Leviticus 24 Making Israel Holy Isaiah 53:5-7 Luke 22:41-44 Word of God as a Light Psalm 119:105 2 Peter 1:19 Jesus is the Light Luke 2:32 John 1:4 John 1:9 John 8:12 John 9:5 The Shewbread The Bread of Presence Numbers 4:7 Penalty for Blasphemy Matthew 6:9 James 1:5 Galatians 6:7-8 Lex Talionis Genesis 34:25-29 Matthew 5:38-39 Romans 13:1-7 Romans 12:14-21 What God did was ensure justice and prohibit revenge. Chapter 25 Luke 7:47 Titus 3:1-7 “The closer we get to the sound of the trumpets, the less valuable this world should be.” Joe Focht Luke 5:4-5 Psalm 145:16 Warren Wiersbe, “For the Lord wanted his land to remain with the tribes, clans, and families to which it had been allotted. For parents to care for their families, they had to have land to cultivate, and the private ownership of property gave stability to the economy.” The Kinsman Redeemer From Aaron Menikoff Slavery is a clear violation of Matthew 19:19: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” It is impossible to love your neighbor and simultaneously use your strength to refuse him personal freedom. Old Testament slavery can be explained in the context of Israel’s unique place in history. God gave Canaan to Israel, which involved the destruction of occupying forces and the enslavement of non-Israelites. But this was an exceptional event in human history. Just as no nation has the right to kill the residents of a neighboring country, so no person has the right to enslave another. To argue the goodness of slavery on the basis of the Old Testament is to rip Scripture out of its context. Like polygamy, slavery is a sinful behavior regulated—not endorsed—in the Old Testament. The example of polygamy should drive a stake through the pro-slavery argument. As Wayland put it, in polygamy we find “an institution sanctioned [in the Old Testament] . . . which is wrong in itself, and therefore forbidden by our Savior [in the New Testament] to them and to all men.” The New Testament never tolerates slavery, and its principles demand slavery’s demise. By addressing slaves, Paul is simply urging Christians who cannot change their circumstances to live holy lives. Further, by teaching about the holiness of God, the salvation of the nations, and the imago dei, the New Testament laid the groundwork for slavery’s funeral. Alexander Maclaren, “The Gospel message meddles directly with no political or social arrangements, but lays down principles which will profoundly affect these, and leave them to the general mind.” Jesus - our Kinsmen Redeemer Hebrews 2:14-16