FRIDAY, 20 JANUARY 2023
TEXT:
Exodus 21:12-27
12.
“Whoever hits and kills someone must be killed too.
13.
But if an accident happens, and a person kills someone without planning it,
then God allowed that thing to happen. I will choose some special places where
people can run to for safety. So that person can run to one of those places.
14.
But whoever plans to kill someone out of anger or hatred must be punished. Take
them away from altar and kill them.
15.
“Whoever hits their father or their mother must be killed.
16.
“Whoever steals someone to sell them as a slave or to keep them for their own
slave must be killed.
17.
“Whoever curses their father or mother must be killed.
18.
“Two men might argue and one might hit the other with a rock or with his fist.
If the man who was hurt is not killed, the man who hurt him should not be
killed.
19.
If the man was hurt and must stay in bed for some time, the man who hurt him
must support him. The man who hurt him must pay for the loss of his time. He
must support him until he is completely healed.
20.
“Sometimes people beat their slaves. If he slave dies after being beaten, the
killer must be punished.
21.
But if the slave gets up after a few days, then the master will not be
punished. That is because someone paid their money for the slave, and the slave
belongs to them.
22.
“Two men might be fighting and hurt a pregnant woman. This might make the woman
give birth to her baby before its time. If the woman was not hurt badly, the
man who hurt her must pay a fine. The woman’s husband will decide how much the
man must pay. The judges will help the man decide how much the fine will be.
23.
But if the woman was hurt badly, then the woman who hurt her must be punished.
The punishment must fit the crime. You must trade one life for another life.
24.
You must trade an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a
foot for a foot,
25.
a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a cut for a cut.
26.
“If a man hits a slave in the eye, and the slave is blinded in that eye, then
the slave will be allowed to go free. His eye is the payment for his freedom.
This is the same for a man or a woman slave.
27.
If a man hits his slave, in the mouth, and the slave will be allowed to go
free. The slave’s tooth is payment for the slave’s freedom. This is the same
for a man or a woman slave.
(Easy-to-Read Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
THE SACREDNESS OF HUMAN LIFE
The
sacredness of human life is emphasized in today’s passage. Because human life
is sacred, killing a person should never be treated with levity but attract
maximum penalty. This is because every human being, unlike animals and other
living things, is made in the very image of God and God’s image cannot be
tampered with and destroyed without grave consequences.
But
the sacredness of human life has been eroded in our dear nation, Nigeria, due
to several factors. Foremost of these is the jihad being waged by radical
Islamist militias who rape, maim and kill with total impunity.
This
evil cannot continue without attracting the judgment of God because life can
only come from God and no one has the power to take it, except under God’s divine
authority.
QUESTION:
How much do you value your life and the lives of others?
PRAYER:
Oh God, please intervene to restore and protect the sacredness of life in our
dear country, in Jesus name, Amen.
Remain
Blessed
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