A Good Reminder

I've been working my way through Exodus, which has begun to get a bit tedious as I've arrived at all the laws that were lain down for the Israelites. I hate feeling this way about the Word. I want to eagerly look forward to opening it! I want to consider it "my old friend" as one sermon put it. Today I opened up and simply asked the Lord to teach me something, anything, through the chapters on how many sheep it takes to repay for a stolen one, etc. He is so faithful! I came across this verse:

Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Exodus 23:7

I was struck by this verse as the Lord showed me the power of the New Covenant. This explains the very root of the New Covenant that Jesus made for us on the cross.

Before His coming, only the guilty party could truly pay for a sin. Our world today has taken the idea of guilt and responsibility and twisted it into something that says that as long as a wrong is paid for, we're satisfied. Who cares if the wrong person is in jail? What matters is not the guilt of the punished but that the "debt to society" has been paid by someone...anyone.

Here, the God of the Hebrews was saying that even if an innocent person were punished with death for the fault of another, that guilty party would still face God's wrath. However, when he sent Jesus, he did the exact opposite of this. He put to death an innocent and honest person and now refuses to hold the guilty responsible. We have been acquitted!

We praise you, Jesus!