Review: Last week we looked at how God reveals His identity in the ten commandments to His people and bases the formalization of this covenant relationship on His rescue of them from Egypt that they might serve Him with devotion and loyalty as His instrument through which redemption would come for all peoples.

Title: Protection

Text: Exodus 22:21-27; Leviticus 19:9-10

Memory Verse: Exodus 22:23

Theme: God expects His people to protect the vulnerable.

Introduction: In this week’s lesson we see the importance of following our God’s example, like children need to follow their parent’s godly examples.

Leviticus 11:45, “For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

Leviticus 19:2, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Leviticus 20:26, “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”

I Peter 1:15-16, “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” With parents there are some aspects of our character we don’t want our kids to imitate that God is working on us in, and there are other aspects of our good character we DO want our kids to imitate. With God—in His perfection and holiness-we want to imitate Him 100%.

Opening Discussion Question (s):

We see this play out when our kids learn their first words: “Mama, Dad, No!, or Mine!” Why do you think selfishness is the default response for children—and for adults? What keeps people from being generous? When was a time you’ve seen somebody be very generous? What emotions arise when you see generosity?

Context:

In chapters 20-23 the covenant is ratified with extra ordinances given.

In chapter 22 God gives other instructions for living respectfully and fairly with one another.

God protects the vulnerable, as seen in His deliverance of Israel from their Egyptian oppressors.

God protects the vulnerable: orphans, needy, widows, the unborn, and will justly care for them.

In chapters 25-31 God instruct s the building of the tabernacle. In chapters 32-34 you have the golden calf catastrophe.

And in chapters 35-40 the tabernacle is constructed, and God’s glory fills it.

In Leviticus 1-16 God gives His instructions on the Levitical priesthood, the sacrificial system, and being ritually pure.  In Leviticus 17-27 God gives instructions on how to live holy. These instructions showed God’s holiness to a watching world, and paved the way for the all-holy One, our Lord Jesus to come save us all from our unholiness. Once saved, God enlists us to stand up for the sanctity of the human life.

Main Points:

1. Exploitation (Exodus 22:21-24)

²¹ “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ²² You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, ²⁴ and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”

• We are to walk in the ways of the Lord by reflecting His character, and one way we do this is by helping those who can’t help themselves. Deuteronomy 10:12, “¹² “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,”
• In verse 21 God’s wrath goes out to those who exploit the defenseless.
• The “sojourner” is a refugee or immigrant.
• In light of Israel being freed from Egypt and in light of us being freed from sin by being saved, we too were once refugees, resident aliens, who God rescued, and now we’re called to extend the same courtesy and this includes the widows and fatherless.
•  In verses 23-24 we see that when God hears ours and their cries, His anger is kindled to defend out of His compassion/.
• A good passage to pray would be verses 23-24 this week.

Discussion: Who are the most vulnerable people in our culture? How can we protect those individuals?

II. Lending Practices (Exodus 22:25-27)

²⁵ “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. ²⁶ If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷ for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.”

• We should be fair in our financial practices, specifically in lending.
• There needs to be respect and honor, not greedy or trying to pull the wool over someone’s eyes for your own financial benefit, being honest.  
• In Israel at this time, interest wasn’t allowed. Look at Deuteronomy 23:19-20 for more info on this.
• Collateral was an allowed practice; the seizure of the item of value if someone defaulted on the amount borrowed.
• We as Christians have a responsibility to make righteous decisions for society’s/for our community’s benefit, in order to reflect Christ well to them. James 1:27 says, “²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
• God highlights that he is gracious, merciful, in verse 27.  Jonah by way of a negative example, expressed this in Jonah 4:2, “And he prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.’”

Discussion: How can we use the resources God has given us to uphold the dignity and value of others?

III. Reaping Crops (Leviticus 19:9-10)

“⁹ “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. ¹⁰ And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

• Leviticus 17-26 has been titled by scholars as “The Holiness Code” involving separation, purity, and living in a way that expresses being devoted to God.  
• 2 Peter 1:4 commends us, “⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
• When we reap benefits in our lives, they are to be shared, not hoarded.
• People were to be allowed to glean from the edges of the field, as we see Ruth doing in the book of Ruth.
• They were to show compassion and let folks in need take of the fallen grapes. He says, “I am the LORD your God,” meaning that these actions of compassion are reflective a of and rooted in His character.

Discussion: What keeps us from sharing our surplus with those in need? In what ways can we support people who are hungry or who find themselves otherwise in dire straits?”

• Our church: Garden ministry, food pantry, free market, those in our connect groups are challenged to not juts live isolated to themselves but offer to share a meal with visitors.

The work of Christ in the gospel: This lesson points us to Christ and the gospel when we see how He did not hold back, but gave all of Himself so that we could be set free from our brokenness and sin to recover and pursue His good design.

Devotional: “The Compassion of God”:

     God showed compassion on Israel when he heard their cries and set them free from Egypt. God showed His mercy and grace and compassion on Israel by providing for their every need of food and water and shelter and most-of-all His presence in the tabernacle. God provided for us the most precious gift He possibly could, His precious Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Given how much God has provided for us and proven His compassion to us time-and-time again, what are the implications for us as we seek to reflect His life to a watching world? We can’t show compassion that points to Christ without first being saved. Then we are given a new life, a new capacity to reach out to others with the compassionate generosity we have been shown.

     To the introvert, this means stepping out of our comfort zone to initiate conversations with strangers that make them feel welcomed and loved at church. To the stingy, this means repenting of our stinginess and sharing what God has given us with others. To the scared, this means stepping out in faith and reaching our One with the good news of Jesus Christ. What is the greatest gift other than our finances, food, and resources that we can share with someone else? The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember, some are gifted at evangelism, but we’re all called to evangelize the lost.

How to Pray:

• Help me to show compassion to the defenseless and marginalized in my surroundings.
• Help me to show in tangible ways the love of Christ to those in need.
• Help me to reach out with kindness and hospitality to the strangers in my church.
• Help me to be filled with the capacity for others that your Holy Spirit has within me Who I received at the moment of my salvation.
• Help me to not be overwhelmed by my limits, but overwhelmed at how much You have given to me that I may use it to bless others.