Links for today’s readings:

Read: Exodus 22 Listen: (4:23) Read: Luke 4 Listen: (5:27)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 22.16

2 “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; 3 but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.

Reflection: Justice That Protects Even Criminals’ Lives

By John Tillman

The life of the criminal matters to God.

Thieves who broke in at night had less protection under the law than those who broke in during the day. The homeowner who killed a daytime thief was guilty of bloodshed but was innocent of bloodshed if he killed a nighttime thief.

This law’s logic has several important moral considerations.

First, it prioritizes life over property. Even though the daytime thief is violating property rights, he is not threatening life and his life still has value that must be protected.

Second, it prevents abuse of the law to excuse murder. Without this law, a murder could easily be covered up by claiming that the victim was a thief. Limiting the force homeowners could use protected against corrupt use of force and held them accountable for responding with more force than necessary.

Third, it allows greater force in more dangerous circumstances. During the day, the entire community could help catch a thief. This provided justice to the homeowner without endangering life. But at night, the homeowner was more vulnerable. Allowing greater force at night provided more protection when homeowners needed it.

These laws don’t apply directly today. Our communities and justice systems are different. We have different advantages (like bright exterior lighting) and disadvantages (like weak bonds with our neighbors). But we can apply principles to our lives and justice systems.

It is unjust to respond with violence to non-violent crimes. The use of force by citizens and by officers of the law must be proportional to the threat and limited by the circumstances.

Those who use violence or deadly force must be held accountable. They must not automatically be exonerated just because the victim was a criminal.

Committing a crime does not justify violent, inhumane, or abusive treatment. The lives of criminals, even in the act of committing a crime, have value to God.

God judges nations by the justice they enact, and he looks most closely at how the poor, the foreigners, the outcasts, and the vulnerable get justice. These groups need protection from criminals. But they also need to be protected from a justice system that assumes their criminality and responds with brutality,

Carry out these principles in your life and work to see them implemented in your community. Let us ensure that we maintain justice that protects life, including the life of the criminal.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his countenance and come to us. — Psalm 67.1

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Hope in Mercy, Not Wrath

It is hypocritical for those of us delivered from destruction only by the mercy of God to desire only destruction for our enemies.

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Exodus 18 Listen: (3:54) Read: Luke 1.1-38 Listen: (9:26)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Exodus 19 Listen: (4:04) Read: Luke 1.39-80 Listen: (9:26)
Read: Exodus 20 Listen: (3:21) Read: Luke 2 Listen: (6:11)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 18.24-26

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

Reflection: What You Are Doing Is Not Good

By John Tillman

Moses cared about justice. He had a system, but it was failing.

Moses, as hard as he was working, didn’t see what was wrong. His brother and spokesman, Aaron, didn’t see it. Miriam, the nation’s prophetess, didn’t see it. Or, if they did see, they gave no advice that was recorded in scripture.

Even the people did not seem to see the problem—and these people complained about everything!

The people complained loudly about a lack of safety when Pharaoh was attacking, a lack of food when resources were scarce, and a lack of water in the dryness of the desert. But when justice was slow, scripture does not record their complaints.

It took an outsider to see the problem. The system was bad.

An “outsider” came in and criticized Moses’ system of justice! Jethro saw that the wait for justice was too long and the work of justice needed more laborers in its field. (Matthew 9.38; Luke 10.2) Moses was wearing out serving and the people were wearing out waiting. “What you are doing is not good!”

Imagine what Moses might have said had he taken Jethro’s systemic critique as a personal attack: “How dare you question my commitment to justice? Don’t you see how hard I’m working? Are you calling me corrupt?”

One of the marks of good judgment is the ability to fairly evaluate arguments that critique yourself or a system you are part of or have made. Moses was a good judge. He took Jethro’s critique to heart, implementing the exact changes recommended.

We have a tendency to reject critiques from “outsiders” and to take systemic critiques as personal attacks. When an outsider critiques your group, your community, your party, or your church, are you able to listen to them? When people critique you, a system you have made, or one that you trust, do you take it personally? Has anyone ever told you, “What you are doing is not good”? Did you get defensive? Emotional? Intimidated? Insulted? You must deal with these emotions before you can fairly evaluate the critique.

Outsiders and critics are not always right. But it is always wrong to dismiss cries for justice, even when they come from outsiders.

Jethro saw what the insiders were blind to. He saw injustice hidden in normality. Can you listen to an “outsider” and evaluate what you may be blinded to? Can you detect injustice within what is “normal?”

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm

Turn from evil, and do good, and dwell in the land forever.
For the Lord loves justice; he does not forsake his faithful ones.
They shall be kept safe forever, but the offspring of the wicked shall be destroyed.
The righteous shall possess the land and dwell in it forever.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and their tongue speaks what is right.
The law of their God is in their heart, and their footsteps shall not falter. — Psalm 37.28-33

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Justice Starts Within

Justice starts within. It doesn’t stop there.

Read more: Maintain Love and Justice

It is not just modern people who notice one justice system for the poor and another for the rich. Hosea condemned it. Ephraim abused it.

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Exodus 17 Listen: (8:45) Read: Matthew 28 Listen: (2:39)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 17.1-7

1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah  and Meribah  because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Reflection: Is The Lord Among Us?

By John Tillman

“Is the Lord among us or not?”

It’s not a bad question. Each of us has probably wondered something similar from time to time. However, the people weren’t simply calling out to God in need.

When biblical authors reference this moment, they blame the people for “testing” the Lord. One such reference is the command to “not put the Lord your God to the test” which Jesus quoted during his temptation in the desert. (Dt 6.16; 9.22; 33.8; Ps 95.8)

The people are also described as “quarreling.” This is not just arguing or debating a course of action. The people condemned as a liar Moses who told them the truth. They rebelled against Moses when he brought them salvation. They threatened violence against Moses who helped them escape violence.

We often think about Pharaoh’s hardened heart, but what about Israel’s? Pharaoh experienced ten punishing plagues, but Israel experienced (up to this point) six miraculous salvations and blessings.

They experienced God’s saving protection during Passover. They experienced God’s prosperous provision as the Egyptians sent them away with great wealth. They experienced God’s presence through the pillar of fire and cloud which divided light from darkness, keeping Pharaoh’s army in the dark and Israel in the light. They experienced crossing the sea on a path of “dry land” God brought from the chaotic waters. They saw the waters flood back to destroy their enemies. They experienced God’s provision of bread from heaven to eat in the wilderness.

Just a few chapters ago, they sang, “In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed,” (Exodus 15.13a) but here they stood, accusing God and his prophets of leading them into the desert to die. Despite what they had seen, they had so little faith. (Luke 12.28; Matthew 6.30; 8.26; 14.31; 16.8; 17.20)

Remember what you have seen and experienced. Jesus is our “Passover” salvation. He became poor to enrich us, transferred us from darkness to light, made a way where there was no way, brought us through death to life, and his body and blood are our spiritual food and drink in this wilderness.

It is not a sin to cry out to God in need, but how you respond in a crisis matters to God, especially regarding how you treat others. Don’t allow distress to cause despair or lead you to treat others with disdain.

Is the Lord among us? Yes. Jesus, in his unfailing love, will lead those he has redeemed.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Oh God of hosts, show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. — Psalm 80.7

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Honey and Grace

Seek for Jesus in your pain, in your desert, in your struggle, for it is only from him that you can receive, not just sustenance, but honey from the rock.

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Exodus 16 Listen: (5:02) Read: Matthew 27 Listen: (8:45)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 16:17-18

17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

Reflection: Maggot Moments

By Erin Newton

Our Western culture operates on consumption. We not only have a drive toward getting what we need but a fervor toward having beyond necessity. We learn from ads, social media, peer pressure, and availability that excess is best.

Excess is unbiblical. Exodus 16 describes the well-known story of the “what’s this?” blessing—manna, the bread from heaven. The Hebrews have been wandering the arid desert learning how to operate a nomadic lifestyle in a strange land. When we see that they are grumbling about food, can we really blame them?

Moses points out that they need to realize their grumbling is not just against him but against God. That’s about all that is said of their lack of appreciation for God’s guidance. But God hears and he answers anyway.

God does not ask them to be better before he listens. Out of his love for them, he responds with exactly the thing they are grumbling about.

The instructions called for the people to gather what was necessary for them that day. Some gathered a lot and some gathered little—likely because of the varying family sizes. It is not how much they gathered that is judged via maggots; it is the excess.

The instructions said to gather one omer for each person. Working and gathering a specific amount sounds simple on paper, but it likely resulted in overages and shortages. I’m guessing they had to take time to figure out the right amount, and I’m sure they had more than one maggot-moment.

I wonder if they shared each morning. Did one family begin to realize they had gathered too much and try to find those who had gathered too little? Did they gather for the sick friend or neighbor? Did those in need find a safe place to ask for help when their ends wouldn’t meet or as the day grew hot and their omer was half-full?

There is no biblical command here to say they should refuse to help others. Being stingy is not a virtue.

We might be tempted to read this story with our Western eyes, seeing it as a call for each person to pull their own weight. But nothing about the Old Testament suggests an individualistic lifestyle. God has always called us to help our neighbors when we have beyond what our needs require.

Store up … what is needed for today, before the maggots and moths and rust destroy.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm

My eyes are upon the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me, and only those who lead a blameless life shall be my servants.
Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house, and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight.
I will soon destroy all the wicked in the land, that I may root out all evildoers from the city of the Lord. — Psalm 101.6-8

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Are you watering and fertilizing weeds instead of the good seed of the gospel? Lent is a time to gather up the tares among your wheat—gather them to be burned to ash.

Read more: Preparing for Joy

In the face of a culture that encourages us to neglect, degrade, and abuse each other, Lent invites us to see ourselves and our world clearly, humbly, and truly.