This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Moses continues to unpack
the Ten Commandments

for the people of Israel before
they enter the promised land.

In this section he may even be focusing
most sharply on the sixth command:

you shall not murder.

That’s because murder
disrespects human life.

So, when Moses goes to unpack this commandment,
he finds himself talking about all the ways

God wants us to respect the
life and dignity of others.

He goes into how to atone for unsolved murders,
how female captors are to be treated fairly,

how to protect a son from an unfair father
and how to protect a father from an unruly son.

The laws continue to cover things like caring
for and returning your neighbor’s possessions

when you find them and the severe
punishment for men accused of rape.

But even small issues about
respecting life are found here.

People must be sure to
put railing around their roofs

so that people don’t fall
off and injure themselves.

Even birds are protected.

An Israelite may take the eggs
of a bird, but not the mother too.

In a sense, respect for life and
justice extends to the animal kingdom.

Two key features come up
throughout these commands.

First, is God’s desire for
fairness, equity, and justice.

He provided women,
children, and foreigners with

protections and rights unknown to
other societies in the ancient world.

The second feature is God’s determination
to keep Israel and her land pure.

Again and again the phrase, “purge evil
from your midst” is repeated when talking

about why Israel must obey these
commands and their punishments.

Sin must be punished. Bloodguilt must
be covered. Evil must be driven out.

That is because God is making
his dwelling with these people.

And if they don’t purge the
evil from their midst, God will.

The good news of Jesus is that when
he comes and makes his dwelling with us,

he does purge us
of all evil and guilt.

He doesn’t wait until we clean ourselves
up, but he comes and does it for us.

God’s value of human life,
talked about in this passage,

is seen in at least two
powerful ways in the Gospel.

First, God became a human life.

Second, he who prohibits murder
and fights for the preservation of life,

allowed himself to be murdered
and did not preserve his own life.

But because he did, he can now come and
dwell within us through the Holy Spirit and work,

day by day, to actually make us into people who treat
one another with the respect he has for human life.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would
open your eyes to see the God

who cares deeply about
the dignity and value of life.

And that you would see Jesus as the one who
freely gave up his life to cleanse ours of all evil.