Sunday School Lesson for January 16, 2022 - Justice and Fairness: Printed Text: Exodus 23:1-12 NKJV; Background Scripture: Exodus 23 NKJV; Devotional Reading: Exodus 23:1-12 NKJV

 

Key Verse:

Exodus 23:2-3 NKJV

 

2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3 You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute. 

 

God wields the sword of Justice with an even hand. He is not swayed by popular opinion, nor is He a respecter of persons. We should follow His lead.

 

 

What you need to know

 

 

 

Exodus 7:1-2 NKJV

1 So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.

 

Beloved, God has called us to speak truth to power. When God delivered His people from a powerful, but corrupt Egypt, He did so by the power of His spoken word. After He delivered His people, He gave them that same powerful Word to live by. To live justly and to speak on behalf of Justice is the responsibility of the believer. 

 

Amos 5:15 NKJV

 

15 Hate evil, love good;

Establish justice in the gate.

It may be that the Lord God of hosts

Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

 

 

Prelude

 

Exodus 19:3-6 NKJV

 

3 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I [a]bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

 

And so, after delivering His people from the grip of Pharoah, God drew them unto Himself in order to make them a people unto Himself. A people who would be an eternal witness to the power of His great love toward all of mankind. He drew them to Mount Sinai to educate them on worship and…civility. The civility portion will be the focus of this week’s lesson. Let us begin.

 

 

The Lesson

Exodus 23:1 NKJV

1 “You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 

A Christian, nor anyone else should ever make a false report. To agree with the wicked is to agree with the Accuser of the brethren, Satan. Should any of us ever be shown to have agreed with the sons of Belial and call ourselves the children of God? Heaven forbid.

Exodus 23:2 NKJV

2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 

Nor should you allow the crowd to cloud your judgment. Mob justice is never ‘justice’. The mob only serves the passions inflamed by the multitude of voices lifted in rage against those who are, typically, unable to defend themselves against … the mob. The lynch mobs of yesteryear in this country, the United States of America offer a painful witness to the horrible injustice visited upon the least among us by mob violence. Mob violence directed against the weak is a shame of the highest degree and can never be condoned. In Germany, the shame of the Holocaust has been memorialized in such a way that the citizens of that country are forever reminded that they must never permit such atrocity again. To this day, the United States struggles to reach the same level of humility and humanity in regards to her original sin: slavery. May God have mercy on us.

Exodus 23:3 NKJV

3 You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.

I’m a contrarian at heart. I pull for the underdog in almost every situation. I was watching a recent cinematic rendition of a children’s fable, Robin Hood this past weekend. That whole; “take from the rich and give to the poor” sentiment is truly engaging, but it is not God’s way. God will stand for the poor, but not in an unjust way. We must not show undue favor to the poor in rendering judgment, for that too, is a perversion of Justice.

Exodus 23:4-5 NKJV

4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

God now entreats us to lay aside our animosity toward one who has wronged you if you see that they need… a hand. A helping hand extended to one with whom we contend may help both of us to escape a ditch. When Jesus entreated us to love our enemies, it was that we might reap the benefit of forgiveness. Unforgiveness is too great a burden to bear.

Exodus 23:6-7 NKJV

6 “You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.

You must not take sides against the poor. The implication here is that the poor, the powerless are victimized by a system maintained by the powerful to benefit the powerful. Whether that system is energized by greed or race or caste, God’s people must discern the inequity and take care not to align themselves with it. Unfairness on any level is un-Godly. God will not allow it to remain, forever unpunished.

Exodus 23:8 NKJV

8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

Bribes come in many forms. The promise of steady employment will cause one to turn a blind eye to injustice within their own workplace. A bribe always carries the threat of repercussions if the person being bribed is unwilling to ‘accept’ the bribe. In John 9:23, the parents of the blind man that Jesus healed at the Pool of Siloam offered no opinion on their son’s regaining of his sight for fear of losing their place in the synagogue. Who among us fears losing our place in our congregation, our place of employment, or our community for standing up for what is right. Whether we are bribed to keep silent or intimidated into silence, our silence has been purchased by the forces of evil for the purposes of evil. This must not be so amongst the people of God.

Exodus 23:9 NKJV

9 “Also you shall not oppress a [a]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Thus we are never to become agents of injustice. Never. God lends the example of the ‘stranger’ or immigrants that dwell among us. In essence, God commands us to love and to be fair to people who don’t look or speak like us. Unconditionally. This ‘command’ is imperative. God wants all of us to understand that no matter our race, creed, or color we are not to oppress others. No matter that their cultural differences offend our cultural biases, we must stand for justice on their behalf. In reminding His people of their oppression in Egypt, He was warning them not to fall into the snares of racism or classism when God elevated them to a Holy and Righteous nation. By that same token, God exhorts believers to avoid the same snares of racism or classism now that we have been translated into the Kingdom of His marvelous Son, Christ Jesus. This does not call for an elimination of ‘race’, as many ‘Christian’ leaders suggest, but rather a real confrontation of racism and classism and the elimination of both amongst His people. The distinction is quite stark and requires real work on the part of all believers toward the purpose of Justice… for all.

Exodus 23:10-12 NKJV

The Law of Sabbaths

10 “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner, you shall do with your vineyard and your [b]olive grove. 12 Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day, you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

In these verses, God establishes the rules surrounding the principle of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is to offer ‘Rest’. It establishes that after a certain period of work that His people should observe a period of rest. Thus, the land, the animals, the slaves, the immigrants, the poor would all have a time, ordained by God, for surcease of their burdens. God would expand these laws of the Sabbath into a lengthy, elaborate observation of Sabbaths that would culminate in what would normally be a once-in-a-lifetime event called Jubilee, a super Sabbath, if you will that took years in planning and preparation. What was God’s end goal? To create a people unto  Himself who would live a life toward the goal of the Sabbath on purpose. Read that again slowly. God’s purpose for putting forward this system of ‘Sabbath’ was to create a people unto  Himself who would live a life toward the goal of the Sabbath: Rest, on purpose. Does this mean that our life’s work is toward ease and relaxation? Hardly. That would lead to the very injustice that God so abhors. Beloved, God intends that we commit our lives and our resources to the benefit of others toward the purpose of ‘Rest’, or Sabbath for all. Thus, justice and fairness can be had by all. And that Beloved, is worship. 

Selah

wb

 

Mark 2:27-28 NKJV

27 And He (Jesus)said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

 

_________________________

 

Yesterday, in defense of voting rights and ultimately democracy, President Biden quoted from the previously quoted passage in Amos in exhorting his audience that all Americans must stand for justice against the forces who currently oppose democracy in this country. Good on him. If his words spur us, his hearers toward the cause of social, economic, or even environmental justice, I applaud him.

 

Amos 5:15 NKJV

 

15 Hate evil, love good;

Establish justice in the gate.

It may be that the Lord God of hosts

Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

 

My dad used to tell me, “Son, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” I’m happy to stand in God’s shadow on behalf of justice.

Sunday School Lesson for January 9, 2022 - Injustice and Hope: Printed Text: Genesis 21:8-20 NKJV; Background Scripture: Genesis 21:8-21 NKJV; Devotional Reading: Genesis 21:8-21 NKJV

 

Key Verse:

Genesis 21:17-18 NKJV

 

17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”. 

 

Fear not! There is no one He does not hear.

 

 

What you need to know

 

 

 

Galatians 4:22-23 NKJV

 

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 

 

If there is any prelude to this treatment of Ishmael’s story, it is this: his eventuality was pre-ordained for our benefit. God needed to make it clear to those born by faith that that their’s was a unique inheritance, not to be compared or confused with any other. The just shall live by faith!

 

Prelude

Genesis 21:1-2 NKJV

1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

 

God is faithful. In this Book of Genesis, this Book of Beginnings, God performed some singular, spectacular miracles so as to mark different groups of people as ‘people’ unto Himself. He started with Seth, then Noah, then Shem, and finally Abraham, each time distinguishing a line or a group as His own. With the miraculous conception of Issac in Abraham and Sarah’s old age, God was clearly again making an important distinction between Issac and his teenage brother, Ishmael. He clearly ‘chose’ Issac’s family line as the line through whom He would fulfill His ‘promise’ to mankind. 

If today’s lesson is generally based on the seemingly stark unfairness that Ishmael experienced in his young life, it will also demonstrate that God keeps His promises to those that He loves. Both of these children were ‘miracle’ babies, but Issac much more so. God favored Issac, but He kept all of His promises to Ishmael.

 

 

Genesis 21:4-7 NKJV

 

3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.[a] 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has [b]made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”

 

And so, the birth of Issac marked a joyous occasion in which God fulfilled His promise by bringing a ‘life’ from two ‘dead’ bodies. Not only was Abraham beaming with pride over the birth of a son, but so was Sarah, whom God had personally promised would give birth to a son, though she was well past childbearing age. We’ll talk more about this later…

 

 

The Lesson

Genesis 21:8 NKJV

8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.

And so during the course of time, Issac, the promised child, began to grow into his eventual inheritance. Abraham celebrated his weaning from his mother’s breast by throwing a great feast. He spared no expense. He wanted everybody to know how God had so greatly blessed his family and how that this ‘chosen’ child would be one that whom all could watch from that day forward as the one that God’s favor and blessing would follow.

Genesis 21:9 NKJV

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.

Sarah and Hagar had a contentious relationship historically dating back to when Sarah, being unable to conceive, gave Hagar, her slave to Abraham to conceive a child by Abraham that Sarah would claim as ‘hers’ since Hagar was regarded as Sarah’s ‘property’. So great had the contention between them become, that Hagar had tried to leave years before, but God… instructed her to return and submit herself to Sarah’s authority. They didn’t like each other. 

With the ignorance that comes with youth, Ishmael mocked Issac as it began to dawn on him that he was being displaced as the ‘apple’ of his father’s eye. Sarah noticed this mockery and was incensed with rage. Hagar and her son would have to go. Immediately.

Genesis 21:10-12 NKJV

10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very [d]displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.

There are times when arguments between a husband and a wife don’t last very long. If the husband is wise, he’ll consider the loss of sleep that he will incur over the short term and quickly determine that peace serves the greater good. Abraham, though great in stature, had demonstrated that he could sometimes straddle the fence of indecision. He loved Ishmael. He truly did. However, he deferred to Sarah, mainly to maintain peace at home.

Take a look at Sarah’s entire response and you will find the seed of God’s purpose in her words. She would not allow any question to arise surrounding Issac’s eventual inheritance. He was to inherit all of Abraham’s legacy. The only thing Ishmael would keep was his name, forever to be associated with Abraham. Haga and Ismael had to go.

While this goes against what most of us believe to be ‘fair’, it was perfectly within God’s permissive will to allow this event so as to clearly delineate for future generations the salvific difference between the Law and Grace. The Law could never save. Grace will never fail to save. Long story short, Sarah heard God better than Abraham did. I could argue that Abraham would one day emulate Sarah’s obedience when commanded by God to take the promised child, Issac to Mount Moriah for sacrifice, believing that If he did so, God would bring Issac back to life. On today though, Abraham’s task was to cut off Ishmael entirely; lock, stock and barrel. That too would demonstrate Abraham’s obedience to God.

 

 

Genesis 21:13 NKJV

 

13 Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman because he is your [e]seed.”

 

Beloved God is faithful. Years earlier, He made a promise to Hagar, Ishmael, and Abraham that He fully intended to keep. He was going to richly bless Ishmael. What God promises, He fully intends to and is able to perform. We don’t get to decide how God will bless those we love and have strived for in prayer and sacrifice. We can, however, rest assured that God will keep His promises concerning them and bless!

 

 

Genesis 21:14-15 NKJV

 

14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and [f]a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.

 

Man, I feel like preaching! I find myself alarmed, shocked actually by the severity of Abraham’s actions toward the son that he so clearly loved! Of all of the livestock that Abraham must have owned, he gave Hagar only as much food and water as she could physically carry. Surely he could have provided a pack animal or two, or three to carry Hagar and Ishmael away and to carry a substantial amount of supplies and water for their sustenance. However, he commanded them to leave with little more than a few days' sustenances.

There is another way to look at this. Abraham lived in the village of Gerar. So great was his fame and influence that you probably could have called it ‘Abrahamville’. Maybe, just maybe, Abraham thought that when Hagar would eventually need help, so well respected was he, that people in the surrounding area would act on her behalf. (People hate it when I eisege (?) the text in this way, but… oh well). Hagar would only make as far as the wilderness (desert), twenty miles south of Gerar. Maybe Abraham hoped that she would be somewhere within the scope of his metron (influence), however, God hid Hagar and Ishmael from Abraham’s reach. God doesn’t need to share His glory with anyone, not even with His friend, Abraham.

 

 

Genesis 21:16 NKJV

 

16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice, and wept.

 

At any rate, when the food ran out and the water ran out, Hagar and Ishmael were famished to the point of death. In fact, in Hagar’s mind, Ishmael was beyond hope; past the point of no return. Hope requires consciousness. Ishmael was beyond that. Hagar was fast approaching a similar state. Ishmael’s condition was well past Hagar’s ability to affect in any measurable way. She had no resources to save her son. She could only watch him die. She moved some distance out of his sight and out of reach of her hearing. She could not bear to share in the experience of her son’s final moments. She could not bear his suffering. She moved some distance away and waited, … and wept.

Genesis 21:17-18 NKJV

17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”

There is so much here of which to speak. The Bible informs us that ‘God heard’ the child. Beloved, once God makes a promise, there is not a single moment that He is unaware of the person or persons to whom He has made said promises. Not a moment. The Bible informs us that God looked in on Ishmael before He responded to Hagar. The angels of God are always before the Lord on behalf of His children.

Secondly, God’s first words to Hagar are, “fear not!” Beloved, 

The phrase ‘fear not’ occurs three hundred and sixty-five times in Scripture, essentially a “fear not” for every day of the year. Beloved God’s mercies are new every morning. “Fear not!” is God’s first declaration to you each and every day. In essence, He meets you at the point of your awakening and caresses you reassuringly, and tells you to “Fear not” as He lays out His plan for you on that given day! Hallelujah!

Genesis 21:19 NKJV

19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.

Then God began to provide. He immediately addressed her and Ishmael's situation by providing water for them.  Notice that He provides water to Hagar for her to provide to Ishmael. It is a small, but notable distinction. In giving the water to Hagar to give to Ishmael, God immediately addresses and repairs the breach that may have occurred between this mother and her son. Might he have felt abandoned when Hagar left him to die? If so, how impactful must it have been that when first regaining consciousness, his mothers’ face was the first thing he would behold. God always has a plan beloved.

Genesis 21:20 NKJV

-

20 So God was with the lad, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

And from that moment on, God demonstrated His great love for Ishmael. Ishmael would always be blessed with God’s Presence. There is no gift greater than that. None. Then, God gifted Ishmael with the gifts necessary to become great in his own right. It would never be said of Ishmael that, “Abraham made him”. Never. God blessed Ishmael and made him great. Ultimately, God gets all of the glory. God really is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can ask or even imagine. Really! Amen!

Epilogue

Genesis 25:9-10 NKJV

8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite,

Just wanted to show how the two brothers, Ishmael and Issac were reconciled to one another at the death of their father. Ishmael. God showed Ishmael nothing but favor from the time he was separated from Abraham’s house. Ishmael reflected that very same love when joined his brother Issac to honor their father in death. Love never fails.

Selah

wb

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 NKJV

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not [b]puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, [c]thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

ps. I have a testimony to add to this lesson, but I will have to add it later in the week. I have planted the verses below as a reminder to myself. This Book of Beginnings is so full of God’s riches, Blessings…wb

Genesis 18:9-12 NKJV

9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

So he said, “Here, in the tent.”

10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and [b]Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”