Exodus 22:16-31
16 “If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the bride-price of virgins.
18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
19 “Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.
20 “He who sacrifices to any god, except to the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
21 “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; 24 and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. 26 If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 27 For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
29 “You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30 Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
31 “And you shall be holy men to Me: you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Here is a collection of various moral laws on how to live holy lives set apart to honor God, as well as some ceremonial laws on how to worship Him. The ceremonial have principles behind them which do not command us by the letter, while the moral laws are given to be followed by the heart and mind, not just by the letter alone. The first deals with responsibility for the one who sleeps with an unmarried woman and is responsible to marry her as it used to be expected in modern times but has since been abandoned as a principle for most. We certainly do not put sorcerers to death anymore nor those practicing bestiality, nor do we have laws to destroy those who worship idols and false gods of the nations such as Allah or the thousands of those lifeless idols worshipped in India, Africa, or the far east. The principles for God’s people to speak out against these false gods with love and a desire for men and women to be set free to worship the Lord of of all drives us who are God’s people to not even bow in consideration to false and dead idols of worship but worship Him alone in truth with a desire that all may abandon lifeless and hopeless pursuits that only add to God’s wrath on our sin. The principle of not mistreating others who are not of our own land or who are mislead into such false religions holds still. We should show compassion and care for the needy who come among us through legal means just as those wanting to join Israel of old had to convert to be full citizens because that nation was the only true theocracy ever, while the principle for citizenship through other laws is a rough equivalent in the western world today. Just as Israel was to remember their exile as strangers in Egypt, we who are in Christ in the world now as God’s people are strangers and aliens (1 Peter 1:1, 2:10-11) among the ungodly and should understand the alienation of those legal immigrants better than others. Treating widows and orphans well is not a law but a spiritual responsibility for us today as is the principle of fair dealings with others to not unfairly charge exorbitant fees for our personal gain at their expense, making it a moral unwritten law to us. This means helping and not extorting the poor among us. We are also still to not rail against God nor curse our rulers whom God has placed over us (Romans 13:1-2, 5-6), but we are to go even further and pray for them instead (1 Timothy 2:1-2). We are therefore to remember Romans 12:2 and be conformed to Christ and not the world in dealing with others according to the moral law He has written in our hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:33, 2 Corinthians 3:3) to follow now. Though we have no ceremonial laws to offer the first fruits of our food to the Lord, the principle to give Him our best as His people holds true still, along with holy living with discernment to do what is right and honorable to His name which we carry. The moral and ceremonial laws of old have bearing on us now, yet we have been freed from enslavement to them, now willing adhering to the principles and command that honor our Lord.
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