Leviticus 24:17-22 (ESV Strong's)
An Eye for an Eye
“Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. Whoever takes an animal's life shall make it good, life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.”
Title: Love Your Neighbor As Yourself
When a young Pharisee confronted Jesus about the Law, Jesus said the following;
Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV Strong's)
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus may have been thinking of the above passage when He said those words. Obviously, He was speaking of the entire Law. But, the above passage seems to sum of the concept of “love your neighbor as yourself.” There was, contained in the Law, the value of respect for others and for all of God’s creation. We are not to devalue what or who God created. When something is done (whether in accident or with intent) there is to be an eye for eye approach to restitution. Why? God states the reason: “For I am the Lord your God.” Our reason for this type of value and respect for others is not for moral competency. Although that certain is a value in God’s Law, as well. The real reason is because of the character of God. That is the purpose of the entire Law: To show the Character of God. What better way to show the character of God than to value those He has created.
No comments:
Post a Comment