Ps. 41: Mercy in Abandonment

Psalm 41:1 "Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble."

Caring for the weak and the poor sure is important to God, and should be important to us all. I have to ponder to whom the word "him" refers in the first verse. Does the LORD deliver the weak person, or the one who has regard for the weak person. Perhaps they are one and the same. I think its really easy to read a verse like that first one, and assume that this is a command to help other people, because we aren't weak. I am not weak. Really? When I think about it, there are things that identify me with the strong, and there are things that identify me with the weak. So important is this caring for the weak that God would protect that protector from his foes, would restore him on his deathbed. God apparently needs more people like that. Why would God preserve a person so specifically?

There's very little transition to segue the reader into the next concept beginning in verse 4. I can only figure that David considers himself weak among those who seek to harm him. Maybe David has had help in times of his weakness, and seeks to lift his helpers up because of that? 

David is so hated by people that he hears the talk. There are people who slander him, who gossip about him, who wish him dead, wish illness on him. It's really quite disturbing. In verse 9 he refers to betrayal...someone who broke bread with him, a trusted friend is now among those who want him destroyed. Possibly Saul? Betrayal has got to be so heartbreaking, especially be a close confidant.

So how does David handle this? I would probably get all scared, or mad, or sad. I can't really say I'd react positively. But David goes right to God, trusting in God's mercy to deliver him, and to keep him safe. He knows God has credited him with righteousness, and David's unwavering devotion to God is a delight.

Ex. 22: Property and Society; Bestiality Revealed to be Wrong

In reading through the various property protection standards in the first half of Exodus 22, I am struck by how each punishment or consequence fits the the corresponding crime. There is no imprisonment, no generic fining.

If an animal is stolen and slaughtered, it must be repaid five times. Four times in cases of sheep. If not slaughtered, repaid double.

A thief makes restitution or is enslaved if payment is impossible.

Restitution to field owners if someones cattle graze on it, or burns it down.

A courtroom hears cases in which someone gives goods to a neighbor for safekeeping and something happens to it, property disputes, and cases in which animals are injured or killed in someone else's possession.

Sexual sins are also covered here. Verse 16 talks about the consequences to someone who seduces and sleeps with a virgin. Pre-marital sex, that is...

Verse 18...Do not allow a sorceress to live. What about a sorcerer? Sorcery must tap in to a power that is real and contrary, or else God would not provide that they should be put to death.

The death penalty is a punishment for bestiality, sacrificing to another god ("utterly destroyed" in the KJV), or taking advantage of orphan or widow.

Verse 21 speaks to our current illegal immigration debate.

In lending money to another Israelite, God commands that no interest be charged. If you take his cloak as collateral, it must be returned by sunset, as the cloak is the only covering for their body. Its just being nice. God, in His compassion, will hear the cries of a cloakless man.

Dissatisfied with who is currently in charge? Read verse 28.

Don't hold back offerings, and consecrate the firstborn of your sons and animals, a reiteration of the command in chapter 13. The eight day thing? Remember Genesis 17:12...

Also, the Israelites were not to be scavengers. They were to remain a holy people, eating what they raise and slaughter themselves.