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amen our text for tonight's message is taken from Exodus 21: 12-1 17 before we dive into our text let us consider some scenarios which may happen in our modern times how should the law be applied to each case for example a man planned to kill his wife he meticulously planned to do it he waited for her to sleep and then strangered her to death another man argued with his wife over a family matter they started to quarrel the quarrel became physical in a fate of anger the man struck her with his fist and she died a homeowner was surprised to find an intruder in his house and they ended up in a scuffle in the midst of the struggle he struck a fatal blow and the Intruder died a woman was walking her dog in the park and the animal broke loose from the leash and ended up attacking her neighbor and she died we hear such news all the time right and each of them would raise serious questions about Justice how should Justice be applied to each case in each case a life was lost should the death penalty be applied to all the above is there any difference between premeditated Mur Crime of Passion accidental killing killing as a result of negligence self-defense and so forth some people will say the death penalty should be applied to all the above others will say the death penalty should only be applied on a Case by case basis although everyone wants Justice not everyone would agree on the right Justice to be administered just listen to the debates on the talk shows where everyone has a different opinion Even in our legal system they do not always agree what Justice requires a jury May reach a verdict only to be rejected by the judge based on technical issues a judge may make a decision only to be overturned on an appeal we see that happening all the time it was the same situation with the children of Israel as they began to function as a nation they would face all these struggles all these difficult decisions how should they administer the right Justice to the crimes committed at that time remember God had just given the Ten Commandments to the people and through Moses God gave his laws on how they should apply the Ten Commandments to the different situations of Life although the requirements and punishment for failing to abide by those laws only apply to the nation of Israel nonetheless we can still draw principles from those given laws to apply into our lives today God began with his laws regulating the relationship between Masters and slaves which we have learned in our previous message next he dealt with the different crimes capital crimes in verses 12 to 17 crimes that result in personal injuries in verses 18 to 27 and crimes due to negligence in verses 28-36 notice there's a progression from greater crimes to lesser crimes every crime is a sin against God and deserves to be punished but some crimes do more damage than others and it is only right for them to be punished more severely the biblical principle of Justice was based on the phrase found in verse 24 and I for an I I have restated this phrase as the punishment fits the crime tonight we will only focus on the capital crimes in verses 12 to 17 the title of our message is the punishment fits the crime aive for a life what are the crimes that demand the death penalty firstly intentional killing let us begin with verse 12 he that smth a man so that he die shall be sure ly put to death this is a direct violation against the sixth commandment Thou shalt not kill anyone who takes another person's life in Cold Blood does not deserve to live he should be put to death alive for the life some people think that the death penalty itself contradicts the sixth commandment because if God has given to us this command do not kill then we do not have the right to kill anyone including the murderer this is a misconception of the sixth commandment when God said Thou shalt not kill he was talking about murder not about judicial killing for the purpose of executing Justice there are several Hebrew words used for killing and the word used in Thou shalt not kill is the word for murder slay or assassinate not the word for execution God's law does not rule out the death penalty in fact requires it one Theologian rightly said God is the Divine executor and he punishes the Wicked with death if God is the Divine executor and he kills does it mean that God himself has violated his own commandment most certainly not in the case of Mur death is the only penalty that protects and preserves the value of human life any other punishment is inadequate in many countries they do not have the death penalty like in Australia only life imprisonment which may range from 10 years to 30 years and the criminal may be released for good behavior several years ago I watched a documentary about some murderers who were sentenced to multiple life imprisonments for multiple murders which means they had committed one murder jailed released and then they committed the same offense again and again and again I remember the interviewer said all those lives would not be lost if only our country had the death penalty obviously the punishment did not fit the crime rather than viewing the death penalty as being Wicked evil and cruel it actually protects and preserves the value of human lives long before God gave these laws to Moses after the great flood he already said to Noah in Genesis 9:6 who so shth man's blood by men shall his blood be shed for in the image of God made he men every human being is made in the image of God therefore the murder of another human being is a direct attack against God it is an assault on his Divine sovereignty but we all know that there were cases when innocent people were sentenced to death and once the death sentence had been carried out it could not be undone the person is killed therefore special rules were given to Israel to make sure that no one should be executed unless he was found guilty God's laws provide safe guts for all those who are innocent so that they would not be put to death Deuteronomy 17:6 says at the mouth of two witnesses or three Witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death and God required those weaknesses to be the first ones to put their hands on the person who was sentenced to death followed by all the people in other words they must make sure that their testimonies were true and anyone who gave gave false Witnesses would suffer the same fate as the one who was sentenced to death that was God's protection his Safeguard against those who will be put to death but they are innocent what lesson can we learn from here our testimonies must always be true not only when we stand before the judge in the court of law at every moment of Our Lives you and I are always in the presence of God who is the ultimate judge so we must let our year be year and our Nay be n we must must not be biased against people of other races cultures or social status God will hold us accountable God moved on to talk about another Capital crime that required the death penalty look down to verse 16 and he that stealth a man and sth him or if he be found in his hand he shall surely be put to death although the context was about the slave trade but this law forbids any kind of kidnapping for whatever reasons if you sell the person or keep the person for yourself you are guilty life is precious in God's sight to steal another person which is alive is not only a violation of the eighth commandment Thou shalt not steal but it is also a violation of the sixth commandment Thou shalt not kill because it is about the preservation and sanctity of Life the crime of King napping is also a total disregard for the human being who is made in the image of God it is a very serious sin do you remember the sin of Joseph's brothers not Joseph but Joseph's brothers who sow him to the median nights when they sow Joseph into slavery they had committed the sin of kidnapping they were worthy to be put to death but they were sped from Death because of God's greater purpose and Glory out of the 12 sons of Jacob whom God preserved including Joseph would come the nation of Israel and out of Israel would come the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ that was why Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50:2 but as for you referring to his brothers he taught evil against me but God made it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive that evil committed against Joseph the sin of kidnapping selling him into slavery deserved the death penalty but they was spad because God man it onto good for his Sovereign purpose so that much people would be saved and be alive during that time when the brothers came to Joseph in Egypt they were provided with food for their survival but to a larger extent one day many will be saved through the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ who came from the tribe of Jacob from the nation of Israel it was for God's greater purpose and Glory but the point is that this is a very serious sin then there was this surprising twist when God required the death penalty for crimes that did not result in death look at verse 15 and he that smth his father or his mother shall shall surely be put to death verse 16 and he that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death notice that the same law applied to Fathers as well as mothers in other words the women receive equal rights and protections under God's law as opposed to some people who say that the Bible is male oriented male chauvinistic and only gravitates toward the men but nothing is further than the truth God is no respector of persons his law is no respector of persons the men and women receive equal rights and protection under his law why did god require the death penalty when no murder was committed there are several reasons for this firstly the word Smith refers to a vicious attack an attempted murder with the intent to kill the word curseth is not a single act of disrespect but a total rejection of the parental Authority remember God deals with his people in a covenantal way and the parents are his gift to lead the people as a covenant family and ultimately as a Covenant Community to attack reject and dishonor the parents is to attack reject and dishonor the Covenant God that is why some theologians see the Ten Commandments as divided into two parts the first five Commandments have to do with God the second five Commandments have to do with men the fifth commandment thou shall honor thy father and thy mother has to do with God because parents are God's Representatives on the earth another important thing to take note is that this law was specially given to the nation of Israel who will soon enter the promised land and they must function as a Covenant Community and the Covenant Community was made up of all the Covenant families to attack reject and dishonor the parents was to destroy the family and the family was the pillar of the nation when the family is destroyed the nation will follow suit it will be destroyed as well so this law was specially given to Israel not only for the preservation of the family but for the protection of the nation how can we apply this principle into our lives today there are children who treat their parents in a most horrendous way they disregard their parental Authority they do not obey or honor their parents they abuse them verbally and even physically their acts of Disobedience destroy the family which is the very fabric of our society that is why when we trace the roots of almost all the societal problems all the crimes all the horrendous evil in this world it begins with the family it begins with this total dis regard for Parental Authority at home as someone said if a person has no regards for his parents will he spare anyone no a word to all the children you must not dishonor your parents this is a very serious and God will hold you accountable although we do not hold our children to task as in killing them whenever they commit this sin because the requirement and punishment for this law only applies to the nation of Israel but the principle still applies to us today God takes a very serious view in the Sin committed against the parents and he will hold us accountable so we must never play the fool with God always honor our parents love them cherish them as God's commandment requires our second point is the unintentional killing look at verse 13 and if a man lie not in weight but God deliver him into his hand then I will appoint thee a place with he shall flee the emphasis of the phrase lie not in weit speaks of the intention the person did not deliberately wait in order to kill it was not his intention it was by by accident some people get killed by accident and God makes a distinction between intentional and unintentional killing but God deliver him into his hand means God allows it to happen meaning to say it was beyond human control it could also be a crime of passion whereby in the heat of an argument which ended in a scuffle someone gets killed or perhaps in self-defense someone gets killed it was not a case of premeditated murder in such situations God has designated a place for them to flee to in those days the the murderer would have been killed by the victim's relatives even before the authorities could get to him and then what would happen the murderers relatives would retaliate and revenge and kill the victim's relatives and it will become a vicious cycle it was common for un intentional killing to lead to Revenge which resulted in intentional killing God did not want that to happen instead of resorting to violence and revenge God had provided a better way for justice to be done as soon as the killer realized what he had done he could run to a divinely desert ated place of Refuge later on when the Israelites entered the promised land god designated six Cities of Refuge where these people could flee to once they reach the City of Refuge they would run into the sanctuary and put their hands on the author they could not be touched until the authorities had a chance to investigate the crimes thoroughly if after due process of Investigation they were found to be innocent it was indeed an accident they will be allowed to leave if they were found to be guilty it was intentional and premeditated not even the author could save them that was a classic example in the Bible about a man named joab who was a commander of Israel's army during the time when David was handing the Kingdom to his son Solomon joab had committed prison and he should be put to death he sought refuge and protection from Solomon by clinging onto the horns of God's altar but he was found guilty and the King's Soldier came in took him off the horns of God's Altar and killed him you can read about that in 1 Kings chap 2: 28-34 that is why verse 14 says but if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor it was intentional premeditated deliberate to to slay him with gal which means with deceit or craftiness what should happen to him Thou shalt take him from my altar that he may die in other words if he was found guilty even if he were to cling onto the altar of God he could not save him he must be put good to death alive for a life dear friend have you ever heard someone say to you that the Bible is an old book written thousands of years ago and the justice system was ancient Wicked cruel evil and unfair because they read of these death penalties and it is totally irrelevant to us today have you ever heard that well do you realize that in our modern times most developed societies governments and institutions would administer Justice based on a careful study on each crime they will not punish a petty crime with a death penalty nor would they punish a wicked crime with a light punishment like a tap on the hand why do they do that because they want a justice system where the punishment fits the crime where does this principle the punishment fits the crime comes from well the Bible calls it an ie for an ey thousands of years ago God had already given his laws to the People based on this principle and I for an ie the punishment fits the crime this is the wisdom Justice and righteousness of our God and he will do us well if you and I were to apply the biblical principles that God has given to us in the Bible when we returned we will consider the second part of the punishment fits the crime let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank thee for enabling us to consider this portion of scriptures indeed even as we consider thy laws give even in the Old Testament to the children of Israel that thy law is just righteous an i for an eye the punishment fits the crime contrary to what the world says this is thy wisdom and as we learn to draw principles help us that we will always be truthful in what we say we always be Godly in the way we live our lives and we will always look to Thy word for guidance for Thy word is true and we pray that thou will continue to teach us thy infallible and inherent word the Bible so that we who understands Thy word may rightly divide the word of Truth and applied it into our lives to the glory of thy precious name we pray all this in Jesus name amen