Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Father
- Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle. God is the Father. He is the creator. He is love. Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us. We get our identity through Him.
It may seem strange to look at a legal chapter like Exodus 22 and
turn to speak of the loving Father who calls us into relationship with
Him. After all, on the surface Exodus 22
seems to be about wrongdoing and vindication.
What does law and punishment have to do with love and relationship?
The truth is that God desires relationship with Him first. He calls us to be in relationship with Him so
that we can then be in relationship with others in such a way as to reflect our
relationship with Him. God sees us in
our sinful state and reaches down to give us hope.
God reaches into the Law to likewise give grace. God cherishes life so much that restitution
against loss of animals is paid rather than allowing the victim to kill more
animals. God allows the victim of a
break-in during the night to defend himself by killing the intruder; yet a victim
of a break-in during the day has no reason to kill the intruder. Although the Law certainly has consequences
and many of those consequences are harsh, the reality is that we see within the
Law a God who does see life through the eyes of grace.
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