I truly hope all of you enjoyed Pastor Colby's lesson on the early Roman Empire. I've found his knowledge and insight about Roman culture refreshing and informative over the last year. I hated to bring his study out of sequence, but I'm sure it will come in handy when we begin our study of the book of Romans. SO, now we'll jump back into the study of the ancient world and the monstrous evils worked by mankind till Christ came on the scene.
As we move away from the early bronze age into the middle bronze age, we find mankind having moved away from the nomadic, hunter gatherer tribal systems, to a long history of the city states from the beginning of the Egyptian dynasties till the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt. Modern movies, and television try to paint a civilized picture of Egypt under the Pharaohs, but nothing could be further from the truth. They were a people who used war, violence, and torture to keep control of the fertile land of the Nile valley. You will often hear Egypt referred to as the 'longest running continuous civilization on earth, but it was because of their brutal society, and cruel military.
Children had no value other than as slaves. The elite, and religious leaders of the day were the only ones who enjoyed the fruits of the great Nile river. Women didn't have rights, and were often sexually assaulted even in the midst of their daily duties. The elderly weren't valued and often killed when their usefulness was over. The city states of Egypt often fought with one another when they weren't conquering other lands. It was a brutal time.
Enter Moses! Well actually it is God using Moses as His mouthpiece. Once God had freed the Hebrews from Egyptian control, He led them to Mount Sinai, and there he revealed His thoughts on how men should treat one another. I'm not going to bore all of you with a lengthy recitation about the various laws, but I will tell you that they were unique in all of history up to that point. At no other time had a deity given insight into how He wanted men to treat one another. The law can be broken down into three aspects of life. At the forefront of it all was the declaration that God was the only one true God. That man's greatest purpose could be realized in worshiping Him only. That worship was to be totally different than their captors, and those around them. What was unique about the Hebrew people was that God had chosen them from among all people to be 'separate.' They would be different in their worship in that they would not offer up human sacrifices. They would not make idols, and that they would come together three times a year to worship God. The intimate, personal relationship with their creator was unique to them. This in turn would inform their relationship with one another.
While Egypt was a confederation of city states, Israel would be a people. God intended for them to be a 'family.' As such He didn't create a theocratic government, nor any kind of government at all. Yet, at the same time the foundation for our American system of justice was laid down. People of any position in life were granted 'personhood' and had value. God revealed his displeasure with slavery through numerous laws. Personal injury was no longer a reason for killing your neighbor. "An eye for an eye,' was a bold break from the vengeful and cruel killing of someone just because they hit you. Under God's law, mankind finally saw women being given land, status, and worth beyond sex objects. Under God's law, children were valued for more than just labor. God laid out specific lines of inheritance, and established a court system to resolve issues. Honor killing was taken from the hands of the parents and placed in the hands of the elders of the community. You could no longer kill your child if they misbehaved. God established personal boundaries including land ownership. Even a person's material goods were considered private property. Slaves were to be freed at the end of seven years, and all debts were to be resolved every fifty years. Transgenerational ownership of people was forbidden. This was unique and unheard of among Israel's neighbors. More than anything, the law of Moses gave each individual the right to lead themselves. There was no established government. If you treated one another according to God's law, there would be no need for men to govern you. This wasn't only unique, but it was a radical break from the current city state systems that surrounded them. Finally, God's law established how we should treat this earth, and the animals upon it. The land was to be 'rested' every seven years, and domesticated animals were to be given food while they toiled. Cruelty to animals was forbidden, and viewed as evil as mistreating another human. The Ten commandments alone stood as God's revelation of His intent for life with one another.
The foundation of Christianity was laid in the stones of a rocky desolate land, and in the hearts of a small group of people. My admiration for the law of Moses is in the birth of human rights. There was no "big guy" rule where the biggest meanest dude ruled the others. For nearly 440 years, the people of Israel were governed by a code of conduct given to them by God. During this time nations began to be larger than the cities of their birth, and peoples arrived from all over the then settled world. In fear, the people of Israel no longer trusted God to protect them from their enemies. Their own failures had long ago negated the covenant of God. Each time they returned to their faith, God would rescue them, and inevitably, they would fall into idol worship. "Give us a king!" they demanded of the prophet Samuel. Samuel tried to warn them what would happen once they followed the "big guy" concept of government. Samuel's words would be proven right immediately. Every blessing of the rule of God's laws was negated by their desire for a 'king.' People would once again go from being free, to being owned by someone. Utopia had slipped quietly away, and no one cried for it.
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