The Ten Commandments

Case Laws Of The Bible

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Biblical Law

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2013-12-14

Synopsis: John Weaver explains that the Ten Commandments are broad principles that must be understood through specific case laws in Scripture. Using the sixth, eighth, and fifth commandments, he demonstrates how these case laws reveal the full meaning of God's commands, emphasizing that circumstances change but principles never change. The positive duties implied by the negatives—preserving life, paying what is due, and honoring parents—are binding on believers today.

[John Weaver] All right, it's good to be alive today, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to worship the Lord, aren't you? I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Exodus, Chapter 20. We'll be looking at a passage in just a moment. In fact, we'll just read the first three verses, but I want you to mark this passage. We're going to be looking at a lot of scriptures. But if you would just look, for instance, at the first three verses of Exodus, Chapter 20. And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

[John Weaver] Thou shalt have no other gods before me. When I last preached on Thursday evening, I brought a message from Matthew chapter five, verses 17 through 20 on the abiding validity of the law, and I was pointing out the fact how God's law is indeed in effect today. And I showed and I wanted to really impress upon everyone that we have one Bible, not two Bibles. Because many times you hear people say, as you quote a Scripture, but that's in the Old Testament. Well, the Old Testament is just as much the Word of God as the New Testament. And as I pointed out on Thursday night, obviously, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, he had in mind primarily the Old Testament Scriptures because that was all that was available at that particular time. And you have to understand this concept We say it, but we never really think about it. We talk about the Testaments and we say this, that the new is in the old concealed and the old is in the new revealed.

[John Weaver] And the truth of the matter is, you cannot understand the Old Testament apart from the New Testament, nor can you understand the New Testament apart from the Old Testament as well. And many individuals try to say, well, the Old Testament is law and the New Testament is grace. And of course, that's not true, because Genesis 6 says, Noel found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And as we shall see in Ephesians chapter 6, the Bible says, Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right.

[John Weaver] Honor thy father and thy mother. So there's law in the New Testament as well. I pointed out on Thursday night that none of God's law has been abrogated or set aside. Usually we talk about the ceremonial law, the judicial law and the moral law, but in reality, even the ceremonial law has not been abrogated. It has been fulfilled. All you have to do is read Hebrews chapter eight, nine and ten, especially those chapters, but the entire book of Hebrews and what you had in the Old Testament were all the types and emblems and shadows. Now we have the truth and now we have the reality. I pointed out how the Bible tells us in first Corinthians five and verse seven, even Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us.

[John Weaver] So we have a sacrifice. I pointed out how we have an altar, Hebrews 13 in verse 10. We have an altar where of those who serve the tabernacle, that is the types and the emblems, have no right to eat. Christ is our altar, and therefore grace can be mediated to a sinner anywhere. But Christ is also our great high priest, Hebrews chapter 4, and Christ is our temple, Revelation chapter 22. So what we did in the New Testament, or what God did for us, he got rid of the types and the shadows and gave us reality and gave us substance. You know, I've heard people say, man, I'd have loved to have been alive in the Old Testament era because, man, you could see the temple and you could touch it and you could smell the sacrifices and you could smell the incense. And man, all this was real. No, that was not real. All of it was shadows, the reality and the substance of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in the book of John 1 verse 17, for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to stop and think about that. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. First of all, was it not God who gave his law to Moses? Moses was just simply the mediator. But now it says grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Was there no grace in the Old Testament? Well, we know there was. Was there no truth in the Old Testament? We know there was. Everything that God has revealed is truth. Well, how in the world can you understand John 1 in verse 17? The Bible is teaching us there, but the fullness of truth and the fullness of grace is only found in Jesus Christ because He is the express image of God. And in Him dwelleth all of the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now, when we talk about God's law, I want you to understand that these are certain broad principles.

[John Weaver] We normally quote the Ten Commandments. And we say, well, we must have these Ten Commandments, and I'd much rather have the ten than I had the multitudinous number of laws that man gives us. And of course, we were told by our founding fathers, if we will not govern ourselves by the word of God, then we condemn ourselves to be governed by tyrants. We must either be controlled by the word of God in us or by the sword over us. But do you realize that God's word, in fact, David said this, thy commandments are exceedingly broad. Do you realize it's almost impossible to understand the ten laws apart from what is known as the case laws in the Bible? Case laws are very important because they are specific illustrations which illustrate the broad principle.

[John Weaver] Let me just try to give you an illustration to explain what I'm saying. So let's suppose that your pastor has done something to me that's wicked and wrong and uncivil and unkind. I've tried to get it straightened out. He will not listen and nothing will change his mind. So I go see an attorney. And I'll say, look, here's what that man has done to me. And the attorney sits there and listens and he says, oh, you know, there was a case similar to that.

[John Weaver] It was McNeill versus Floyd. And you know, the same thing happened to McNeill, and Floyd did it to him, and the courts ruled in McNeill's favor. In all probability, since that precedent has been set, They are now going to rule in your favor, too, because here is a specific case that fit that broad principle. So when you study biblical law, you have to understand that very first and foremost, you have in the Bible these broad principles, these broad premises, such as the Ten Commandments. But secondly, in there, you have specific cases that illustrate those broad principles. And then thirdly, there's always an application to your situation from this specific case and from these broad principles.

[John Weaver] For example, if you were to take the idea of theft, When you talk about theft, the average individual thinks that that means someone sticks a pistol in your face and says, give me all your money. Or they'll put a knife to your throat and say, give me all your money. Their limitation of the idea and the concept of theft is just simply taking something by force. In other words, their idea of theft then comes from civil governments.

[John Weaver] or from man or from some humanist instead of coming from the word of God. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. If you do not understand the case laws in the Bible. You're going to be thinking the way the Pharisees thought, because the Pharisees always limited everything to the externals, and that's why the Apostle Paul thought before his conversion that he was touching the law blameless. And he had not seen the internal aspect of the law.

[John Weaver] So what I want to do today is show you just three. Specific areas where that you might understand these case laws and see how they apply to our hearts and to see also how the Old Testament just blends in with the New Testament. And here's the principle I want you to grasp. I want you to understand this circumstances change. But principles never change. OK. Circumstances change. We are not under the same circumstances they were in the Old Testament. We're not even under the same circumstances they were in the New Testament, but the principles remain and the principles. Are the same. So I want you to look in Exodus chapter 20.

[John Weaver] I'm going to start with the most simple and proceed to the more complex. So look in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13, a very short verse. God says in the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill.

[John Weaver] Now, if I were to ask you, what in the world does that mean? And you would say, well, it means exactly what it says, thou shalt not kill. Well, does it mean thou shalt not kill at any time? Or does it literally mean thou shalt not murder? Or let me put it like this. Thou shalt not take life but except on God's terms. You see, God is sovereign. God is the giver of life and God is also the one that tells us why life may be lawfully taken and it can only be lawfully taken on his terms. So when individuals come around and say, well, thou shalt not kill means at any time thou shalt not kill. It just means that no. If you read the Bible, you're going to find out that there are specific reasons given in the Bible where God says that life shall be lawfully and legitimately taken.

[John Weaver] Now, many of these, of course, are given to what you and I would call the civil government. May I remind you that God created only three institutions. He created the family, which is a ministry of education, the church, which is a ministry of grace, and the civil government, which is a ministry of justice. And all three are answerable and accountable to God. He's the creator. And all must give an answer to him. And so here are 18 reasons given very quickly in the Bible why God says that life may be lawfully taken on his terms.

[John Weaver] Don't try to write these down. Just listen. If you want them, I'll give them to you later. But first of all, God says life may be lawfully taken for murder, but not for accidental killings in Exodus 21 verses 12 through 14. We'll cover this one later. Life may be taken for striking or cursing a parent. In Exodus 21 verse 15, Leviticus 20 verse 9. Life may be lawfully taken because of kidnapping. Exodus 21 verse 16 and Deuteronomy 24 and verse 7. Life may be taken because of adultery. Leviticus 20 verses 10 through 21. Also, the incestuous individual is to be put to death, Leviticus 20 verses 11, 12 and 14. God also demands the death penalty for bestiality in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 19 and Leviticus 20 verses 15 and 16. God also demands the death penalty for sodomy in Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 13. God demands the death penalty for unchastity and Deuteronomy 22 verses 20 through 21. We'll look at that later as well. God also demands the death penalty for the rape of a virgin and Deuteronomy 22 verses 23 through 27.

[John Weaver] Did you know that in Exodus 22 in verse 18, God also demands the death. For witches, thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. In Leviticus 20 verse 2, God demands the death penalty for anyone who offers a human sacrifice. In Deuteronomy chapter 21 verses 18 through 21, an incorrigible delinquent is to be put to death. Leviticus 24 speaks of death for the penalty of blasphemy. Deuteronomy chapter 13 verses 1 through 10 speaks about the death penalty for the propagation of false doctrine and idolatry. Sacrificing to false gods merits the death penalty, according to Exodus chapter 22 and verse 20. How about this one? Refusing to abide by the decision of a biblical court of law in Deuteronomy 17 verses 8 through 13 demands the death penalty. Refusing to restore the pledge or the bailment, according to Ezekiel chapter 18, demands the death penalty.

[John Weaver] And then, of course, we have self-defense as well. Now, when you look at Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13, thou shalt not kill. We can go over all these negatives, but let me just point something out to you. I want you to understand that every negative has a positive. When God tells you not to do something, he's also telling you to do something. And when God also tells you to do something, he's also telling you at the same time not to do something. So it's not the negative that I want to emphasize. It's the positive. So when God says, Thou shalt not kill. The positive is thou shalt preserve life. In other words, we have a duty, we have an obligation, we have a responsibility to preserve life. We have a duty and responsibility to preserve our lives, the lives of our family. the lives of our friend, the lives of our neighbors. In other words, let me put it to you like this without me preaching the two messages I have on the biblical doctrine of self-defense.

[John Weaver] Let me just say it like this. Self-defense is biblical and according to the Bible, self-defense is obligatory. How can I say that? Well, let me just show you. Let's suppose Brother Floyd comes up to me and he says, Brother Weaver, I'm just so upset with you. I'm so angry with you. I could just strangle you. And I look at him and say, well, brother, just do whatever spins your wheels. And I just stand here and let him strangle me to death. Do you realize then I'm guilty of self-murder by the hands of someone else? I've just allowed him to do that.

[John Weaver] If I have a responsibility to preserve my life, if God has given me a duty and an obligation not to kill, From that, I infer that I have a duty not to kill myself, and I also have a duty and responsibility not to allow myself to be killed. And therefore, self-defense is obligatory. If we do not defend ourselves, then we're guilty of violating the positive side of the Sixth Commandment.

[John Weaver] I never will forget I was preaching in Greenville, South Carolina. And there was a man who is a professing Christian came to me and he said, Brother Weaver, I need to ask you a question. I said, ask me. He said, what would you do? If you woke up during the night. And some man was crawling through your bedroom window. I said, well, that depends. He said, what does it depend upon? I said, well, it depends upon whether or not I get my hands on a gun. If I get my hands on a gun, I'd shoot him. If I couldn't get my hands on a gun, I'd take a baseball bat and hit him in the head. He said, well, I don't think you ought to do that. I said, what do you think I should do? He said, I think you should go in another room and pray about it. I said, you mean to tell me you think I should be in another room praying while the man's in there raping my wife or murdering my daughters?

[John Weaver] I said, let me tell you something, sir. I would pray. Believe me, I would pray. I'd pull that baseball bat back and I'd say, Dear Lord, don't let me miss him this time. Pow! That's how I would pray. Why? Because I have a duty, I have a responsibility to preserve my life and the life of my family and the life of my children. I want to show you this from the Bible. I want you to turn in your Bibles, whole Exodus 20, but turn if you would to Deuteronomy chapter 22. And let me show you very clearly what God says, and this would be a case law. Deuteronomy chapter 22.

[John Weaver] Look, if you would please be getting there with verse 23. Deuteronomy 22 and verse 23.

[John Weaver] Now, watch, God says, if a damsel, that is a virgin, be betrothed unto a husband and a man find her in the city and lie with her. Then you shall bring them both out of the gate of that city, and you shall stone them with stones, that they die, that damsel, because she cried not, being in the city. And the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife, so shalt thou put evil from among you." So you can put evil away from among you.

[John Weaver] Now, skip down to verse 25. But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her and lie with her, then the man only that lay with her shall die. But of the damsel thou shalt do nothing. There's in the damsel no sin worthy of death. For it's when a man rise up against his neighbor and slayeth him, even so it is in this matter. For I found her in the field, and betrothed damsel cried, and there's none to save her."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to notice if you go back in verses 23 and 24. Here's a woman in the city and a man finds her and he lies with her. God says you bring them both out of the city and you stone them to death. so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." Now, why does God say that the woman is to be stoned to death as well? The Bible said, because He found her in the city and she cried not out. What does that mean? It means if she had cried out, anyone who heard her would have been responsible and obligated and duty-bound to save her. The very fact that she did not cry out meant that she was consenting to the sin and consenting to the crime, and therefore she was to be put to death as well. If she had not wanted to be taken, she could have cried out. Now, when you skip down and you find the damsel in the field, the man takes her and he lays with her and the Bible says that she is not to be put to death.

[John Weaver] Why? Because she cried out. And there was none to deliver her. In other words, we have a duty and responsibility to preserve life. We have a duty and responsibility to protect. So whenever we hear someone in danger, it's our responsibility to do whatever we can to save them and to help them. I don't know if you remember this. I think it was back in the 60s. It's been a long time ago.

[John Weaver] But there was a woman by the name of Kitty Genovese in New York City who was raped and murdered on the sidewalk. She was stabbed repeatedly. She was alive. She was screaming. She was begging. She was crying for anyone to help her. Twenty-one people watched her die. Not one man to the hand, with the exception of one or two, did call the police. But by the time the police got there, she was dead. The man who raped her and murdered her was caught, and he was eventually put to death.

[John Weaver] You say he was guilty of murder. Yes. But so were the 21 who watched her raped and murdered and did not lift one hand to help her. Because there's a duty to save lives. There's a responsibility, the positive side of the Sixth Commandment, thou shalt preserve life.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you two other simple cases. I want you to look, first of all, to Deuteronomy 22, and let's read the first four verses. I think everyone can understand this. It's very simple. The next two passages I give you is a very simple argument. It's an argument from the lesser to the greater. So watch this. Deuteronomy 22, verse one, God says, Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or sheep go astray and hide thyself from them. Thou shalt in any case bring them again into thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore to him again. In like manner shalt thou do with his ass, so shalt thou do with his raiment, or with all lost things of thy brothers, which ye have lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise, thou mayest not hide thyself. Now watch, thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them.

[John Weaver] Thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." Now, here's an interesting passage. God said, if you find your brother's ox or his ass going astray, you see he's out of the fence on the side of the road, you can't pretend like you don't see him. You have a responsibility to warn that brother. Then you have a responsibility to help that brother recover that animal. If you don't know whose animal it is and you're able to catch it, God says you can take it with you to your home and feed it and take care of it until your brother seeks it and then you restore it. And then he said in verse four, if you see your brother's ass or oxen fall down by the way and hide thyself from them, thou shalt not hide thyself from them. Thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again. So here's a cow out in the pasture having a calf, but she's having difficulty and the owner doesn't even know she's out there calving. And you see it.

[John Weaver] What does God say? You're responsible to go get that owner and if possible to help save that cow and help save that calf. I was riding my horse one time. And we went to a little stream. The horse was thirsty. A sandy place was there. The horse stepped in the sandy place. And guess what? The sand gave way and he sunk in up to his chest. I jerked the saddle off of him. I jerked the bridle off of him. I did everything I could to get that horse out. And the horse was trying to get out.

[John Weaver] Finally, someone saw and stopped and helped me. We finally caught him by the halter and kept jerking and kept pulling until finally he was able to get some legs on some firm ground and get out. That's what God says. I remember one day I was preaching on this principle years ago. And my wife and children went home from church first that Sunday morning. And I was following in my truck and I almost got to the house and I looked up ahead and there was my car with my wife and children beside the road. I thought, oh, my, what has happened in that car? And the closer I got, I noticed my girls kneeling down. And when I got there, my girls were kneeling down, petting One of the straggliest, skinniest, stinking goats you've ever seen in your life. And time I got out of the car, they said, oh, daddy, daddy, this goat is out of the highway and she's going to get hit. And daddy, can we take her home because we don't know who she belongs to?

[John Weaver] And before I could ever answer, they said, you remember what you preached this morning, don't you? Yeah, I remember. Let's put the old goat in the truck. And I put her in the truck. Guess what? We took the goat home with us and kept her, I don't know, three or four or five days, fed her, and found out she was our neighbor's. He had bought her at the sale on Saturday. She got out Saturday night. We found her on Sunday.

[John Weaver] She was a mile or two from his house wandering around on the highway. So we kept her until he came and asked for her.

[John Weaver] Now, here's what God says. You can't hide yourself. Are you listening? Here is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If you're responsible to help preserve the lives of your neighbor's animals, how much more are you responsible to help to preserve his life? You say, oh, but Brother Weaver, I'm willing to help my neighbor. I'm willing to help my brother. I really am. Oh, good. Well, turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 23, and let's see what else God says. Look in Exodus chapter 23, because here again is the same case law. Exodus chapter 23, notice verses 4 and 5. This time it's not your brother. This time it's not your neighbor.

[John Weaver] In Exodus 23, verse 4, if thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hated thee lying under his burden and wouldst forbear to help, thou shalt surely help with him. Ah. Now it's your enemy. Now it's the man that hates you. That's the man that doesn't even want to talk to you. The man wants to have nothing to do with you.

[John Weaver] But what does God say? If you see his ox, if you see his ass going astray, if you see him lying under his burden, you count on forbear to help. You're responsible. You're accountable. So, again, this is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God requires you to help preserve a life, even of your enemy's animals, How much more does God require you to help to preserve his life and protect him, whether he knows it or not, whether he likes it or not? In other words, God is telling us it is lawful indeed to save life.

[John Weaver] In fact, if you look in your Bibles through the book of Mark chapter three, our Lord refers to this Mark chapter three. And notice, if you would please begin there with verse one. In Mark 3, verse 1, the Word of God says it like this. Mark 3, verse 1, And he, that is Christ, entered into the synagogue, and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

[John Weaver] And they watched him, the scribes and the Pharisees, they watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he said unto them, watch, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days or to do evil, to save life or to kill? But they held their peace. What is our Lord saying? It's lawful to save life. It's lawful to restore life. It's lawful to do whatever you can to preserve life.

[John Weaver] So you cannot understand even the sixth commandment without all these specific case laws that says, look, this is what it means. And if God requires us to protect even the lives of animals. How much more does he require us to protect the lives of individuals? By the way, you can also apply this principle. Thou shalt not kill. To your health. You have a responsibility to preserve your life. You have a responsibility not to abuse your body. You have a responsibility not to overwork. You have a responsibility to rest. You have a responsibility to eat right. You have a responsibility to exercise. You have a responsibility to do whatever you can to preserve your life. If it means giving up sweets, give up sweets. I'm simply saying. Those who are diabetic can eat sweets fine, don't eat them.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you, I'd rather do without food so that I could do without medicine than I had have the food and the medicine. I'd rather just do whatever is necessary to preserve my health. I want you to go back to Exodus chapter 20. I want you to look at verse 15 of the Eighth Commandment. Just trying to show you I'm progressing to a little more complex. Look at the 8th Commandment, Exodus 20, verse 15.

[John Weaver] God says, Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not steal. Well, surely everybody understands what God means when He says, Thou shalt not steal. Oh, really? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 25 and verse 4. And here's the case law for Thou shalt not steal. One of them, very plainly. Look in Deuteronomy, chapter 25 and verse 4. God says, look carefully now, thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treaded out the corn. Ah, you say, Brother Weaver, this can't possibly apply to me because number one, I don't have oxen and number two, we don't use them to tread out corn.

[John Weaver] I told you circumstances change, but principles do not. So when those oxen treaded out the corn, of course, they pull that wheel round and round as the corn was ground. And occasionally some of that would fall on the floor and the oxen would stop, get him a mouthful of the corn and keep going. Well, the owners got to thinking, well, you know, I'll tell you what we can do.

[John Weaver] We'll put a muzzle on that ox. He won't eat that corn. And then we can sweep it up and put it back on the mill and we'll grind it and sell it. God says no. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. Let him eat. Why? I'm going to show you why. I had a farmer friend come to me one day and he said, Brother Weaver, could I borrow one of your horses to ride through my soybeans?

[John Weaver] I want to see if I've got bugs. The mom said, I'm more than happy you can have one. I said, moreover, I'll ride with you. So I got on my horse and I rode with him through the fields. And my horse was putting her head down to eat those soybeans. And they weren't mine. And I was pulling her head up. And my neighbor looked at me and said, Brother Weaver, let her eat all she wants to eat.

[John Weaver] I said, we're riding them. We're working them. Let her have them. Well, I said, sure, I'm more than happy.

[John Weaver] Now, why did God possibly say thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn? What application could that have? Well, if you look in the New Testament to 1 Corinthians chapter 9, it's interesting that the Apostle Paul uses this concept several times. But let's begin reading 1 Corinthians chapter 9 with verse 7. Actually, we could read the first 14 verses. The verse 14 verses apply, but look in verse 7. He asked several questions. First of all, who bought the warfare any time in his own charges?

[John Weaver] Now, whether you agree with the wars that we've been in or not, it's immaterial. You know, for a fact, we do not send our boys over there to fight at their own expense. Obviously, no one goes to war at their own expense. He said, who planted the vineyard and eat not the fruit thereof? If you've got a grape arbor, you're going to eat the grapes. It's just that simple.

[John Weaver] He said, who feedeth the flock and eateth not of the milk of the flock? You've got cows or goats, you're going to milk them. You'll eat them if you want to.

[John Weaver] Now watch what he asked in verse 8. Say, are these things as a man, or saith not the law the same also? So now he's quoting the law. What is he quoting? Deuteronomy 25, for it is written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that tradeth out the corn. What's this next statement? Does God take care for oxen? Well, obviously he does. But that is not why God wrote, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the cord. He says in verse 10, Or sayeth he it altogether for our sakes, for our sakes, no doubt this is written, that he that plows should plow in hope, and he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of that hope.

[John Weaver] In other words, what the apostle is saying here is the laborer is worthy of his hire. And once again, this is an argument from the small one to the greater. If God is going to take care of an ox, If God is going to make sure that that ox has sufficient to eat as he works, God is going to certainly take care of us as well.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verses 17 and 18. If you were to read all of 1 Corinthians chapter 9, especially through verse 14, the Bible says even those that preach the gospel God is ordained that they should live of the Gospel. Now I want you to watch what he says. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Notice verse 17.

[John Weaver] Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor. And especially they who labor in word and doctrine. For the Scripture saith. Here's that Deuteronomy 25 for you. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox and tread it out the corn and. The laborer is worthy of his reward.

[John Weaver] Now go back and look at verse 17. Let the elders that rule well or let the pastors that rule well be counted worthy of double honor. Now, what does double honor mean? Does that mean that you're to call your pastor if you really if he's really ruling well and let's read the rest of the verse when he says, especially they that labor in the word and doctrine, if he's a real studious man and he really preaches the truth of God and he's really teaching you doctrine, does that mean when you speak to him that you say, oh, pastor, pastor, is that double honor or yes or yes, sir, or no, sir, no, sir? You know what double honor here means. Means double pay. That's exactly what it means. Watch it. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor or double pay, especially they that labor in the word and doctrine. Why? For the scripture says. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn and the labor is worthy of his reward.

[John Weaver] So God says if you have a man that stays in the word of God and teaches the truth of God and labors in the word and doctrine, He's worth twice as much as anyone who doesn't do that. Wow. I just thought of the old. Joke. About the new pastor. Who was praying with his deacons? And he is in his prayer request, he said, Lord, just keep it poor and humble. When it came time for the deacon to pray, he said, Lord, You just keep him humble, we'll keep him poor.

[John Weaver] That's usually the way it goes. That's usually the way it goes. Let me show you how this works. I want you to hold on. I'm talking about thou shalt not steal. Listen, before I show you this passage, do you realize it is theft according to the word of God? To withhold a man's due. It is theft not to pay someone what they are worth. For instance, let me give you an illustration.

[John Weaver] Let's suppose my house needed painting. And I know I've gotten two or three professional estimates. And let's say I know the job is worth $3,000 because that's what these painters were going to ask. They were going to ask $3,000 to paint my house. And I happen to know that Brother Sam is a little hard up for money. And so I said, Brother Sam, I'll tell you what I'll do. If you'll pay my house for me, if you'll pay that house for me, I'll give you a thousand bucks. And he looks at me and he says, you know, Brother Weaver, that house is worth three thousand, but I'm in a tight and I need that money and I'll do it. You know what I've just done? I've just stolen $2,000 from him. That would be a different thing if he came to me and said, Brother Weaver. It's worth $3,000 to paint this house, but I love you.

[John Weaver] And I want to help you. So I'll just charge $1,000. That'd be a different thing, wouldn't it? But if I know what that work is worth, And I deliberately, purposefully underpay him. It's theft. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy 24. Deuteronomy 24. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. Deuteronomy 24 and verse 14. Look what God says. Deuteronomy 24 and verse 14, Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or the strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. Now watch, At his day thou shalt give him his hire. Neither shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor and set his heart upon it, lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant. He's poor and needy. Not only are you not to oppress him, but you're to pay him what his labor's worth. Watch. He says in verse 15, At his day thou shalt give him his hire.

[John Weaver] Neither shall the sun go down upon it. Now, let me give you another illustration. Let's suppose my house needs painting. And Brother Sam says, Brother Weaver, I'll do it for you. for $3,000. And I say, fine. And I say, when you finish on Thursday, I will pay you on Friday. He says, that's fine. So he finishes on Thursday, he does a good job. And on Friday, he comes back Friday afternoon at the appointed time.

[John Weaver] And he asked for his money. And I say, I forgot to go by the bank. I just don't have it now. And I've got this going on, this going on. Come back Friday week. Now, even if I gave it to him on Friday week, what have I done? I've stolen the use of his money for one week. You want to know why all these big corporations are so hard to get money back from? Because while they're fussing and feuding with you and holding your money, they're making interest on it. And they're going to give it back to you at the last possible minute. It's theft. It's theft. God says it's wrong to withhold a man his due. It's wrong not to give a man that which he Deserves when he's supposed to get it.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 10. Notice what our Lord says. Our Lord says exactly the same thing. Look in Luke chapter 10 and verse 7. Look what he tells his disciples Luke 10 and verse 7 and in the same house. Remain eating and drinking such things as they give. For the labors worthy is higher go not from house to house.

[John Weaver] Now, thankfully, Brother Sam invited me to stay with him. Guess what? When joy puts food on, I eat it. I do.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm not running around seeing who is a better cook or who has a bigger house or anything like that. God says don't do that. But he said you can eat whatever is put in front of you. Why? For the labor is worthy of his hire. So if you come to my house, Fine. Same thing. You help me. You sit down and eat whatever I put in front of you.

[John Weaver] If I have steaks, wonderful. Help yourself. If I only have peas and cornbread, which is really good food, by the way, help yourself. The labor is worthy of his hire.

[John Weaver] Now, all I'm trying to show you is this. God is telling us that theft is more than sticking a gun in someone's face. It's more than putting a knife to someone's throat and saying, give me your money. When you and I fail to pay a laborer that which is right, it is theft. When we withhold from someone that which is their just due, it is theft. Do you remember what our Lord says in Malachi chapter 3 and verse 8? Will a man rob God?

[John Weaver] Yeah, he said, you robbed me. What have you robbed me in in tithes and offerings, saith the Lord? Therefore, you're cursed with a curse. You know what we do? We rob God. We don't just rob God financially. We rob God oftentimes of His praise and His honor and His glory. We fail to give Him thanks. We fail to acknowledge Him. We fail to be grateful for everything He's done for us.

[John Weaver] One of my favorite verses. It's Lamentations 3, 22 and 23. It is the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed because His compassions, they fail not. They're new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Do you realize the only reason you did not die in your sleep last night was because of the compassions and mercies of God? And had you thanked Him yet just for allowing you to sleep and rest and just for allowing you to live?

[John Weaver] A tithe, by the way, is nothing less than God's tax for the use of His earth. If I had time to preach from Deuteronomy 26, I would show you that giving God his tithes and his offerings is also an act of acknowledging his sovereignty. Those who fail in that. Fail to acknowledge God's sovereignty, read Deuteronomy 26. And when we fail to thank him properly for all of his blessings. We're stealing from him. We're robbing God.

[John Weaver] Once you look at one last one, I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, back to Exodus chapter 20 and look, if you would, at the fifth commandment. This is one that I really love to share because there are so many case laws. Let me tie them together for you in Exodus chapter 20 in verse. Verse 12, it is God says this honor my father and my mother. That by days may be long upon the land which the Lord by God giveth thee.

[John Weaver] Have you ever asked yourself? How do I honor my father and my mother? What does it mean to honor father and mother? Well, I want you to turn, first of all, to Exodus chapter 23. Verse 19. Keep your Bibles handy. We'll be turning back and forth just a little bit. Exodus chapter 23. Look at verse 19. Here's a case law. I'll explain it just momentarily. Exodus 23 verse 19. He says the first of the first fruits of the land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord by God. And then he says this. Thou shalt not see the kid in its mother's milk. Thou shalt not see the kid in its mother's milk. Look in Exodus chapter 34 and verse 26. Exodus 34 and verse 26. Watch carefully now. Exodus 34 verse 26. Here it is again. The first of the firstfruits of our land, thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord by God. Thou shalt not see the kid in his mother's milk. Exactly the same thing. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse 21.

[John Weaver] Deuteronomy chapter 14. And verse 21. God talks about an animal that dies of itself. He says this. You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. Thou shalt give it to the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it, or thou mayest sell it unto an alien, for thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not see the kid in his mother's milk. That's three times God has said exactly the same thing. Thou shalt not see the kid in his mother's milk.

[John Weaver] And the word seed there means to boil. You shall not boil a kid or a baby calf or a baby goat. You shall not boil it in its mother's milk. Now, why would God tell us three times not to boil a kid in its mother's milk? You could say, well, Brother Weaver, that's that's very interesting. And probably the correct answer would be, well, we're not supposed to take that which is a means of life and make it a means of death. Well, that would be a good answer because the mother's milk certainly is a means of life.

[John Weaver] But there's more to it than that. Why does God say that we're not to boil a kid in his mother's milk? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Leviticus 22, then we're going to Deuteronomy 22. But let's go back to Leviticus. Leviticus 22. And look, if you would please, at verse 28. Leviticus 22, verse 28. Leviticus 22, verse 28, and God says, and whether it be a cow or you.

[John Weaver] You shall not kill it and are young both in one day. So I've got a cow and I've got a calf. What does God say? He says I can kill the cow. But I can't kill the calf. Or I can kill the calf, but can't kill the cow. Not in the same day. Why would God say something like that? You see, even. Our hunting regulations and hunting laws, most of them are not scriptural. Because if I'm deer hunting and a doe comes out and she happens to have a little button buck with with buttons sticking up about an inch high, according to Georgia law, I could kill the doe and I could kill that young buck. I'd be killing both in one day, and God says, no, you can't do that. Why would God say that? Now, it would be all right, I suppose, if I kill the cow one day and their calf the next day. But God says you can't do it on the same day. Why?

[John Weaver] Well, let me ask that you turn to Deuteronomy 22. Let me show you the same thing, Deuteronomy 22. And let's look there at verse six and seven. Deuteronomy 22 verses 6 and 7. God says if a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs and the dam, that is the female, the mother sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young. But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, that is the mother, and take the young to thee that it may be well with thee And then I may prolong my days. So God says, here you are, you're walking along and you find a bird sitting on a nest and it's a mother and she's got five or six eggs in the nest or she's got four or five young birds in the nest. God says you can't take them both. You have to let the mother go and you can take the eggs or you can take the young birds.

[John Weaver] Now, why? Why would you say, well, I tell you what I can do. I'll just take the mother and leave. No, no, no. If you took the mother and left the others, they'd die. I'd be killing both on one day. So God says you let the mother go. You take the young, you take the eggs. Why would God say these things? Well, let me ask you, I want you to turn to the book of Ephesians, Chapter six, whole Deuteronomy 22, whole Deuteronomy 22, but turn to Ephesians, Chapter six. We're going to go back to Deuteronomy 22. I want you to watch this. Look at Ephesians six, beginning there with verse one, children, obey your parents and the Lord for this is right.

[John Weaver] Honor thy father, thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well with thee that thou mayst live long on the earth. Now go back to Deuteronomy 22 and let's look at verses six and seven. God says if a bird's nest chance to be before thee in a way in any tree or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs or the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young, but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go and take the young to thee that it may be well with thee and that thou may prolong thy days. Now, does anybody see anything that would connect Deuteronomy 22 With Ephesians, Chapter six, verses one through two.

[John Weaver] I want you to watch. And Deuteronomy 22, verse seven, God says, you're going to do this thing, why that it may be well with thee. And that thou mayst prolong thy days, what did he say in Ephesians, Chapter six? Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment promise that it may be well with thee and thou mayst live long on the earth. Do you realize there are only three promises of long life in the Bible? The first promise of long life. Is found in Deuteronomy 22, verses six and seven. Of course, it's found in Exodus chapter 20, but I'm breaking it down for you because this is case law. The first time it's found in Exodus and Deuteronomy 22, and it's based upon how we treat. Animals. Quite the second time it is found, it is found in Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 25, if you want to look there very quickly. Deuteronomy 25. Begin reading there with verse 13. Here's what God says.

[John Weaver] Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers' weights, or great and small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers' measures, or great and small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have, that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. And the third time is Ephesians chapter 6. That is how we treat our family.

[John Weaver] Now, the point I'm trying to make is simple. When God tells us not to see the kid in his mother's milk, when God is teaching us that we can't kill the mother and the young on the same day, what he is teaching us is respect for families. And it's an argument from the lesser to the greater. God is telling us. That if we are going to respect our own families, We have to start learning by respecting the families of lesser things, even lesser animals. We're to respect their family. We can't just go mutilate a family.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you, I hunt. That's about the only thing I do for other than study. I hunt. And the only reason I like to deer hunt is because I carry my Bible with me. I carry my book with me. Believe it or not, I even carry a laptop computer. And I sit and I study and I read and I pray, and if I see something wonderful, if I don't wonderful, I haven't wasted any time. I've just kept going. But I've got news for you. I do not kill. Babies. I've got I've got deer that I have named. I see them all the time. And I see little bucks. All the time with a little button sticking up, little spikes sticking up, sometimes a little four pointer. I don't shoot them. You know why I don't shoot them? Because they're babies. They have not had time to enjoy life. I am just thankful that God has allowed me to live as long as I have lived, where I can enjoy my children and my grandchildren.

[John Weaver] And I'm appreciative of life. This is what God is saying, we have to learn to respect even the families of animals. Now, what's this? It's an argument from the lesser to the greater.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask this question again. What does it mean to honor father and mother? I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Exodus, Chapter 21, Exodus 21. And let's begin reading there. with verse 17. Exodus 21, verse 17. Then we'll go to several other passages. Watch. Exodus 21, verse 17, where God says this, And he that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Oh, God demands the death penalty for cursing your father and your mother. Look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 20 and verse 9. Leviticus 20, verse 9. Here again, he says exactly the same thing. Leviticus 20, verse 9. For everyone that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death. He that curseth his father or his mother, his blood shall be upon him. Look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, chapter 20 and verse 20. Proverbs 20 and verse 20. Watch carefully, Proverbs 20 and verse 20. God says, Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

[John Weaver] Look in Proverbs 30 and verse 17, Proverbs 30 and verse 17. Watch what he says. Proverbs 30, verse 17, The eye that mocketh at his father and despiseth to obey his mother The ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagle shall eat it." In other words, he's going to die. He's going to be meat for the fowls of the air.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 15. Matthew 15. And let's take the time to read the first six verses. Look at Matthew 15. It's amazing how our Lord refers to all of those passages that I just read. Look at Matthew 15 verse one. Then came to Jesus, scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?

[John Weaver] For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curseth father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father's mother, it is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me in honor, not his father's mother. He shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Oh, now, our Lord takes all of those verses that I just read to you about someone deserving of death penalty, the curse father and mother. Before I explain to you what it means to honor your father and your mother, Let me ask, what does it mean to curse father and mother?

[John Weaver] Let me tell you what these people are doing. You can read Mark 7 on your own. When you get to Mark 7, our Lord is given the same thing, but they say it is Korban. And the word Korban means dedicated or a gift. So here's what these young people would do, young married folks. They would take all of their money and they would come over to the temple and they would dedicate it.

[John Weaver] And they would give a portion to the priest. And then they would take the remainder of their money back home.

[John Weaver] Now, here's Mama and here's Daddy, elderly, can't work, maybe sickly, and they come to their sons and their daughters and they say, we don't have any food at all in the house. Could you help us get some food? Oh, how could you even suggest that? This is holy money. This is dedicated money. We can't even think of helping you. This money has been dedicated to the Lord. Oh.

[John Weaver] Well, well, we'd have no heat. Can you buy some? No, no, no. You don't understand. This money is dedicated.

[John Weaver] Now they could spend it on themselves. But not their parents. You can curse your father and your mother. And never raise your voice and never take God's name in vain. And never use slang words. How do you curse your parents by refusing to help them? By refusing to honor them. Turn, if you would, in your Bibles to First Timothy, Chapter five, First Timothy, Chapter five. Let me try to tie this together. Look in First Timothy, chapter five, and I want you to notice, if you would please, first of all, verse four. First Timothy, chapter five, verse four. I want you to see how God has worked this thing out. It's only our rebellion.

[John Weaver] That causes divisions and heartaches and families. Watch First Timothy, chapter five and verse four, the Bible says, but if any widow have children or nephews, Let them learn first to show piety at home and to requite their parents, for that is good and acceptable before God. Now, wait a minute. Here's a widow. Now, God says if that widow woman has children. Her immediate children, let them learn to show piety at home. If she doesn't have children, nephews, it goes to the extended family. Let them learn to show piety. Piety is just holiness. It's righteousness. It's godliness. So let them learn to show piety at home. Notice if you would next and to requite their parents. Are you listening? I want to tell you what the word requite means. The word requite means. To pay back. That's what it means. Let them learn to pay back their parents. Are you listening? Your parents took care of you when you couldn't take care of yourself. They fed you. They clothed you. They doctored you. They educated you.

[John Weaver] They did everything in the world for you. And now when your parents get elderly and they can't take care of themselves, what does God say? You learn to show piety and you require you pay back your parents. You take care of them. Even nephews, I had an aunt and uncle. Who had no children. My uncle would always call me, and at this particular time, he lived probably 50, 60 miles from me. He would call me and say, I need help.

[John Weaver] Can you come up and do this? Can you come up and fix this? Yes, sir, I can. And finally, when my aunt died, my uncle moved closer to us. He moved on one of the farms. And I took care of my uncle until my youngest daughter and her husband moved right behind him and then they took care of him. They got his medicine, they took him to the doctor, they took him to town, they did whatever. My mother died at 90 years of age. My sister and I took care of my mother. Never once was she in a nursing home, not one day. My wife's mother's 94 years of age. She lives with us. We've taken care of her for two years. She's actually lived by us for about 15 years. We've taken care of her when Pop died. But now she's lost her mental faculties. She can't remember. And so we take care of her.

[John Weaver] Do you know that's exactly what God says, and it doesn't matter that it costs extra. It doesn't matter. The trouble. Think of the trouble that we were to our parents when we were young. God says what we should do is learn to requite or pay back our parents. We learn to help them. I came home one time. My father was a farmer. I came home to visit my dad.

[John Weaver] I had something to do. And I had on a pair of wingtip shoes and I had on a shirt, a shirt tie and a suit. And dad said, son, come on down here. Let me show you the new hog pen that I built on the other side of the pond. I said, sure. So I jumped in the truck. And he rode across the pond dam and just as he got across the pond dam, he saw a hole in the fence and a bunch of those little pigs were out. And you know what my dad said? He said, son, Get over that fence and get in that hog pen and stop those hogs from getting out. He didn't say, oh, do you have on a suit? Do you have on wingtip shoes? He said, get in there. You know what I did? I got in there. Shoes can be reshined, suits can be cleaned. Let me tell you, I'm going to show you this in just a moment.

[John Weaver] God told you in Ephesians 6 that children are to obey their parents and the Lord for this is right. And then he said, honor thy father and my mother. I suppose you could say in one sense of the word, there comes a time when our obedience to our parents ceases in the sense that when we leave home and have our own family. However, I will tell you this. Whenever I would go back home. My father was still my father, my mother was still my mother, and as much as I could, I obeyed them regardless what they asked me to do. I did it. I did it. Although you might could say there may be a time when obedience may cease. In the sense that, well, my father could not come up and say, now, son, you need to take your wife and you need to do this. No, no, no.

[John Weaver] I'm the head of my house. I understand that. And thankfully, my father never, ever tried to do anything like that. But let me tell you, there may be a time when obedience ceases in one sense of the word, but there is never a time when honor ceases. You're required to honor your father and your mother. I don't care how brilliant they are or how dumb they are, how silly they are, how serious they are. It's immaterial. God requires you to obey them if you're still at home and he requires you to honor them.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look at verse eight, First Timothy, chapter five, verse eight. Look what he said.

[John Weaver] Now, we're talking about children requiting their parents. helping their parents. Watch this. But if any provide not for his own and especially for those of his own household, he denied the faith, he's worse than an infidel. If you will not obey your parents, if you will not honor your parents, if you will not help your parents. God says you've denied the faith, you're worse than an infidel.

[John Weaver] Look what he said in verse 16. He's talking about widows indeed, I don't have time to go over all of this, but he said, if any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them and let not the church be charged that they may relieve them that are widows indeed. What's God saying? God is saying we're responsible to take care of our elderly. We're responsible to take care of our parents. My children joke. They say, I can see dad now when he's 90.

[John Weaver] We'll have to go out and help him up a tree so he can hunt deer. Well, I doubt I'll be hunting deer when I'm 90, but I mean, I'm at least thankful that they're thinking ahead, that they're willing to help me get up a tree. You know. Do you realize the old scholars said this? that honoring our parents involved a minimum of three things. Now, there are more, but they would say these three things. First of all, they would say, if you're going to honor your father and your mother, you would never sit in a seat that was reserved for your father and your mother. In your home, your mom and dad have a seat. They have a seat at the table. They have a seat in the living room. Never, never, ever sit in their seats. And the old scholar said, the second thing you would do if you want to honor your parents is you never carp at their statements.

[John Weaver] Now, we don't understand the word carp, but let me give you an illustration. Mother comes up to you and she says, sweetheart, would you please wash the dishes for me or vacuum the floor for me? Because I am so tired. And you would say, oh, mama, why do you want me to do that right now? I've got some. What? Son, would you cut the grass? I don't feel. Oh, daddy, I got things.

[John Weaver] Why are you picking on me? That's carpeted their statements. You never sit in the chair reserved for your parents. You never cover their statements, and I love this third one, I never got my children to do this. But the third one is said, you always refer to your father and your mother as my lord and my lady. Do you understand? God's law is exceedingly broad, and he gave us all of these little specific cases so that we could understand.

[John Weaver] And God says it's so simple when you argue from the lesser to the greater. If you're responsible to preserve the lives of animals, how much more are you responsible to preserve the lives of? His people, if you're responsible not to stick a gun in somebody's face, and steal their money. How much more are you responsible to deal with them honestly and openly and pay that which you owe when you owe it? And if God requires you to respect the families of animals, how much no more does he require you to respect the families of men and women? I'm obligated, I'm responsible, I'm duty bound under God to honor Families. If you ordered families.

[John Weaver] You would never be trying to hit on another man's life. Or another woman's husband. You would never be trying to steal. You never be trying to defraud. You'd never be trying to take advantage of them. Because you understand that God requires you to honor Young people, let me tell you. I have preached. So many funerals. And 49 years. I have no idea how many funerals I preached. But I will tell you this, I have seen children, grown children, weeping, screaming, crying, fainting. And some saying aloud. If only. If only, if only.

[John Weaver] If you won't help them now, if you won't do what's right now, you have no right to cry when they die. God is giving you this opportunity now to honor your father and your mother. And you better do it. And let me ask you this. When is the last time, young people, you've looked at daddy And you said, Daddy, I love you. When's the last time you've looked at your mother and say, Mother, I appreciate all that you've done for me. I love you. Thank you. Please let me help you. Please let me know what I can do. I tell my wife every day that I love her. Every time I talk to my children, I tell them that I love them.

[John Weaver] I've got grown grandsons that still come home, one in the Navy. They come home and they'll sit on my lap and put their arms around me and kiss me on the cheek and say, Papa, I love you. They're 25 years old, 26 going on. But they're still not ashamed. I'm just saying now is the time to obey God. Now is the time to learn to honor and obey. your father and your mother, and in doing so, you honor and obey your heavenly father. If you despise your earthly parents, you're despising your heavenly father, for your heavenly father gave you your earthly parents. Honor them, obey them. And therefore, you'll honor and obey God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee, we thank you.

[John Weaver] We praise You for Your Word, for Your truth. And we know, Father, there is only one Book and one God. And we give Thee all the honor and all the glory. Thank You again for life and health. Thank You for sleep and rest. Thank You for Your truth. Thank You for Your people. Thank You for the opportunity to live for Thee and to serve Thee and to serve Thy people.

[John Weaver] In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

Case Laws Of The Bible

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	1214131726103
Subject	Biblical Law
Course	The Ten Commandments
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-12-14
Dictation Name
Book	Book 001: The Ten Commandments — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	111

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Abiding Validity of God's Law

Weaver reviews his previous message on the continuing authority of the law, emphasizing that the Old and New Testaments form one unified Bible. The law has not been abrogated but fulfilled in Christ, who is the substance of the Old Testament shadows.

All right, it's good to be alive today, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to worship the Lord, aren't you? I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Exodus, chapter 20. We'll be looking at a passage in just a moment. In fact, we'll just read the first three verses, but I want you to mark this passage. We're going to be looking at a lot of scriptures. But if you would just look, for instance, at the first three verses of Exodus, chapter 20: "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." When I last preached on Thursday evening, I brought a message from Matthew chapter 5, verses 17 through 20 on the abiding validity of the law, and I was pointing out the fact how God's law is indeed in effect today. And I showed and I wanted to really impress upon everyone that we have one Bible, not two Bibles. Because many times you hear people say, as you quote a Scripture, "But that's in the Old Testament." Well, the Old Testament is just as much the Word of God as the New Testament. And as I pointed out on Thursday night, obviously, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17, he had in mind primarily the Old Testament Scriptures because that was all that was available at that particular time. And you have to understand this concept. We say it, but we never really think about it. We talk about the Testaments and we say this, that the new is in the old concealed and the old is in the new revealed.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 8-10

And the truth of the matter is, you cannot understand the Old Testament apart from the New Testament, nor can you understand the New Testament apart from the Old Testament as well. And many individuals try to say, well, the Old Testament is law and the New Testament is grace. And of course, that's not true, because Genesis 6 says, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." And as we shall see in Ephesians chapter 6, the Bible says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." "Honor thy father and thy mother." So there's law in the New Testament as well. I pointed out on Thursday night that none of God's law has been abrogated or set aside. Usually we talk about the ceremonial law, the judicial law, and the moral law, but in reality, even the ceremonial law has not been abrogated. It has been fulfilled. All you have to do is read Hebrews chapter 8, 9, and 10, especially those chapters, but the entire book of Hebrews, and what you had in the Old Testament were all the types and emblems and shadows. Now we have the truth and now we have the reality. I pointed out how the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "Even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us."

So we have a sacrifice. I pointed out how we have an altar, Hebrews 13:10:

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:10

"We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle"

—that is, the types and the emblems. Christ is our altar, and therefore grace can be mediated to a sinner anywhere. But Christ is also our great high priest, Hebrews chapter 4, and Christ is our temple, Revelation chapter 22. So what we did in the New Testament, or what God did for us, He got rid of the types and the shadows and gave us reality and gave us substance. You know, I've heard people say, "Man, I'd have loved to have been alive in the Old Testament era because, man, you could see the temple and you could touch it and you could smell the sacrifices and you could smell the incense. And man, all this was real." No, that was not real. All of it was shadows, the reality and the substance of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in John 1:17, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

Now, I want you to stop and think about that. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. First of all, was it not God who gave His law to Moses? Moses was just simply the mediator. But now it says grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Was there no grace in the Old Testament? Well, we know there was. Was there no truth in the Old Testament? We know there was. Everything that God has revealed is truth. Well, how in the world can you understand John 1:17? The Bible is teaching us there that the fullness of truth and the fullness of grace is only found in Jesus Christ because He is the express image of God. And in Him dwelleth all of the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now, when we talk about God's law, I want you to understand that these are certain broad principles.

The Role of Case Laws in Understanding the Commandments

The Ten Commandments are broad principles that require specific case laws for proper interpretation. Case laws serve as illustrations that apply the broad commands to concrete situations, much like legal precedents.

We normally quote the Ten Commandments. And we say, well, we must have these Ten Commandments, and I'd much rather have the ten than I had the multitudinous number of laws that man gives us. And of course, we were told by our founding fathers, if we will not govern ourselves by the word of God, then we condemn ourselves to be governed by tyrants. We must either be controlled by the word of God in us or by the sword over us. But do you realize that God's word, in fact, David said this, "Thy commandments are exceedingly broad." Do you realize it's almost impossible to understand the ten laws apart from what is known as the case laws in the Bible? Case laws are very important because they are specific illustrations which illustrate the broad principle.

Let me just try to give you an illustration to explain what I'm saying. So let's suppose that your pastor has done something to me that's wicked and wrong and uncivil and unkind. I've tried to get it straightened out. He will not listen and nothing will change his mind. So I go see an attorney. And I'll say, "Look, here's what that man has done to me." And the attorney sits there and listens and he says, "Oh, you know, there was a case similar to that." It was McNeill versus Floyd. And you know, the same thing happened to McNeill, and Floyd did it to him, and the courts ruled in McNeill's favor. In all probability, since that precedent has been set, they are now going to rule in your favor, too, because here is a specific case that fit that broad principle. So when you study biblical law, you have to understand that very first and foremost, you have in the Bible these broad principles, these broad premises, such as the Ten Commandments. But secondly, in there, you have specific cases that illustrate those broad principles. And then thirdly, there's always an application to your situation from this specific case and from these broad principles.

For example, if you were to take the idea of theft, when you talk about theft, the average individual thinks that that means someone sticks a pistol in your face and says, "Give me all your money." Or they'll put a knife to your throat and say, "Give me all your money." Their limitation of the idea and the concept of theft is just simply taking something by force. In other words, their idea of theft then comes from civil governments or from man or from some humanist instead of coming from the word of God. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. If you do not understand the case laws in the Bible, you're going to be thinking the way the Pharisees thought, because the Pharisees always limited everything to the externals, and that's why the Apostle Paul thought before his conversion that he was touching the law blameless. And he had not seen the internal aspect of the law.

The Sixth Commandment: Preserving Life

The command 'Thou shalt not kill' implies a positive duty to preserve life. Case laws show that self-defense is obligatory and that failing to protect others makes one complicit in their harm.

So what I want to do today is show you just three specific areas where that you might understand these case laws and see how they apply to our hearts and to see also how the Old Testament just blends in with the New Testament. And here's the principle I want you to grasp. I want you to understand this: circumstances change, but principles never change. OK. Circumstances change. We are not under the same circumstances they were in the Old Testament. We're not even under the same circumstances they were in the New Testament, but the principles remain and the principles are the same. So I want you to look in Exodus chapter 20.

I'm going to start with the most simple and proceed to the more complex. So look in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13, a very short verse. God says in the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." Now, if I were to ask you, "What in the world does that mean?" and you would say, "Well, it means exactly what it says, thou shalt not kill." Well, does it mean thou shalt not kill at any time? Or does it literally mean thou shalt not murder? Or let me put it like this: Thou shalt not take life but except on God's terms. You see, God is sovereign. God is the giver of life and God is also the one that tells us why life may be lawfully taken and it can only be lawfully taken on His terms. So when individuals come around and say, "Well, thou shalt not kill means at any time thou shalt not kill. It just means that." No. If you read the Bible, you're going to find out that there are specific reasons given in the Bible where God says that life shall be lawfully and legitimately taken.

Now, many of these, of course, are given to what you and I would call the civil government. May I remind you that God created only three institutions. He created the family, which is a ministry of education; the church, which is a ministry of grace; and the civil government, which is a ministry of justice. And all three are answerable and accountable to God. He's the creator. And all must give an answer to Him. And so here are 18 reasons given very quickly in the Bible why God says that life may be lawfully taken on His terms.

Don't try to write these down. Just listen. If you want them, I'll give them to you later. But first of all, God says life may be lawfully taken for murder, but not for accidental killings in Exodus 21:12-14. We'll cover this one later. Life may be taken for striking or cursing a parent, in Exodus 21:15, Leviticus 20:9. Life may be lawfully taken because of kidnapping, Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7. Life may be taken because of adultery, Leviticus 20:10-21. Also, the incestuous individual is to be put to death, Leviticus 20:11, 12, and 14. God also demands the death penalty for bestiality in Exodus 22:19 and Leviticus 20:15-16. God also demands the death penalty for sodomy in Leviticus 20:13. God demands the death penalty for unchastity in Deuteronomy 22:20-21. We'll look at that later as well. God also demands the death penalty for the rape of a virgin in Deuteronomy 22:23-27.

Did you know that in Exodus 22:18, God also demands the death for witches: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." In Leviticus 20:2, God demands the death penalty for anyone who offers a human sacrifice. In Deuteronomy 21:18-21, an incorrigible delinquent is to be put to death. Leviticus 24 speaks of death for the penalty of blasphemy. Deuteronomy 13:1-10 speaks about the death penalty for the propagation of false doctrine and idolatry. Sacrificing to false gods merits the death penalty, according to Exodus 22:20. How about this one? Refusing to abide by the decision of a biblical court of law in Deuteronomy 17:8-13 demands the death penalty. Refusing to restore the pledge or the bailment, according to Ezekiel chapter 18, demands the death penalty.

And then, of course, we have self-defense as well. Now, when you look at Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill," we can go over all these negatives, but let me just point something out to you. I want you to understand that every negative has a positive. When God tells you not to do something, He's also telling you to do something. And when God also tells you to do something, He's also telling you at the same time not to do something. So it's not the negative that I want to emphasize. It's the positive. So when God says, "Thou shalt not kill," the positive is thou shalt preserve life. In other words, we have a duty, we have an obligation, we have a responsibility to preserve life. We have a duty and responsibility to preserve our lives, the lives of our family, the lives of our friends, the lives of our neighbors. In other words, let me put it to you like this without me preaching the two messages I have on the biblical doctrine of self-defense.

Let me just say it like this. Self-defense is biblical and according to the Bible, self-defense is obligatory. How can I say that? Well, let me just show you. Let's suppose Brother Floyd comes up to me and he says, "Brother Weaver, I'm just so upset with you. I'm so angry with you. I could just strangle you." And I look at him and say, "Well, brother, just do whatever spins your wheels." And I just stand here and let him strangle me to death. Do you realize then I'm guilty of self-murder by the hands of someone else? I've just allowed him to do that.

If I have a responsibility to preserve my life, if God has given me a duty and an obligation not to kill, from that, I infer that I have a duty not to kill myself, and I also have a duty and responsibility not to allow myself to be killed. And therefore, self-defense is obligatory. If we do not defend ourselves, then we're guilty of violating the positive side of the Sixth Commandment. I never will forget I was preaching in Greenville, South Carolina. And there was a man who is a professing Christian came to me and he said, "Brother Weaver, I need to ask you a question." I said, "Ask me." He said, "What would you do if you woke up during the night and some man was crawling through your bedroom window?" I said, "Well, that depends." He said, "What does it depend upon?" I said, "Well, it depends upon whether or not I get my hands on a gun. If I get my hands on a gun, I'd shoot him. If I couldn't get my hands on a gun, I'd take a baseball bat and hit him in the head." He said, "Well, I don't think you ought to do that." I said, "What do you think I should do?" He said, "I think you should go in another room and pray about it." I said, "You mean to tell me you think I should be in another room praying while the man's in there raping my wife or murdering my daughters?"

I said, "Let me tell you something, sir. I would pray. Believe me, I would pray. I'd pull that baseball bat back and I'd say, 'Dear Lord, don't let me miss him this time.' Pow! That's how I would pray." Why? Because I have a duty, I have a responsibility to preserve my life and the life of my family and the life of my children. I want to show you this from the Bible. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Exodus 20, but turn if you would to Deuteronomy chapter 22. And let me show you very clearly what God says, and this would be a case law. Deuteronomy chapter 22.

Look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 23. Deuteronomy 22 and verse 23. Now, watch, God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:23-27

"If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out of the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones, that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife: so shalt thou put evil away from among you."

So you can put evil away from among you. Now, skip down to verse 25.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:23-27

"But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: for he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her."

Now, I want you to notice if you go back in verses 23 and 24. Here's a woman in the city and a man finds her and he lies with her. God says you bring them both out of the city and you stone them to death, "so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." Now, why does God say that the woman is to be stoned to death as well? The Bible said, because He found her in the city and she cried not out. What does that mean? It means if she had cried out, anyone who heard her would have been responsible and obligated and duty-bound to save her. The very fact that she did not cry out meant that she was consenting to the sin and consenting to the crime, and therefore she was to be put to death as well. If she had not wanted to be taken, she could have cried out. Now, when you skip down and you find the damsel in the field, the man takes her and he lies with her and the Bible says that she is not to be put to death.

Why? Because she cried out, and there was none to deliver her. In other words, we have a duty and responsibility to preserve life. We have a duty and responsibility to protect. So whenever we hear someone in danger, it's our responsibility to do whatever we can to save them and to help them. I don't know if you remember this. I think it was back in the 60s. It's been a long time ago.

But there was a woman by the name of Kitty Genovese in New York City who was raped and murdered on the sidewalk. She was stabbed repeatedly. She was alive. She was screaming. She was begging. She was crying for anyone to help her. Twenty-one people watched her die. Not one man lifted a hand, with the exception of one or two, did call the police. But by the time the police got there, she was dead. The man who raped her and murdered her was caught, and he was eventually put to death.

You say he was guilty of murder. Yes. But so were the 21 who watched her raped and murdered and did not lift one hand to help her. Because there's a duty to save lives. There's a responsibility, the positive side of the Sixth Commandment: thou shalt preserve life.

Case Laws on Protecting Animals and the Argument from Lesser to Greater

Deuteronomy 22:1-4 and Exodus 23:4-5 teach responsibility to help even an enemy's animals. If God requires care for animals, how much more does He require care for human life?

Now, let me show you two other simple cases. I want you to look, first of all, to Deuteronomy 22, and let's read the first four verses. I think everyone can understand this. It's very simple. The next two passages I give you is a very simple argument. It's an argument from the lesser to the greater. So watch this. Deuteronomy 22, verse 1, God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:1-4

"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost things of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself."

Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:1-4

"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them:

thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." Now, here's an interesting passage. God said, if you find your brother's ox or his ass going astray, you see he's out of the fence on the side of the road, you can't pretend like you don't see him. You have a responsibility to warn that brother. Then you have a responsibility to help that brother recover that animal. If you don't know whose animal it is and you're able to catch it, God says you can take it with you to your home and feed it and take care of it until your brother seeks it and then you restore it. And then he said in verse 4, if you see your brother's ass or oxen fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them, thou shalt not hide thyself from them. Thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again. So here's a cow out in the pasture having a calf, but she's having difficulty and the owner doesn't even know she's out there calving. And you see it.

What does God say? You're responsible to go get that owner and if possible to help save that cow and help save that calf. I was riding my horse one time. And we went to a little stream. The horse was thirsty. A sandy place was there. The horse stepped in the sandy place. And guess what? The sand gave way and he sunk in up to his chest. I jerked the saddle off of him. I jerked the bridle off of him. I did everything I could to get that horse out. And the horse was trying to get out.

Finally, someone saw and stopped and helped me. We finally caught him by the halter and kept jerking and kept pulling until finally he was able to get some legs on some firm ground and get out. That's what God says. I remember one day I was preaching on this principle years ago. And my wife and children went home from church first that Sunday morning. And I was following in my truck and I almost got to the house and I looked up ahead and there was my car with my wife and children beside the road. I thought, "Oh, my, what has happened in that car?" And the closer I got, I noticed my girls kneeling down. And when I got there, my girls were kneeling down, petting one of the straggliest, skinniest, stinking goats you've ever seen in your life. And time I got out of the car, they said, "Oh, daddy, daddy, this goat is out of the highway and she's going to get hit. And daddy, can we take her home because we don't know who she belongs to?"

And before I could ever answer, they said, "You remember what you preached this morning, don't you?" Yeah, I remember. Let's put the old goat in the truck. And I put her in the truck. Guess what? We took the goat home with us and kept her, I don't know, three or four or five days, fed her, and found out she was our neighbor's. He had bought her at the sale on Saturday. She got out Saturday night. We found her on Sunday.

She was a mile or two from his house wandering around on the highway. So we kept her until he came and asked for her. Now, here's what God says. You can't hide yourself. Are you listening? Here is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If you're responsible to help preserve the lives of your neighbor's animals, how much more are you responsible to help to preserve his life? You say, "Oh, but Brother Weaver, I'm willing to help my neighbor. I'm willing to help my brother. I really am." Oh, good. Well, turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 23, and let's see what else God says. Look in Exodus chapter 23, because here again is the same case law. Exodus chapter 23, notice verses 4 and 5. This time it's not your brother. This time it's not your neighbor.

In Exodus 23, verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 23:4-5

"If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him."

Ah. Now it's your enemy. Now it's the man that hates you. That's the man that doesn't even want to talk to you. The man wants to have nothing to do with you.

But what does God say? If you see his ox, if you see his ass going astray, if you see him lying under his burden, you count on forbear to help. You're responsible. You're accountable. So, again, this is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God requires you to help preserve a life, even of your enemy's animals, how much more does God require you to help to preserve his life and protect him, whether he knows it or not, whether he likes it or not? In other words, God is telling us it is lawful indeed to save life.

In fact, if you look in your Bibles through the book of Mark chapter 3, our Lord refers to this. Mark chapter 3. And notice, if you would please, begin there with verse 1. In Mark 3, verse 1, the Word of God says it like this:

Scripture Reading — Mark 3:1-4

"And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand."

The Eighth Commandment: Theft Beyond Robbery

The command 'Thou shalt not steal' includes withholding wages, underpaying workers, and delaying payment. The case law of not muzzling the ox (Deuteronomy 25:4) teaches that laborers are worthy of their hire.

Let me tell you, I'd rather do without food so that I could do without medicine than I had have the food and the medicine. I'd rather just do whatever is necessary to preserve my health. I want you to go back to Exodus chapter 20. I want you to look at verse 15 of the Eighth Commandment. Just trying to show you I'm progressing to a little more complex. Look at the 8th Commandment, Exodus 20, verse 15. God says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:15

"Thou shalt not steal."

Thou shalt not steal. Well, surely everybody understands what God means when He says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:15

"Thou shalt not steal."

Oh, really? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 25 and verse 4. And here's the case law for

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:15

"Thou shalt not steal."

One of them, very plainly. Look in Deuteronomy, chapter 25 and verse 4. God says, look carefully now, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn." Ah, you say, "Brother Weaver, this can't possibly apply to me because number one, I don't have oxen and number two, we don't use them to tread out corn."

I told you circumstances change, but principles do not. So when those oxen treaded out the corn, of course, they pull that wheel round and round as the corn was ground. And occasionally some of that would fall on the floor and the oxen would stop, get him a mouthful of the corn and keep going. Well, the owners got to thinking, "Well, you know, I'll tell you what we can do." We'll put a muzzle on that ox. He won't eat that corn. And then we can sweep it up and put it back on the mill and we'll grind it and sell it. God says no. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. Let him eat. Why? I'm going to show you why. I had a farmer friend come to me one day and he said, "Brother Weaver, could I borrow one of your horses to ride through my soybeans?"

I want to see if I've got bugs. The man said, "I'm more than happy you can have one." I said, "Moreover, I'll ride with you." So I got on my horse and I rode with him through the fields. And my horse was putting her head down to eat those soybeans. And they weren't mine. And I was pulling her head up. And my neighbor looked at me and said, "Brother Weaver, let her eat all she wants to eat." I said, "We're riding them. We're working them. Let her have them." Well, I said, "Sure, I'm more than happy."

Now, why did God possibly say thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn? What application could that have? Well, if you look in the New Testament to 1 Corinthians chapter 9, it's interesting that the Apostle Paul uses this concept several times. But let's begin reading 1 Corinthians chapter 9 with verse 7. Actually, we could read the first 14 verses. The first 14 verses apply, but look in verse 7. He asked several questions. First of all, "Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges?"

Now, whether you agree with the wars that we've been in or not, it's immaterial. You know, for a fact, we do not send our boys over there to fight at their own expense. Obviously, no one goes to war at their own expense. He said, "Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof?" If you've got a grape arbor, you're going to eat the grapes. It's just that simple. He said, "Who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?" You've got cows or goats, you're going to milk them. You'll eat them if you want to.

Now watch what he asked in verse 8. "Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?" So now he's quoting the law. What is he quoting? Deuteronomy 25, "For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn." What's this next statement? "Doth God take care for oxen?" Well, obviously he does. But that is not why God wrote, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." He says in verse 10, "Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope."

In other words, what the apostle is saying here is the laborer is worthy of his hire. And once again, this is an argument from the small one to the greater. If God is going to take care of an ox, if God is going to make sure that that ox has sufficient to eat as he works, God is going to certainly take care of us as well. Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verses 17 and 18. If you were to read all of 1 Corinthians chapter 9, especially through verse 14, the Bible says even those that preach the gospel, God is ordained that they should live of the gospel. Now I want you to watch what he says. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Notice verse 17.

"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith," here's that Deuteronomy 25 for you, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward." Now go back and look at verse 17. "Let the elders that rule well"—or let the pastors that rule well—"be counted worthy of double honor." Now, what does double honor mean? Does that mean that you're to call your pastor, if he's really ruling well, and let's read the rest of the verse when he says, "especially they that labour in the word and doctrine," if he's a real studious man and he really preaches the truth of God and he's really teaching you doctrine, does that mean when you speak to him that you say, "Oh, pastor, pastor," is that double honor? Or "yes, sir," or "no, sir"? You know what double honor here means? Means double pay. That's exactly what it means. Watch it. "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor" or double pay, "especially they that labour in the word and doctrine." Why? "For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward."

So God says if you have a man that stays in the word of God and teaches the truth of God and labors in the word and doctrine, he's worth twice as much as anyone who doesn't do that. Wow. I just thought of the old joke about the new pastor who was praying with his deacons. And he in his prayer request, he said, "Lord, just keep me poor and humble." When it came time for the deacon to pray, he said, "Lord, You just keep him humble, we'll keep him poor." That's usually the way it goes. That's usually the way it goes. Let me show you how this works. I want you to hold on. I'm talking about "thou shalt not steal." Listen, before I show you this passage, do you realize it is theft according to the word of God to withhold a man's due? It is theft not to pay someone what they are worth. For instance, let me give you an illustration.

Let's suppose my house needed painting. And I know I've gotten two or three professional estimates. And let's say I know the job is worth $3,000 because that's what these painters were going to ask. They were going to ask $3,000 to paint my house. And I happen to know that Brother Sam is a little hard up for money. And so I said, "Brother Sam, I'll tell you what I'll do. If you'll paint my house for me, if you'll paint that house for me, I'll give you a thousand bucks." And he looks at me and he says, "You know, Brother Weaver, that house is worth three thousand, but I'm in a tight and I need that money and I'll do it." You know what I've just done? I've just stolen $2,000 from him. That would be a different thing if he came to me and said, "Brother Weaver, it's worth $3,000 to paint this house, but I love you.

And I want to help you. So I'll just charge $1,000." That'd be a different thing, wouldn't it? But if I know what that work is worth, and I deliberately, purposefully underpay him, it's theft. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy 24. Deuteronomy 24. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. Deuteronomy 24 and verse 14. Look what God says. Deuteronomy 24 and verse 14, "Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates." Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 24:14-15

"At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee."

Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant. He's poor and needy. Not only are you not to oppress him, but you're to pay him what his labor's worth. Watch. He says in verse 15,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 24:14-15

"At his day thou shalt give him his hire.

Neither shall the sun go down upon it." Now, let me give you another illustration. Let's suppose my house needs painting. And Brother Sam says, "Brother Weaver, I'll do it for you for $3,000." And I say, "Fine." And I say, "When you finish on Thursday, I will pay you on Friday." He says, "That's fine." So he finishes on Thursday, he does a good job. And on Friday, he comes back Friday afternoon at the appointed time. And he asked for his money. And I say, "I forgot to go by the bank. I just don't have it now. And I've got this going on, this going on. Come back Friday week." Now, even if I gave it to him on Friday week, what have I done? I've stolen the use of his money for one week. You want to know why all these big corporations are so hard to get money back from? Because while they're fussing and feuding with you and holding your money, they're making interest on it. And they're going to give it back to you at the last possible minute. It's theft. It's theft. God says it's wrong to withhold a man his due. It's wrong not to give a man that which he deserves when he's supposed to get it.

Look in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 10. Notice what our Lord says. Our Lord says exactly the same thing. Look in Luke chapter 10 and verse 7. Look what he tells his disciples. Luke 10 and verse 7, "And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house."

Now, thankfully, Brother Sam invited me to stay with him. Guess what? When Joy puts food on, I eat it. I do.

Now, I'm not running around seeing who is a better cook or who has a bigger house or anything like that. God says don't do that. But he said you can eat whatever is put in front of you. Why? For the labourer is worthy of his hire. So if you come to my house, fine. Same thing. You help me. You sit down and eat whatever I put in front of you.

If I have steaks, wonderful. Help yourself. If I only have peas and cornbread, which is really good food, by the way, help yourself. The labourer is worthy of his hire.

Now, all I'm trying to show you is this. God is telling us that theft is more than sticking a gun in someone's face. It's more than putting a knife to someone's throat and saying, "Give me your money." When you and I fail to pay a labourer that which is right, it is theft. When we withhold from someone that which is their just due, it is theft. Do you remember what our Lord says in Malachi chapter 3 and verse 8? "Will a man rob God?"

The Fifth Commandment: Honoring Parents

Honoring father and mother involves more than obedience; it includes financial support and respect. Case laws about not boiling a kid in its mother's milk and not taking a mother bird with her young teach respect for families, which applies to human families.

Have you ever asked yourself, how do I honor my father and my mother? What does it mean to honor father and mother? Well, I want you to turn, first of all, to Exodus chapter 23, verse 19. Keep your Bibles handy. We'll be turning back and forth just a little bit. Exodus chapter 23. Look at verse 19. Here's a case law. I'll explain it just momentarily. Exodus 23 verse 19. He says, "The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God." And then he says this: "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. Look in Exodus chapter 34 and verse 26. Exodus 34 and verse 26. Watch carefully now. Exodus 34 verse 26. Here it is again. "The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." Exactly the same thing. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse 21.

Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse 21. God talks about an animal that dies of itself. He says this: "Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." That's three times God has said exactly the same thing. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. And the word "seethe" there means to boil. You shall not boil a kid or a baby calf or a baby goat. You shall not boil it in its mother's milk. Now, why would God tell us three times not to boil a kid in its mother's milk? You could say, "Well, Brother Weaver, that's very interesting." And probably the correct answer would be, "Well, we're not supposed to take that which is a means of life and make it a means of death." Well, that would be a good answer because the mother's milk certainly is a means of life.

But there's more to it than that. Why does God say that we're not to boil a kid in his mother's milk? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Leviticus 22, then we're going to Deuteronomy 22. But let's go back to Leviticus. Leviticus 22. And look, if you would please, at verse 28. Leviticus 22, verse 28. Leviticus 22, verse 28, and God says, "And whether it be cow or ewe,

ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day." So I've got a cow and I've got a calf. What does God say? He says I can kill the cow, but I can't kill the calf. Or I can kill the calf, but can't kill the cow. Not in the same day. Why would God say something like that? You see, even our hunting regulations and hunting laws, most of them are not scriptural. Because if I'm deer hunting and a doe comes out and she happens to have a little button buck with buttons sticking up about an inch high, according to Georgia law, I could kill the doe and I could kill that young buck. I'd be killing both in one day, and God says, no, you can't do that. Why would God say that? Now, it would be all right, I suppose, if I kill the cow one day and her calf the next day. But God says you can't do it on the same day. Why?

Well, let me ask that you turn to Deuteronomy 22. Let me show you the same thing, Deuteronomy 22. And let's look there at verse 6 and 7. Deuteronomy 22 verses 6 and 7. God says, "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." So God says, here you are, you're walking along and you find a bird sitting on a nest and it's a mother and she's got five or six eggs in the nest or she's got four or five young birds in the nest. God says you can't take them both. You have to let the mother go and you can take the eggs or you can take the young birds.

Now, why? Why would you say, "Well, I tell you what I can do. I'll just take the mother and leave." No, no, no. If you took the mother and left the others, they'd die. I'd be killing both on one day. So God says you let the mother go. You take the young, you take the eggs. Why would God say these things? Well, let me ask you, I want you to turn to the book of Ephesians, chapter 6. Hold Deuteronomy 22, but turn to Ephesians, chapter 6. We're going to go back to Deuteronomy 22. I want you to watch this. Look at Ephesians 6, beginning there with verse 1, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." Now go back to Deuteronomy 22 and let's look at verses 6 and 7. God says, "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." Now, does anybody see anything that would connect Deuteronomy 22 with Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 1 through 2? I want you to watch. In Deuteronomy 22, verse 7, God says, you're going to do this thing, why? "That it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." What did he say in Ephesians, chapter 6? "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and thy mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." Do you realize there are only three promises of long life in the Bible? The first promise of long life is found in Deuteronomy 22, verses 6 and 7. Of course, it's found in Exodus chapter 20, but I'm breaking it down for you because this is case law. The first time it's found in Exodus and Deuteronomy 22, and it's based upon how we treat animals. The second time it is found, it is found in Deuteronomy 25, if you want to look there very quickly. Deuteronomy 25. Begin reading there with verse 13. Here's what God says.

"Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." And the third time is Ephesians chapter 6. That is how we treat our family.

Now, the point I'm trying to make is simple. When God tells us not to seethe the kid in his mother's milk, when God is teaching us that we can't kill the mother and the young on the same day, what He is teaching us is respect for families. And it's an argument from the lesser to the greater. God is telling us that if we are going to respect our own families, we have to start learning by respecting the families of lesser things, even lesser animals. We're to respect their family. We can't just go mutilate a family. Let me tell you, I hunt. That's about the only thing I do for other than study. I hunt. And the only reason I like to deer hunt is because I carry my Bible with me. I carry my book with me. Believe it or not, I even carry a laptop computer. And I sit and I study and I read and I pray, and if I see something wonderful, if I don't wonderful, I haven't wasted any time. I've just kept going. But I've got news for you. I do not kill babies. I've got deer that I have named. I see them all the time. And I see little bucks all the time with a little button sticking up, little spikes sticking up, sometimes a little four pointer. I don't shoot them. You know why I don't shoot them? Because they're babies. They have not had time to enjoy life. I am just thankful that God has allowed me to live as long as I have lived, where I can enjoy my children and my grandchildren.

And I'm appreciative of life. This is what God is saying, we have to learn to respect even the families of animals. Now, what's this? It's an argument from the lesser to the greater.

Now, let me ask this question again. What does it mean to honor father and mother? I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Exodus, chapter 21. Exodus 21. And let's begin reading there with verse 17. Exodus 21, verse 17. Then we'll go to several other passages. Watch. Exodus 21, verse 17, where God says this: "And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death." Oh, God demands the death penalty for cursing your father and your mother. Look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 20 and verse 9. Leviticus 20, verse 9. Here again, he says exactly the same thing. Leviticus 20, verse 9: "For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him." Look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, chapter 20 and verse 20. Proverbs 20 and verse 20. Watch carefully, Proverbs 20 and verse 20. God says, "Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness."

Cursing Parents and the Duty to Requite

Cursing parents is not just verbal abuse but also refusing to help them in need. 1 Timothy 5:4, 8 commands children to 'requite' (pay back) their parents, and failure to provide for one's own is a denial of the faith.

Look in Proverbs 30 and verse 17. Proverbs 30 and verse 17. Watch what he says. Proverbs 30, verse 17: "The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it." In other words, he's going to die. He's going to be meat for the fowls of the air.

Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 15. Matthew 15. And let's take the time to read the first six verses. Look at Matthew 15. It's amazing how our Lord refers to all of those passages that I just read. Look at Matthew 15 verse 1. "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?"

"For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." Oh, now, our Lord takes all of those verses that I just read to you about someone deserving of death penalty, to curse father and mother. Before I explain to you what it means to honor your father and your mother, let me ask, what does it mean to curse father and mother?

Let me tell you what these people are doing. You can read Mark 7 on your own. When you get to Mark 7, our Lord is given the same thing, but they say it is Corban. And the word Corban means dedicated or a gift. So here's what these young people would do, young married folks. They would take all of their money and they would come over to the temple and they would dedicate it. And they would give a portion to the priest. And then they would take the remainder of their money back home.

Now, here's Mama and here's Daddy, elderly, can't work, maybe sickly, and they come to their sons and their daughters and they say, "We don't have any food at all in the house. Could you help us get some food?" "Oh, how could you even suggest that? This is holy money. This is dedicated money. We can't even think of helping you. This money has been dedicated to the Lord." Oh. "Well, well, we'd have no heat. Can you buy some?" "No, no, no. You don't understand. This money is dedicated."

Now they could spend it on themselves. But not their parents. You can curse your father and your mother and never raise your voice and never take God's name in vain and never use slang words. How do you curse your parents? By refusing to help them. By refusing to honor them. Turn, if you would, in your Bibles to 1 Timothy, chapter 5. 1 Timothy, chapter 5. Let me try to tie this together. Look in 1 Timothy, chapter 5, and I want you to notice, if you would please, first of all, verse 4. 1 Timothy, chapter 5, verse 4. I want you to see how God has worked this thing out. It's only our rebellion

that causes divisions and heartaches in families. Watch 1 Timothy, chapter 5 and verse 4, the Bible says, "But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God." Now, wait a minute. Here's a widow. Now, God says if that widow woman has children, her immediate children, let them learn to show piety at home. If she doesn't have children, nephews, it goes to the extended family. Let them learn to show piety. Piety is just holiness. It's righteousness. It's godliness. So let them learn to show piety at home. Notice if you would next, "and to requite their parents." Are you listening? I want to tell you what the word "requite" means. The word "requite" means to pay back. That's what it means. Let them learn to pay back their parents. Are you listening? Your parents took care of you when you couldn't take care of yourself. They fed you. They clothed you. They doctored you. They educated you.

They did everything in the world for you. And now when your parents get elderly and they can't take care of themselves, what does God say? You learn to show piety and you requite, you pay back your parents. You take care of them. Even nephews, I had an aunt and uncle who had no children. My uncle would always call me, and at this particular time, he lived probably 50, 60 miles from me. He would call me and say, "I need help.

Can you come up and do this? Can you come up and fix this?" "Yes, sir, I can." And finally, when my aunt died, my uncle moved closer to us. He moved on one of the farms. And I took care of my uncle until my youngest daughter and her husband moved right behind him and then they took care of him. They got his medicine, they took him to the doctor, they took him to town, they did whatever. My mother died at 90 years of age. My sister and I took care of my mother. Never once was she in a nursing home, not one day. My wife's mother's 94 years of age. She lives with us. We've taken care of her for two years. She's actually lived by us for about 15 years. We've taken care of her when Pop died. But now she's lost her mental faculties. She can't remember. And so we take care of her.

Do you know that's exactly what God says, and it doesn't matter that it costs extra. It doesn't matter the trouble. Think of the trouble that we were to our parents when we were young. God says what we should do is learn to requite or pay back our parents. We learn to help them. I came home one time. My father was a farmer. I came home to visit my dad.

I had something to do. And I had on a pair of wingtip shoes and I had on a shirt, a shirt, tie and a suit. And dad said, "Son, come on down here. Let me show you the new hog pen that I built on the other side of the pond." I said, "Sure." So I jumped in the truck. And he rode across the pond dam and just as he got across the pond dam, he saw a hole in the fence and a bunch of those little pigs were out. And you know what my dad said? He said, "Son, get over that fence and get in that hog pen and stop those hogs from getting out." He didn't say, "Oh, do you have on a suit? Do you have on wingtip shoes?" He said, "Get in there." You know what I did? I got in there. Shoes can be reshined, suits can be cleaned. Let me tell you, I'm going to show you this in just a moment.

God told you in Ephesians 6 that children are to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right. And then he said, "Honor thy father and thy mother." I suppose you could say in one sense of the word, there comes a time when our obedience to our parents ceases in the sense that when we leave home and have our own family. However, I will tell you this. Whenever I would go back home, my father was still my father, my mother was still my mother, and as much as I could, I obeyed them regardless what they asked me to do. I did it. I did it. Although you might could say there may be a time when obedience may cease in the sense that, well, my father could not come up and say, "Now, son, you need to take your wife and you need to do this." No, no, no.

I'm the head of my house. I understand that. And thankfully, my father never, ever tried to do anything like that. But let me tell you, there may be a time when obedience ceases in one sense of the word, but there is never a time when honor ceases. You're required to honor your father and your mother. I don't care how brilliant they are or how dumb they are, how silly they are, how serious they are. It's immaterial. God requires you to obey them if you're still at home and He requires you to honor them.

Now, I want you to look at verse 8, 1 Timothy, chapter 5, verse 8. Look what he said. Now, we're talking about children requiting their parents, helping their parents. Watch this. "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." If you will not obey your parents, if you will not honor your parents, if you will not help your parents, God says you've denied the faith, you're worse than an infidel.

Practical Applications and Conclusion

Weaver urges immediate action to honor parents, express love, and fulfill family duties. Honoring earthly parents is tied to honoring God. The sermon closes with prayer.

Look what he said in verse 16. He's talking about widows indeed, I don't have time to go over all of this, but he said, "If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed." What's God saying? God is saying we're responsible to take care of our elderly. We're responsible to take care of our parents. My children joke. They say, "I can see dad now when he's 90. We'll have to go out and help him up a tree so he can hunt deer." Well, I doubt I'll be hunting deer when I'm 90, but I mean, I'm at least thankful that they're thinking ahead, that they're willing to help me get up a tree. You know, do you realize the old scholars said this? That honoring our parents involved a minimum of three things. Now, there are more, but they would say these three things. First of all, they would say, if you're going to honor your father and your mother, you would never sit in a seat that was reserved for your father and your mother. In your home, your mom and dad have a seat. They have a seat at the table. They have a seat in the living room. Never, never, ever sit in their seats. And the old scholar said, the second thing you would do if you want to honor your parents is you never carp at their statements.

Now, we don't understand the word "carp," but let me give you an illustration. Mother comes up to you and she says, "Sweetheart, would you please wash the dishes for me or vacuum the floor for me? Because I am so tired." And you would say, "Oh, Mama, why do you want me to do that right now? I've got some..." What? "Son, would you cut the grass? I don't feel..." "Oh, Daddy, I got things. Why are you picking on me?" That's carping at their statements. You never sit in the chair reserved for your parents. You never carp at their statements, and I love this third one, I never got my children to do this. But the third one is said, you always refer to your father and your mother as "my lord" and "my lady." Do you understand? God's law is exceedingly broad, and He gave us all of these little specific cases so that we could understand.

And God says it's so simple when you argue from the lesser to the greater. If you're responsible to preserve the lives of animals, how much more are you responsible to preserve the lives of His people? If you're responsible not to stick a gun in somebody's face and steal their money, how much more are you responsible to deal with them honestly and openly and pay that which you owe when you owe it? And if God requires you to respect the families of animals, how much more does He require you to respect the families of men and women? I'm obligated, I'm responsible, I'm duty bound under God to honor families. If you honor families, you would never be trying to hit on another man's wife or another woman's husband. You would never be trying to steal. You'd never be trying to defraud. You'd never be trying to take advantage of them. Because you understand that God requires you to honor. Young people, let me tell you. I have preached so many funerals in 49 years. I have no idea how many funerals I preached. But I will tell you this, I have seen children, grown children, weeping, screaming, crying, fainting. And some saying aloud, "If only. If only, if only."

If you won't help them now, if you won't do what's right now, you have no right to cry when they die. God is giving you this opportunity now to honor your father and your mother. And you better do it. And let me ask you this. When is the last time, young people, you've looked at daddy and you said, "Daddy, I love you." When's the last time you've looked at your mother and say, "Mother, I appreciate all that you've done for me. I love you. Thank you. Please let me help you. Please let me know what I can do." I tell my wife every day that I love her. Every time I talk to my children, I tell them that I love them.

I've got grown grandsons that still come home, one in the Navy. They come home and they'll sit on my lap and put their arms around me and kiss me on the cheek and say, "Papa, I love you." They're 25 years old, 26 going on. But they're still not ashamed. I'm just saying now is the time to obey God. Now is the time to learn to honor and obey your father and your mother, and in doing so, you honor and obey your heavenly Father. If you despise your earthly parents, you're despising your heavenly Father, for your heavenly Father gave you your earthly parents. Honor them, obey them. And therefore, you'll honor and obey God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You.

We praise You for Your Word, for Your truth. And we know, Father, there is only one Book and one God. And we give Thee all the honor and all the glory. Thank You again for life and health. Thank You for sleep and rest. Thank You for Your truth. Thank You for Your people. Thank You for the opportunity to live for Thee and to serve Thee and to serve Thy people.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Unity and Continuity of Scripture

Summary: The Old and New Testaments are one unified revelation; the law is not abolished but fulfilled in Christ, and both testaments contain law and grace.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'we have one Bible, not two Bibles' and explains that the ceremonial law is fulfilled, not abrogated, with Christ as the substance of the shadows.

Case Laws as Necessary Interpretive Tools

Summary: The Ten Commandments are broad principles that require specific case laws to understand their full meaning and application.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'it's almost impossible to understand the ten laws apart from what is known as the case laws in the Bible' and compares them to legal precedents.

Positive Duties Implied by Negative Commands

Summary: Every negative command implies a positive duty; e.g., 'thou shalt not kill' implies 'thou shalt preserve life.'

Evidence: Weaver states, 'every negative has a positive. When God tells you not to do something, He's also telling you to do something.'

Argument from the Lesser to the Greater

Summary: If God's law requires care for animals, it requires even greater care for humans. This principle is used to expand the application of several commandments.

Evidence: Weaver repeatedly uses this argument, e.g., 'If God requires you to help preserve a life, even of your enemy's animals, how much more does God require you to help to preserve his life?'

Theft as Withholding What Is Due

Summary: Theft includes not only robbery but also underpaying workers, delaying wages, and failing to give God tithes and offerings.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'it is theft according to the word of God to withhold a man's due' and gives examples of underpaying and delayed payment.

Honoring Parents as a Lifelong Duty

Summary: Honoring father and mother includes financial support, respect, and care in old age; failure to do so is a denial of the faith.

Evidence: Weaver cites 1 Timothy 5:4, 8 and says, 'there may be a time when obedience ceases in one sense of the word, but there is never a time when honor ceases.'

Key Arguments

Self-defense is obligatory under the Sixth Commandment

Summary: Because the positive duty is to preserve life, allowing oneself to be killed is self-murder; therefore, self-defense is a moral obligation.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'If I have a responsibility to preserve my life... I also have a duty and responsibility not to allow myself to be killed. And therefore, self-defense is obligatory.'

Failing to rescue someone in danger violates the Sixth Commandment

Summary: The case law in Deuteronomy 22:23-27 shows that those who hear a cry for help and do nothing are complicit in the harm.

Evidence: Weaver references the Kitty Genovese case and says, 'so were the 21 who watched her raped and murdered and did not lift one hand to help her.'

Care for animals teaches care for humans

Summary: Deuteronomy 22:1-4 and Exodus 23:4-5 command helping even an enemy's animals, implying a greater duty to help humans.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If you're responsible to help preserve the lives of your neighbor's animals, how much more are you responsible to help to preserve his life?'

Withholding wages is theft

Summary: The case law of not muzzling the ox (Deuteronomy 25:4) teaches that laborers must be paid promptly and fairly; underpayment or delay is stealing.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'if I know what that work is worth, and I deliberately, purposefully underpay him, it's theft' and 'I've stolen the use of his money for one week.'

Respect for animal families teaches respect for human families

Summary: Commands not to boil a kid in its mother's milk and not to take a mother bird with her young teach respect for family units, which applies to honoring parents.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'what He is teaching us is respect for families. And it's an argument from the lesser to the greater.'

Cursing parents includes refusing to support them

Summary: Jesus condemned the Pharisees for using 'Corban' to avoid helping parents, showing that cursing is not just verbal but also neglect.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'You can curse your father and your mother and never raise your voice... How do you curse your parents? By refusing to help them.'

Children must 'requite' their parents

Summary: 1 Timothy 5:4 commands children to pay back their parents for the care they received, and failure to provide for family is worse than unbelief.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'let them learn to requite their parents... to pay back your parents. You take care of them.'

Scripture References

Exodus 20:1-3

Context: Introduction to the Ten Commandments; God speaks all these words.

Matthew 5:17-20

Context: Referenced as the previous sermon text on the abiding validity of the law.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Context: Paul primarily had the Old Testament in mind when writing about Scripture's inspiration.

Genesis 6:8

Context: Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, showing grace in the Old Testament.

Ephesians 6:1-3

Context: Children obey your parents; law in the New Testament; promise of long life.

Hebrews 8-10

Context: The ceremonial law is fulfilled in Christ, who is the reality of the Old Testament shadows.

1 Corinthians 5:7

Context: Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

Hebrews 13:10

Context: We have an altar; Christ is our altar.

John 1:17

Context: The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ; explained as fullness in Christ.

Exodus 20:13

Context: The sixth commandment: Thou shalt not kill.

Exodus 21:12-14

Context: Death penalty for murder, but not for accidental killings.

Deuteronomy 22:23-27

Context: Case law on rape of a betrothed virgin; distinction between city and field; duty to rescue.

Deuteronomy 22:1-4

Context: Duty to return lost animals and help a fallen animal; argument from lesser to greater.

Exodus 23:4-5

Context: Duty to help even an enemy's animals.

Mark 3:1-4

Context: Jesus asks if it is lawful to save life on the Sabbath, affirming the duty to preserve life.

Exodus 20:15

Context: The eighth commandment: Thou shalt not steal.

Deuteronomy 25:4

Context: Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn; case law on theft.

1 Corinthians 9:7-10

Context: Paul applies the ox law to the principle that laborers deserve support.

1 Timothy 5:17-18

Context: Elders who rule well are worthy of double honor; quotes Deuteronomy 25:4.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15

Context: Do not oppress a hired servant; pay him before sunset.

Historical References

Kitty Genovese murder (1960s)

Context: A woman raped and murdered while 21 witnesses did nothing; used to illustrate the duty to preserve life.

Important Quotes

circumstances change, but principles never change.

Significance: Core hermeneutical principle for applying Old Testament case laws today.

every negative has a positive. When God tells you not to do something, He's also telling you to do something.

Significance: Key to understanding the full scope of the commandments.

Self-defense is biblical and according to the Bible, self-defense is obligatory.

Significance: Direct application of the sixth commandment's positive duty.

it is theft according to the word of God to withhold a man's due.

Significance: Expands the definition of theft beyond robbery.

there may be a time when obedience ceases in one sense of the word, but there is never a time when honor ceases.

Significance: Clarifies the lifelong duty to honor parents.

If you will not obey your parents, if you will not honor your parents, if you will not help your parents, God says you've denied the faith, you're worse than an infidel.

Significance: Strong warning about the seriousness of neglecting parents.

If you despise your earthly parents, you're despising your heavenly Father, for your heavenly Father gave you your earthly parents.

Significance: Connects honoring parents directly to honoring God.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding the case laws change your view of the Ten Commandments?

Context: Weaver argues that case laws are necessary to understand the broad principles.

In what practical ways can you fulfill the positive duty to preserve life?

Context: The sixth commandment implies a duty to protect life, including self-defense and rescuing others.

Are there areas where you might be guilty of theft by withholding what is due to others?

Context: Theft includes underpaying, delaying payment, and robbing God of tithes and praise.

What does it look like to 'requite' your parents in your current stage of life?

Context: 1 Timothy 5:4 commands children to pay back their parents for their care.

How can you honor your parents even if obedience in some areas is no longer required?

Context: Honor never ceases, even when children establish their own households.

Why does God connect long life with honoring parents and with just weights and measures?

Context: The promise of long life appears in Deuteronomy 22:6-7, 25:15, and Ephesians 6:2-3.

Applications

Practice self-defense and protect others

Summary: Because the sixth commandment requires preserving life, believers must be willing to defend themselves and intervene to save others from harm.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Self-defense is obligatory' and uses the Kitty Genovese case to show the guilt of bystanders who do nothing.

Pay workers fairly and promptly

Summary: Employers must pay wages on time and not underpay, as withholding due wages is a form of theft.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'it is theft according to the word of God to withhold a man's due' and gives examples of underpayment and delayed payment.

Give God tithes, offerings, and thanks

Summary: Failing to tithe or to thank God for His mercies is robbing Him of what is due.

Evidence: Weaver references Malachi 3:8 and Lamentations 3:22-23, saying 'we rob God... of His praise and His honor and His glory.'

Honor parents through practical support and respect

Summary: Children must financially support elderly parents, avoid carping at their requests, and show affection and gratitude.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'let them learn to requite their parents' and urges, 'now is the time to obey God... to honor your father and your mother.'

Respect all families, including animal families

Summary: Learning to respect the family units of animals teaches respect for human families, preventing adultery, theft, and defrauding.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'if you honor families, you would never be trying to hit on another man's wife... you'd never be trying to steal.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T05:05:25Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T17:02:18Z

Clean Transcript

Case Laws Of The Bible

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right, it's good to be alive today, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to worship the Lord, aren't you? I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Exodus, chapter 20. We'll be looking at a passage in just a moment. In fact, we'll just read the first three verses, but I want you to mark this passage. We're going to be looking at a lot of scriptures. But if you would just look, for instance, at the first three verses of Exodus, chapter 20: "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
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"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." When I last preached on Thursday evening, I brought a message from Matthew chapter 5, verses 17 through 20 on the abiding validity of the law, and I was pointing out the fact how God's law is indeed in effect today. And I showed and I wanted to really impress upon everyone that we have one Bible, not two Bibles. Because many times you hear people say, as you quote a Scripture, "But that's in the Old Testament." Well, the Old Testament is just as much the Word of God as the New Testament. And as I pointed out on Thursday night, obviously, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17, he had in mind primarily the Old Testament Scriptures because that was all that was available at that particular time. And you have to understand this concept. We say it, but we never really think about it. We talk about the Testaments and we say this, that the new is in the old concealed and the old is in the new revealed.
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And the truth of the matter is, you cannot understand the Old Testament apart from the New Testament, nor can you understand the New Testament apart from the Old Testament as well. And many individuals try to say, well, the Old Testament is law and the New Testament is grace. And of course, that's not true, because Genesis 6 says, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." And as we shall see in Ephesians chapter 6, the Bible says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."
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"Honor thy father and thy mother." So there's law in the New Testament as well. I pointed out on Thursday night that none of God's law has been abrogated or set aside. Usually we talk about the ceremonial law, the judicial law, and the moral law, but in reality, even the ceremonial law has not been abrogated. It has been fulfilled. All you have to do is read Hebrews chapter 8, 9, and 10, especially those chapters, but the entire book of Hebrews, and what you had in the Old Testament were all the types and emblems and shadows. Now we have the truth and now we have the reality. I pointed out how the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "Even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us."
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So we have a sacrifice. I pointed out how we have an altar, Hebrews 13:10: "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle"—that is, the types and the emblems. Christ is our altar, and therefore grace can be mediated to a sinner anywhere. But Christ is also our great high priest, Hebrews chapter 4, and Christ is our temple, Revelation chapter 22. So what we did in the New Testament, or what God did for us, He got rid of the types and the shadows and gave us reality and gave us substance. You know, I've heard people say, "Man, I'd have loved to have been alive in the Old Testament era because, man, you could see the temple and you could touch it and you could smell the sacrifices and you could smell the incense. And man, all this was real." No, that was not real. All of it was shadows, the reality and the substance of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in John 1:17, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
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Now, I want you to stop and think about that. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. First of all, was it not God who gave His law to Moses? Moses was just simply the mediator. But now it says grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Was there no grace in the Old Testament? Well, we know there was. Was there no truth in the Old Testament? We know there was. Everything that God has revealed is truth. Well, how in the world can you understand John 1:17? The Bible is teaching us there that the fullness of truth and the fullness of grace is only found in Jesus Christ because He is the express image of God. And in Him dwelleth all of the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now, when we talk about God's law, I want you to understand that these are certain broad principles.
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We normally quote the Ten Commandments. And we say, well, we must have these Ten Commandments, and I'd much rather have the ten than I had the multitudinous number of laws that man gives us. And of course, we were told by our founding fathers, if we will not govern ourselves by the word of God, then we condemn ourselves to be governed by tyrants. We must either be controlled by the word of God in us or by the sword over us. But do you realize that God's word, in fact, David said this, "Thy commandments are exceedingly broad." Do you realize it's almost impossible to understand the ten laws apart from what is known as the case laws in the Bible? Case laws are very important because they are specific illustrations which illustrate the broad principle.
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Let me just try to give you an illustration to explain what I'm saying. So let's suppose that your pastor has done something to me that's wicked and wrong and uncivil and unkind. I've tried to get it straightened out. He will not listen and nothing will change his mind. So I go see an attorney. And I'll say, "Look, here's what that man has done to me." And the attorney sits there and listens and he says, "Oh, you know, there was a case similar to that."
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It was McNeill versus Floyd. And you know, the same thing happened to McNeill, and Floyd did it to him, and the courts ruled in McNeill's favor. In all probability, since that precedent has been set, they are now going to rule in your favor, too, because here is a specific case that fit that broad principle. So when you study biblical law, you have to understand that very first and foremost, you have in the Bible these broad principles, these broad premises, such as the Ten Commandments. But secondly, in there, you have specific cases that illustrate those broad principles. And then thirdly, there's always an application to your situation from this specific case and from these broad principles.
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For example, if you were to take the idea of theft, when you talk about theft, the average individual thinks that that means someone sticks a pistol in your face and says, "Give me all your money." Or they'll put a knife to your throat and say, "Give me all your money." Their limitation of the idea and the concept of theft is just simply taking something by force. In other words, their idea of theft then comes from civil governments
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or from man or from some humanist instead of coming from the word of God. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. If you do not understand the case laws in the Bible, you're going to be thinking the way the Pharisees thought, because the Pharisees always limited everything to the externals, and that's why the Apostle Paul thought before his conversion that he was touching the law blameless. And he had not seen the internal aspect of the law.
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So what I want to do today is show you just three specific areas where that you might understand these case laws and see how they apply to our hearts and to see also how the Old Testament just blends in with the New Testament. And here's the principle I want you to grasp. I want you to understand this: circumstances change, but principles never change. OK. Circumstances change. We are not under the same circumstances they were in the Old Testament. We're not even under the same circumstances they were in the New Testament, but the principles remain and the principles are the same. So I want you to look in Exodus chapter 20.
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I'm going to start with the most simple and proceed to the more complex. So look in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13, a very short verse. God says in the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill."
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Now, if I were to ask you, "What in the world does that mean?" and you would say, "Well, it means exactly what it says, thou shalt not kill." Well, does it mean thou shalt not kill at any time? Or does it literally mean thou shalt not murder? Or let me put it like this: Thou shalt not take life but except on God's terms. You see, God is sovereign. God is the giver of life and God is also the one that tells us why life may be lawfully taken and it can only be lawfully taken on His terms. So when individuals come around and say, "Well, thou shalt not kill means at any time thou shalt not kill. It just means that." No. If you read the Bible, you're going to find out that there are specific reasons given in the Bible where God says that life shall be lawfully and legitimately taken.
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Now, many of these, of course, are given to what you and I would call the civil government. May I remind you that God created only three institutions. He created the family, which is a ministry of education; the church, which is a ministry of grace; and the civil government, which is a ministry of justice. And all three are answerable and accountable to God. He's the creator. And all must give an answer to Him. And so here are 18 reasons given very quickly in the Bible why God says that life may be lawfully taken on His terms.
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Don't try to write these down. Just listen. If you want them, I'll give them to you later. But first of all, God says life may be lawfully taken for murder, but not for accidental killings in Exodus 21:12-14. We'll cover this one later. Life may be taken for striking or cursing a parent, in Exodus 21:15, Leviticus 20:9. Life may be lawfully taken because of kidnapping, Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7. Life may be taken because of adultery, Leviticus 20:10-21. Also, the incestuous individual is to be put to death, Leviticus 20:11, 12, and 14. God also demands the death penalty for bestiality in Exodus 22:19 and Leviticus 20:15-16. God also demands the death penalty for sodomy in Leviticus 20:13. God demands the death penalty for unchastity in Deuteronomy 22:20-21. We'll look at that later as well. God also demands the death penalty for the rape of a virgin in Deuteronomy 22:23-27.
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Did you know that in Exodus 22:18, God also demands the death for witches: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." In Leviticus 20:2, God demands the death penalty for anyone who offers a human sacrifice. In Deuteronomy 21:18-21, an incorrigible delinquent is to be put to death. Leviticus 24 speaks of death for the penalty of blasphemy. Deuteronomy 13:1-10 speaks about the death penalty for the propagation of false doctrine and idolatry. Sacrificing to false gods merits the death penalty, according to Exodus 22:20. How about this one? Refusing to abide by the decision of a biblical court of law in Deuteronomy 17:8-13 demands the death penalty. Refusing to restore the pledge or the bailment, according to Ezekiel chapter 18, demands the death penalty.
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And then, of course, we have self-defense as well. Now, when you look at Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill," we can go over all these negatives, but let me just point something out to you. I want you to understand that every negative has a positive. When God tells you not to do something, He's also telling you to do something. And when God also tells you to do something, He's also telling you at the same time not to do something. So it's not the negative that I want to emphasize. It's the positive. So when God says, "Thou shalt not kill," the positive is thou shalt preserve life. In other words, we have a duty, we have an obligation, we have a responsibility to preserve life. We have a duty and responsibility to preserve our lives, the lives of our family, the lives of our friends, the lives of our neighbors. In other words, let me put it to you like this without me preaching the two messages I have on the biblical doctrine of self-defense.
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Let me just say it like this. Self-defense is biblical and according to the Bible, self-defense is obligatory. How can I say that? Well, let me just show you. Let's suppose Brother Floyd comes up to me and he says, "Brother Weaver, I'm just so upset with you. I'm so angry with you. I could just strangle you." And I look at him and say, "Well, brother, just do whatever spins your wheels." And I just stand here and let him strangle me to death. Do you realize then I'm guilty of self-murder by the hands of someone else? I've just allowed him to do that.
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If I have a responsibility to preserve my life, if God has given me a duty and an obligation not to kill, from that, I infer that I have a duty not to kill myself, and I also have a duty and responsibility not to allow myself to be killed. And therefore, self-defense is obligatory. If we do not defend ourselves, then we're guilty of violating the positive side of the Sixth Commandment.
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I never will forget I was preaching in Greenville, South Carolina. And there was a man who is a professing Christian came to me and he said, "Brother Weaver, I need to ask you a question." I said, "Ask me." He said, "What would you do if you woke up during the night and some man was crawling through your bedroom window?" I said, "Well, that depends." He said, "What does it depend upon?" I said, "Well, it depends upon whether or not I get my hands on a gun. If I get my hands on a gun, I'd shoot him. If I couldn't get my hands on a gun, I'd take a baseball bat and hit him in the head." He said, "Well, I don't think you ought to do that." I said, "What do you think I should do?" He said, "I think you should go in another room and pray about it." I said, "You mean to tell me you think I should be in another room praying while the man's in there raping my wife or murdering my daughters?"
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I said, "Let me tell you something, sir. I would pray. Believe me, I would pray. I'd pull that baseball bat back and I'd say, 'Dear Lord, don't let me miss him this time.' Pow! That's how I would pray." Why? Because I have a duty, I have a responsibility to preserve my life and the life of my family and the life of my children. I want to show you this from the Bible. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Exodus 20, but turn if you would to Deuteronomy chapter 22. And let me show you very clearly what God says, and this would be a case law. Deuteronomy chapter 22.
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Look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 23. Deuteronomy 22 and verse 23.
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Now, watch, God says, "If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out of the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones, that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife: so shalt thou put evil away from among you." So you can put evil away from among you.
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Now, skip down to verse 25. "But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: for he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her."
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Now, I want you to notice if you go back in verses 23 and 24. Here's a woman in the city and a man finds her and he lies with her. God says you bring them both out of the city and you stone them to death, "so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." Now, why does God say that the woman is to be stoned to death as well? The Bible said, because He found her in the city and she cried not out. What does that mean? It means if she had cried out, anyone who heard her would have been responsible and obligated and duty-bound to save her. The very fact that she did not cry out meant that she was consenting to the sin and consenting to the crime, and therefore she was to be put to death as well. If she had not wanted to be taken, she could have cried out. Now, when you skip down and you find the damsel in the field, the man takes her and he lies with her and the Bible says that she is not to be put to death.
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Why? Because she cried out, and there was none to deliver her. In other words, we have a duty and responsibility to preserve life. We have a duty and responsibility to protect. So whenever we hear someone in danger, it's our responsibility to do whatever we can to save them and to help them. I don't know if you remember this. I think it was back in the 60s. It's been a long time ago.
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But there was a woman by the name of Kitty Genovese in New York City who was raped and murdered on the sidewalk. She was stabbed repeatedly. She was alive. She was screaming. She was begging. She was crying for anyone to help her. Twenty-one people watched her die. Not one man lifted a hand, with the exception of one or two, did call the police. But by the time the police got there, she was dead. The man who raped her and murdered her was caught, and he was eventually put to death.
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You say he was guilty of murder. Yes. But so were the 21 who watched her raped and murdered and did not lift one hand to help her. Because there's a duty to save lives. There's a responsibility, the positive side of the Sixth Commandment: thou shalt preserve life.
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Now, let me show you two other simple cases. I want you to look, first of all, to Deuteronomy 22, and let's read the first four verses. I think everyone can understand this. It's very simple. The next two passages I give you is a very simple argument. It's an argument from the lesser to the greater. So watch this. Deuteronomy 22, verse 1, God says, "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost things of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself." Now watch, "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them:
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thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." Now, here's an interesting passage. God said, if you find your brother's ox or his ass going astray, you see he's out of the fence on the side of the road, you can't pretend like you don't see him. You have a responsibility to warn that brother. Then you have a responsibility to help that brother recover that animal. If you don't know whose animal it is and you're able to catch it, God says you can take it with you to your home and feed it and take care of it until your brother seeks it and then you restore it. And then he said in verse 4, if you see your brother's ass or oxen fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them, thou shalt not hide thyself from them. Thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again. So here's a cow out in the pasture having a calf, but she's having difficulty and the owner doesn't even know she's out there calving. And you see it.
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What does God say? You're responsible to go get that owner and if possible to help save that cow and help save that calf. I was riding my horse one time. And we went to a little stream. The horse was thirsty. A sandy place was there. The horse stepped in the sandy place. And guess what? The sand gave way and he sunk in up to his chest. I jerked the saddle off of him. I jerked the bridle off of him. I did everything I could to get that horse out. And the horse was trying to get out.
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Finally, someone saw and stopped and helped me. We finally caught him by the halter and kept jerking and kept pulling until finally he was able to get some legs on some firm ground and get out. That's what God says. I remember one day I was preaching on this principle years ago. And my wife and children went home from church first that Sunday morning. And I was following in my truck and I almost got to the house and I looked up ahead and there was my car with my wife and children beside the road. I thought, "Oh, my, what has happened in that car?" And the closer I got, I noticed my girls kneeling down. And when I got there, my girls were kneeling down, petting one of the straggliest, skinniest, stinking goats you've ever seen in your life. And time I got out of the car, they said, "Oh, daddy, daddy, this goat is out of the highway and she's going to get hit. And daddy, can we take her home because we don't know who she belongs to?"
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And before I could ever answer, they said, "You remember what you preached this morning, don't you?" Yeah, I remember. Let's put the old goat in the truck. And I put her in the truck. Guess what? We took the goat home with us and kept her, I don't know, three or four or five days, fed her, and found out she was our neighbor's. He had bought her at the sale on Saturday. She got out Saturday night. We found her on Sunday.
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She was a mile or two from his house wandering around on the highway. So we kept her until he came and asked for her.
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Now, here's what God says. You can't hide yourself. Are you listening? Here is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If you're responsible to help preserve the lives of your neighbor's animals, how much more are you responsible to help to preserve his life? You say, "Oh, but Brother Weaver, I'm willing to help my neighbor. I'm willing to help my brother. I really am." Oh, good. Well, turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 23, and let's see what else God says. Look in Exodus chapter 23, because here again is the same case law. Exodus chapter 23, notice verses 4 and 5. This time it's not your brother. This time it's not your neighbor.
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In Exodus 23, verse 4, "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." Ah. Now it's your enemy. Now it's the man that hates you. That's the man that doesn't even want to talk to you. The man wants to have nothing to do with you.
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But what does God say? If you see his ox, if you see his ass going astray, if you see him lying under his burden, you count on forbear to help. You're responsible. You're accountable. So, again, this is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God requires you to help preserve a life, even of your enemy's animals, how much more does God require you to help to preserve his life and protect him, whether he knows it or not, whether he likes it or not? In other words, God is telling us it is lawful indeed to save life.
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In fact, if you look in your Bibles through the book of Mark chapter 3, our Lord refers to this. Mark chapter 3. And notice, if you would please, begin there with verse 1. In Mark 3, verse 1, the Word of God says it like this: "And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand."
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"And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace." What is our Lord saying? It's lawful to save life. It's lawful to restore life. It's lawful to do whatever you can to preserve life.
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So you cannot understand even the sixth commandment without all these specific case laws that says, look, this is what it means. And if God requires us to protect even the lives of animals, how much more does He require us to protect the lives of individuals? By the way, you can also apply this principle, "Thou shalt not kill," to your health. You have a responsibility to preserve your life. You have a responsibility not to abuse your body. You have a responsibility not to overwork. You have a responsibility to rest. You have a responsibility to eat right. You have a responsibility to exercise. You have a responsibility to do whatever you can to preserve your life. If it means giving up sweets, give up sweets. I'm simply saying. Those who are diabetic can't eat sweets fine, don't eat them.
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Let me tell you, I'd rather do without food so that I could do without medicine than I had have the food and the medicine. I'd rather just do whatever is necessary to preserve my health. I want you to go back to Exodus chapter 20. I want you to look at verse 15 of the Eighth Commandment. Just trying to show you I'm progressing to a little more complex. Look at the 8th Commandment, Exodus 20, verse 15.
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God says, "Thou shalt not steal." Thou shalt not steal. Well, surely everybody understands what God means when He says, "Thou shalt not steal." Oh, really? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 25 and verse 4. And here's the case law for "Thou shalt not steal." One of them, very plainly. Look in Deuteronomy, chapter 25 and verse 4. God says, look carefully now, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn." Ah, you say, "Brother Weaver, this can't possibly apply to me because number one, I don't have oxen and number two, we don't use them to tread out corn."
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I told you circumstances change, but principles do not. So when those oxen treaded out the corn, of course, they pull that wheel round and round as the corn was ground. And occasionally some of that would fall on the floor and the oxen would stop, get him a mouthful of the corn and keep going. Well, the owners got to thinking, "Well, you know, I'll tell you what we can do."
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We'll put a muzzle on that ox. He won't eat that corn. And then we can sweep it up and put it back on the mill and we'll grind it and sell it. God says no. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. Let him eat. Why? I'm going to show you why. I had a farmer friend come to me one day and he said, "Brother Weaver, could I borrow one of your horses to ride through my soybeans?"
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I want to see if I've got bugs. The man said, "I'm more than happy you can have one." I said, "Moreover, I'll ride with you." So I got on my horse and I rode with him through the fields. And my horse was putting her head down to eat those soybeans. And they weren't mine. And I was pulling her head up. And my neighbor looked at me and said, "Brother Weaver, let her eat all she wants to eat."
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I said, "We're riding them. We're working them. Let her have them." Well, I said, "Sure, I'm more than happy."
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Now, why did God possibly say thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn? What application could that have? Well, if you look in the New Testament to 1 Corinthians chapter 9, it's interesting that the Apostle Paul uses this concept several times. But let's begin reading 1 Corinthians chapter 9 with verse 7. Actually, we could read the first 14 verses. The first 14 verses apply, but look in verse 7. He asked several questions. First of all, "Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges?"
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Now, whether you agree with the wars that we've been in or not, it's immaterial. You know, for a fact, we do not send our boys over there to fight at their own expense. Obviously, no one goes to war at their own expense. He said, "Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof?" If you've got a grape arbor, you're going to eat the grapes. It's just that simple.
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He said, "Who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?" You've got cows or goats, you're going to milk them. You'll eat them if you want to.
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Now watch what he asked in verse 8. "Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?" So now he's quoting the law. What is he quoting? Deuteronomy 25, "For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn." What's this next statement? "Doth God take care for oxen?" Well, obviously he does. But that is not why God wrote, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." He says in verse 10, "Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope."
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In other words, what the apostle is saying here is the laborer is worthy of his hire. And once again, this is an argument from the small one to the greater. If God is going to take care of an ox, if God is going to make sure that that ox has sufficient to eat as he works, God is going to certainly take care of us as well.
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Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verses 17 and 18. If you were to read all of 1 Corinthians chapter 9, especially through verse 14, the Bible says even those that preach the gospel, God is ordained that they should live of the gospel. Now I want you to watch what he says. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Notice verse 17.
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"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith," here's that Deuteronomy 25 for you, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward."
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Now go back and look at verse 17. "Let the elders that rule well"—or let the pastors that rule well—"be counted worthy of double honor." Now, what does double honor mean? Does that mean that you're to call your pastor, if he's really ruling well, and let's read the rest of the verse when he says, "especially they that labour in the word and doctrine," if he's a real studious man and he really preaches the truth of God and he's really teaching you doctrine, does that mean when you speak to him that you say, "Oh, pastor, pastor," is that double honor? Or "yes, sir," or "no, sir"? You know what double honor here means? Means double pay. That's exactly what it means. Watch it. "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor" or double pay, "especially they that labour in the word and doctrine." Why? "For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward."
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So God says if you have a man that stays in the word of God and teaches the truth of God and labors in the word and doctrine, he's worth twice as much as anyone who doesn't do that. Wow. I just thought of the old joke about the new pastor who was praying with his deacons. And he in his prayer request, he said, "Lord, just keep me poor and humble." When it came time for the deacon to pray, he said, "Lord, You just keep him humble, we'll keep him poor."
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That's usually the way it goes. That's usually the way it goes. Let me show you how this works. I want you to hold on. I'm talking about "thou shalt not steal." Listen, before I show you this passage, do you realize it is theft according to the word of God to withhold a man's due? It is theft not to pay someone what they are worth. For instance, let me give you an illustration.
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Let's suppose my house needed painting. And I know I've gotten two or three professional estimates. And let's say I know the job is worth $3,000 because that's what these painters were going to ask. They were going to ask $3,000 to paint my house. And I happen to know that Brother Sam is a little hard up for money. And so I said, "Brother Sam, I'll tell you what I'll do. If you'll paint my house for me, if you'll paint that house for me, I'll give you a thousand bucks." And he looks at me and he says, "You know, Brother Weaver, that house is worth three thousand, but I'm in a tight and I need that money and I'll do it." You know what I've just done? I've just stolen $2,000 from him. That would be a different thing if he came to me and said, "Brother Weaver, it's worth $3,000 to paint this house, but I love you.
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And I want to help you. So I'll just charge $1,000." That'd be a different thing, wouldn't it? But if I know what that work is worth, and I deliberately, purposefully underpay him, it's theft. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy 24. Deuteronomy 24. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. Deuteronomy 24 and verse 14. Look what God says. Deuteronomy 24 and verse 14, "Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates." Now watch, "At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee." Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant. He's poor and needy. Not only are you not to oppress him, but you're to pay him what his labor's worth. Watch. He says in verse 15, "At his day thou shalt give him his hire.
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Neither shall the sun go down upon it." Now, let me give you another illustration. Let's suppose my house needs painting. And Brother Sam says, "Brother Weaver, I'll do it for you for $3,000." And I say, "Fine." And I say, "When you finish on Thursday, I will pay you on Friday." He says, "That's fine." So he finishes on Thursday, he does a good job. And on Friday, he comes back Friday afternoon at the appointed time.
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And he asked for his money. And I say, "I forgot to go by the bank. I just don't have it now. And I've got this going on, this going on. Come back Friday week." Now, even if I gave it to him on Friday week, what have I done? I've stolen the use of his money for one week. You want to know why all these big corporations are so hard to get money back from? Because while they're fussing and feuding with you and holding your money, they're making interest on it. And they're going to give it back to you at the last possible minute. It's theft. It's theft. God says it's wrong to withhold a man his due. It's wrong not to give a man that which he deserves when he's supposed to get it.
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Look in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 10. Notice what our Lord says. Our Lord says exactly the same thing. Look in Luke chapter 10 and verse 7. Look what he tells his disciples. Luke 10 and verse 7, "And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house."
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Now, thankfully, Brother Sam invited me to stay with him. Guess what? When Joy puts food on, I eat it. I do.
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Now, I'm not running around seeing who is a better cook or who has a bigger house or anything like that. God says don't do that. But he said you can eat whatever is put in front of you. Why? For the labourer is worthy of his hire. So if you come to my house, fine. Same thing. You help me. You sit down and eat whatever I put in front of you.
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If I have steaks, wonderful. Help yourself. If I only have peas and cornbread, which is really good food, by the way, help yourself. The labourer is worthy of his hire.
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Now, all I'm trying to show you is this. God is telling us that theft is more than sticking a gun in someone's face. It's more than putting a knife to someone's throat and saying, "Give me your money." When you and I fail to pay a labourer that which is right, it is theft. When we withhold from someone that which is their just due, it is theft. Do you remember what our Lord says in Malachi chapter 3 and verse 8? "Will a man rob God?"
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Yeah, he said, "Ye have robbed me." "What have ye robbed me in?" "In tithes and offerings," saith the Lord. "Therefore ye are cursed with a curse." You know what we do? We rob God. We don't just rob God financially. We rob God oftentimes of His praise and His honor and His glory. We fail to give Him thanks. We fail to acknowledge Him. We fail to be grateful for everything He's done for us.
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One of my favorite verses. It's Lamentations 3:22-23. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Do you realize the only reason you did not die in your sleep last night was because of the compassions and mercies of God? And have you thanked Him yet just for allowing you to sleep and rest and just for allowing you to live?
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A tithe, by the way, is nothing less than God's tax for the use of His earth. If I had time to preach from Deuteronomy 26, I would show you that giving God his tithes and his offerings is also an act of acknowledging his sovereignty. Those who fail in that fail to acknowledge God's sovereignty, read Deuteronomy 26. And when we fail to thank him properly for all of his blessings, we're stealing from him. We're robbing God.
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Now, look at one last one. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, back to Exodus chapter 20 and look, if you would, at the fifth commandment. This is one that I really love to share because there are so many case laws. Let me tie them together for you. In Exodus chapter 20 and verse 12, God says this: "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."
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Have you ever asked yourself, how do I honor my father and my mother? What does it mean to honor father and mother? Well, I want you to turn, first of all, to Exodus chapter 23, verse 19. Keep your Bibles handy. We'll be turning back and forth just a little bit. Exodus chapter 23. Look at verse 19. Here's a case law. I'll explain it just momentarily. Exodus 23 verse 19. He says, "The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God." And then he says this: "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. Look in Exodus chapter 34 and verse 26. Exodus 34 and verse 26. Watch carefully now. Exodus 34 verse 26. Here it is again. "The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." Exactly the same thing. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse 21.
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Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse 21. God talks about an animal that dies of itself. He says this: "Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." That's three times God has said exactly the same thing. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
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And the word "seethe" there means to boil. You shall not boil a kid or a baby calf or a baby goat. You shall not boil it in its mother's milk. Now, why would God tell us three times not to boil a kid in its mother's milk? You could say, "Well, Brother Weaver, that's very interesting." And probably the correct answer would be, "Well, we're not supposed to take that which is a means of life and make it a means of death." Well, that would be a good answer because the mother's milk certainly is a means of life.
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But there's more to it than that. Why does God say that we're not to boil a kid in his mother's milk? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Leviticus 22, then we're going to Deuteronomy 22. But let's go back to Leviticus. Leviticus 22. And look, if you would please, at verse 28. Leviticus 22, verse 28. Leviticus 22, verse 28, and God says, "And whether it be cow or ewe,
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ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day." So I've got a cow and I've got a calf. What does God say? He says I can kill the cow, but I can't kill the calf. Or I can kill the calf, but can't kill the cow. Not in the same day. Why would God say something like that? You see, even our hunting regulations and hunting laws, most of them are not scriptural. Because if I'm deer hunting and a doe comes out and she happens to have a little button buck with buttons sticking up about an inch high, according to Georgia law, I could kill the doe and I could kill that young buck. I'd be killing both in one day, and God says, no, you can't do that. Why would God say that? Now, it would be all right, I suppose, if I kill the cow one day and her calf the next day. But God says you can't do it on the same day. Why?
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Well, let me ask that you turn to Deuteronomy 22. Let me show you the same thing, Deuteronomy 22. And let's look there at verse 6 and 7. Deuteronomy 22 verses 6 and 7. God says, "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." So God says, here you are, you're walking along and you find a bird sitting on a nest and it's a mother and she's got five or six eggs in the nest or she's got four or five young birds in the nest. God says you can't take them both. You have to let the mother go and you can take the eggs or you can take the young birds.
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Now, why? Why would you say, "Well, I tell you what I can do. I'll just take the mother and leave." No, no, no. If you took the mother and left the others, they'd die. I'd be killing both on one day. So God says you let the mother go. You take the young, you take the eggs. Why would God say these things? Well, let me ask you, I want you to turn to the book of Ephesians, chapter 6. Hold Deuteronomy 22, but turn to Ephesians, chapter 6. We're going to go back to Deuteronomy 22. I want you to watch this. Look at Ephesians 6, beginning there with verse 1, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
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Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." Now go back to Deuteronomy 22 and let's look at verses 6 and 7. God says, "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." Now, does anybody see anything that would connect Deuteronomy 22 with Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 1 through 2?
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I want you to watch. In Deuteronomy 22, verse 7, God says, you're going to do this thing, why? "That it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." What did he say in Ephesians, chapter 6? "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and thy mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." Do you realize there are only three promises of long life in the Bible? The first promise of long life is found in Deuteronomy 22, verses 6 and 7. Of course, it's found in Exodus chapter 20, but I'm breaking it down for you because this is case law. The first time it's found in Exodus and Deuteronomy 22, and it's based upon how we treat animals. The second time it is found, it is found in Deuteronomy 25, if you want to look there very quickly. Deuteronomy 25. Begin reading there with verse 13. Here's what God says.
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"Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." And the third time is Ephesians chapter 6. That is how we treat our family.
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Now, the point I'm trying to make is simple. When God tells us not to seethe the kid in his mother's milk, when God is teaching us that we can't kill the mother and the young on the same day, what He is teaching us is respect for families. And it's an argument from the lesser to the greater. God is telling us that if we are going to respect our own families, we have to start learning by respecting the families of lesser things, even lesser animals. We're to respect their family. We can't just go mutilate a family.
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Let me tell you, I hunt. That's about the only thing I do for other than study. I hunt. And the only reason I like to deer hunt is because I carry my Bible with me. I carry my book with me. Believe it or not, I even carry a laptop computer. And I sit and I study and I read and I pray, and if I see something wonderful, if I don't wonderful, I haven't wasted any time. I've just kept going. But I've got news for you. I do not kill babies. I've got deer that I have named. I see them all the time. And I see little bucks all the time with a little button sticking up, little spikes sticking up, sometimes a little four pointer. I don't shoot them. You know why I don't shoot them? Because they're babies. They have not had time to enjoy life. I am just thankful that God has allowed me to live as long as I have lived, where I can enjoy my children and my grandchildren.
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And I'm appreciative of life. This is what God is saying, we have to learn to respect even the families of animals. Now, what's this? It's an argument from the lesser to the greater.
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Now, let me ask this question again. What does it mean to honor father and mother? I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Exodus, chapter 21. Exodus 21. And let's begin reading there with verse 17. Exodus 21, verse 17. Then we'll go to several other passages. Watch. Exodus 21, verse 17, where God says this: "And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death." Oh, God demands the death penalty for cursing your father and your mother. Look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 20 and verse 9. Leviticus 20, verse 9. Here again, he says exactly the same thing. Leviticus 20, verse 9: "For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him." Look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, chapter 20 and verse 20. Proverbs 20 and verse 20. Watch carefully, Proverbs 20 and verse 20. God says, "Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness."
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Look in Proverbs 30 and verse 17. Proverbs 30 and verse 17. Watch what he says. Proverbs 30, verse 17: "The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it." In other words, he's going to die. He's going to be meat for the fowls of the air.
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Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 15. Matthew 15. And let's take the time to read the first six verses. Look at Matthew 15. It's amazing how our Lord refers to all of those passages that I just read. Look at Matthew 15 verse 1. "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?"
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"For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." Oh, now, our Lord takes all of those verses that I just read to you about someone deserving of death penalty, to curse father and mother. Before I explain to you what it means to honor your father and your mother, let me ask, what does it mean to curse father and mother?
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Let me tell you what these people are doing. You can read Mark 7 on your own. When you get to Mark 7, our Lord is given the same thing, but they say it is Corban. And the word Corban means dedicated or a gift. So here's what these young people would do, young married folks. They would take all of their money and they would come over to the temple and they would dedicate it.
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And they would give a portion to the priest. And then they would take the remainder of their money back home.
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Now, here's Mama and here's Daddy, elderly, can't work, maybe sickly, and they come to their sons and their daughters and they say, "We don't have any food at all in the house. Could you help us get some food?" "Oh, how could you even suggest that? This is holy money. This is dedicated money. We can't even think of helping you. This money has been dedicated to the Lord." Oh.
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"Well, well, we'd have no heat. Can you buy some?" "No, no, no. You don't understand. This money is dedicated."
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Now they could spend it on themselves. But not their parents. You can curse your father and your mother and never raise your voice and never take God's name in vain and never use slang words. How do you curse your parents? By refusing to help them. By refusing to honor them. Turn, if you would, in your Bibles to 1 Timothy, chapter 5. 1 Timothy, chapter 5. Let me try to tie this together. Look in 1 Timothy, chapter 5, and I want you to notice, if you would please, first of all, verse 4. 1 Timothy, chapter 5, verse 4. I want you to see how God has worked this thing out. It's only our rebellion
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that causes divisions and heartaches in families. Watch 1 Timothy, chapter 5 and verse 4, the Bible says, "But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God." Now, wait a minute. Here's a widow. Now, God says if that widow woman has children, her immediate children, let them learn to show piety at home. If she doesn't have children, nephews, it goes to the extended family. Let them learn to show piety. Piety is just holiness. It's righteousness. It's godliness. So let them learn to show piety at home. Notice if you would next, "and to requite their parents." Are you listening? I want to tell you what the word "requite" means. The word "requite" means to pay back. That's what it means. Let them learn to pay back their parents. Are you listening? Your parents took care of you when you couldn't take care of yourself. They fed you. They clothed you. They doctored you. They educated you.
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They did everything in the world for you. And now when your parents get elderly and they can't take care of themselves, what does God say? You learn to show piety and you requite, you pay back your parents. You take care of them. Even nephews, I had an aunt and uncle who had no children. My uncle would always call me, and at this particular time, he lived probably 50, 60 miles from me. He would call me and say, "I need help.
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Can you come up and do this? Can you come up and fix this?" "Yes, sir, I can." And finally, when my aunt died, my uncle moved closer to us. He moved on one of the farms. And I took care of my uncle until my youngest daughter and her husband moved right behind him and then they took care of him. They got his medicine, they took him to the doctor, they took him to town, they did whatever. My mother died at 90 years of age. My sister and I took care of my mother. Never once was she in a nursing home, not one day. My wife's mother's 94 years of age. She lives with us. We've taken care of her for two years. She's actually lived by us for about 15 years. We've taken care of her when Pop died. But now she's lost her mental faculties. She can't remember. And so we take care of her.
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Do you know that's exactly what God says, and it doesn't matter that it costs extra. It doesn't matter the trouble. Think of the trouble that we were to our parents when we were young. God says what we should do is learn to requite or pay back our parents. We learn to help them. I came home one time. My father was a farmer. I came home to visit my dad.
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I had something to do. And I had on a pair of wingtip shoes and I had on a shirt, a shirt, tie and a suit. And dad said, "Son, come on down here. Let me show you the new hog pen that I built on the other side of the pond." I said, "Sure." So I jumped in the truck. And he rode across the pond dam and just as he got across the pond dam, he saw a hole in the fence and a bunch of those little pigs were out. And you know what my dad said? He said, "Son, get over that fence and get in that hog pen and stop those hogs from getting out." He didn't say, "Oh, do you have on a suit? Do you have on wingtip shoes?" He said, "Get in there." You know what I did? I got in there. Shoes can be reshined, suits can be cleaned. Let me tell you, I'm going to show you this in just a moment.
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God told you in Ephesians 6 that children are to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right. And then he said, "Honor thy father and thy mother." I suppose you could say in one sense of the word, there comes a time when our obedience to our parents ceases in the sense that when we leave home and have our own family. However, I will tell you this. Whenever I would go back home, my father was still my father, my mother was still my mother, and as much as I could, I obeyed them regardless what they asked me to do. I did it. I did it. Although you might could say there may be a time when obedience may cease in the sense that, well, my father could not come up and say, "Now, son, you need to take your wife and you need to do this." No, no, no.
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I'm the head of my house. I understand that. And thankfully, my father never, ever tried to do anything like that. But let me tell you, there may be a time when obedience ceases in one sense of the word, but there is never a time when honor ceases. You're required to honor your father and your mother. I don't care how brilliant they are or how dumb they are, how silly they are, how serious they are. It's immaterial. God requires you to obey them if you're still at home and He requires you to honor them.
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Now, I want you to look at verse 8, 1 Timothy, chapter 5, verse 8. Look what he said.
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Now, we're talking about children requiting their parents, helping their parents. Watch this. "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." If you will not obey your parents, if you will not honor your parents, if you will not help your parents, God says you've denied the faith, you're worse than an infidel.
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Look what he said in verse 16. He's talking about widows indeed, I don't have time to go over all of this, but he said, "If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed." What's God saying? God is saying we're responsible to take care of our elderly. We're responsible to take care of our parents. My children joke. They say, "I can see dad now when he's 90.
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We'll have to go out and help him up a tree so he can hunt deer." Well, I doubt I'll be hunting deer when I'm 90, but I mean, I'm at least thankful that they're thinking ahead, that they're willing to help me get up a tree. You know, do you realize the old scholars said this? That honoring our parents involved a minimum of three things. Now, there are more, but they would say these three things. First of all, they would say, if you're going to honor your father and your mother, you would never sit in a seat that was reserved for your father and your mother. In your home, your mom and dad have a seat. They have a seat at the table. They have a seat in the living room. Never, never, ever sit in their seats. And the old scholar said, the second thing you would do if you want to honor your parents is you never carp at their statements.
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Now, we don't understand the word "carp," but let me give you an illustration. Mother comes up to you and she says, "Sweetheart, would you please wash the dishes for me or vacuum the floor for me? Because I am so tired." And you would say, "Oh, Mama, why do you want me to do that right now? I've got some..." What? "Son, would you cut the grass? I don't feel..." "Oh, Daddy, I got things.
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Why are you picking on me?" That's carping at their statements. You never sit in the chair reserved for your parents. You never carp at their statements, and I love this third one, I never got my children to do this. But the third one is said, you always refer to your father and your mother as "my lord" and "my lady." Do you understand? God's law is exceedingly broad, and He gave us all of these little specific cases so that we could understand.
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And God says it's so simple when you argue from the lesser to the greater. If you're responsible to preserve the lives of animals, how much more are you responsible to preserve the lives of His people? If you're responsible not to stick a gun in somebody's face and steal their money, how much more are you responsible to deal with them honestly and openly and pay that which you owe when you owe it? And if God requires you to respect the families of animals, how much more does He require you to respect the families of men and women? I'm obligated, I'm responsible, I'm duty bound under God to honor families. If you honor families,
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you would never be trying to hit on another man's wife or another woman's husband. You would never be trying to steal. You'd never be trying to defraud. You'd never be trying to take advantage of them. Because you understand that God requires you to honor. Young people, let me tell you. I have preached so many funerals in 49 years. I have no idea how many funerals I preached. But I will tell you this, I have seen children, grown children, weeping, screaming, crying, fainting. And some saying aloud, "If only. If only, if only."
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If you won't help them now, if you won't do what's right now, you have no right to cry when they die. God is giving you this opportunity now to honor your father and your mother. And you better do it. And let me ask you this. When is the last time, young people, you've looked at daddy and you said, "Daddy, I love you." When's the last time you've looked at your mother and say, "Mother, I appreciate all that you've done for me. I love you. Thank you. Please let me help you. Please let me know what I can do." I tell my wife every day that I love her. Every time I talk to my children, I tell them that I love them.
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I've got grown grandsons that still come home, one in the Navy. They come home and they'll sit on my lap and put their arms around me and kiss me on the cheek and say, "Papa, I love you." They're 25 years old, 26 going on. But they're still not ashamed. I'm just saying now is the time to obey God. Now is the time to learn to honor and obey your father and your mother, and in doing so, you honor and obey your heavenly Father. If you despise your earthly parents, you're despising your heavenly Father, for your heavenly Father gave you your earthly parents. Honor them, obey them. And therefore, you'll honor and obey God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You.
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We praise You for Your Word, for Your truth. And we know, Father, there is only one Book and one God. And we give Thee all the honor and all the glory. Thank You again for life and health. Thank You for sleep and rest. Thank You for Your truth. Thank You for Your people. Thank You for the opportunity to live for Thee and to serve Thee and to serve Thy people.
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In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.
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Case Laws Of The Bible

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver explains that the Ten Commandments are broad principles that must be understood through specific case laws in Scripture. Using the sixth, eighth, and fifth commandments, he demonstrates how these case laws reveal the full meaning of God's commands, emphasizing that circumstances change but principles never change. The positive duties implied by the negatives—preserving life, paying what is due, and honoring parents—are binding on believers today.

Introduction: The Abiding Validity of God's Law

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 8-10

And the truth of the matter is, you cannot understand the Old Testament apart from the New Testament, nor can you understand the New Testament apart from the Old Testament as well. And many individuals try to say, well, the Old Testament is law and the New Testament is grace. And of course, that's not true, because Genesis 6 says, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." And as we shall see in Ephesians chapter 6, the Bible says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." "Honor thy father and thy mother." So there's law in the New Testament as well. I pointed out on Thursday night that none of God's law has been abrogated or set aside. Usually we talk about the ceremonial law, the judicial law, and the moral law, but in reality, even the ceremonial law has not been abrogated. It has been fulfilled. All you have to do is read Hebrews chapter 8, 9, and 10, especially those chapters, but the entire book of Hebrews, and what you had in the Old Testament were all the types and emblems and shadows. Now we have the truth and now we have the reality. I pointed out how the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "Even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us."

So we have a sacrifice. I pointed out how we have an altar, Hebrews 13:10:

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:10

"We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle"

The Role of Case Laws in Understanding the Commandments

The Sixth Commandment: Preserving Life

The command 'Thou shalt not kill' implies a positive duty to preserve life. Case laws show that self-defense is obligatory and that failing to protect others makes one complicit in their harm.

Look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 23. Deuteronomy 22 and verse 23. Now, watch, God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:23-27

"If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out of the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones, that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife: so shalt thou put evil away from among you."

So you can put evil away from among you. Now, skip down to verse 25.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:23-27

"But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: for he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her."

Case Laws on Protecting Animals and the Argument from Lesser to Greater

Deuteronomy 22:1-4 and Exodus 23:4-5 teach responsibility to help even an enemy's animals. If God requires care for animals, how much more does He require care for human life?

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:1-4

"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost things of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself."

Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:1-4

"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them:

In Exodus 23, verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 23:4-5

"If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him."

Ah. Now it's your enemy. Now it's the man that hates you. That's the man that doesn't even want to talk to you. The man wants to have nothing to do with you.

Scripture Reading — Mark 3:1-4

"And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand."

The Eighth Commandment: Theft Beyond Robbery

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:15

"Thou shalt not steal."

Thou shalt not steal. Well, surely everybody understands what God means when He says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:15

"Thou shalt not steal."

Oh, really? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 25 and verse 4. And here's the case law for

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:15

"Thou shalt not steal."

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 24:14-15

"At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee."

Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant. He's poor and needy. Not only are you not to oppress him, but you're to pay him what his labor's worth. Watch. He says in verse 15,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 24:14-15

"At his day thou shalt give him his hire.

Now, thankfully, Brother Sam invited me to stay with him. Guess what? When Joy puts food on, I eat it. I do.

If I have steaks, wonderful. Help yourself. If I only have peas and cornbread, which is really good food, by the way, help yourself. The labourer is worthy of his hire.

The Fifth Commandment: Honoring Parents

And I'm appreciative of life. This is what God is saying, we have to learn to respect even the families of animals. Now, what's this? It's an argument from the lesser to the greater.

Cursing Parents and the Duty to Requite

Practical Applications and Conclusion

Weaver urges immediate action to honor parents, express love, and fulfill family duties. Honoring earthly parents is tied to honoring God. The sermon closes with prayer.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

Case Laws Of The Bible

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	1214131726103
Subject	Biblical Law
Course	The Ten Commandments
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-12-14
Dictation Name
Book	Book 001: The Ten Commandments — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	111

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Abiding Validity of God's Law: Weaver reviews his previous message on the continuing authority of the law, emphasizing that the Old and New Testaments form one unified Bible. The law has not been abrogated but fulfilled in Christ, who is the substance of the Old Testament shadows.
The Role of Case Laws in Understanding the Commandments: The Ten Commandments are broad principles that require specific case laws for proper interpretation. Case laws serve as illustrations that apply the broad commands to concrete situations, much like legal precedents.
The Sixth Commandment: Preserving Life: The command 'Thou shalt not kill' implies a positive duty to preserve life. Case laws show that self-defense is obligatory and that failing to protect others makes one complicit in their harm.
Case Laws on Protecting Animals and the Argument from Lesser to Greater: Deuteronomy 22:1-4 and Exodus 23:4-5 teach responsibility to help even an enemy's animals. If God requires care for animals, how much more does He require care for human life?
The Eighth Commandment: Theft Beyond Robbery: The command 'Thou shalt not steal' includes withholding wages, underpaying workers, and delaying payment. The case law of not muzzling the ox (Deuteronomy 25:4) teaches that laborers are worthy of their hire.
The Fifth Commandment: Honoring Parents: Honoring father and mother involves more than obedience; it includes financial support and respect. Case laws about not boiling a kid in its mother's milk and not taking a mother bird with her young teach respect for families, which applies to human families.
Cursing Parents and the Duty to Requite: Cursing parents is not just verbal abuse but also refusing to help them in need. 1 Timothy 5:4, 8 commands children to 'requite' (pay back) their parents, and failure to provide for one's own is a denial of the faith.
Practical Applications and Conclusion: Weaver urges immediate action to honor parents, express love, and fulfill family duties. Honoring earthly parents is tied to honoring God. The sermon closes with prayer.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Self-defense is obligatory under the Sixth Commandment

Because the positive duty is to preserve life, allowing oneself to be killed is self-murder; therefore, self-defense is a moral obligation.

Weaver argues, 'If I have a responsibility to preserve my life... I also have a duty and responsibility not to allow myself to be killed. And therefore, self-defense is obligatory.'

Failing to rescue someone in danger violates the Sixth Commandment

The case law in Deuteronomy 22:23-27 shows that those who hear a cry for help and do nothing are complicit in the harm.

Weaver references the Kitty Genovese case and says, 'so were the 21 who watched her raped and murdered and did not lift one hand to help her.'

Care for animals teaches care for humans

Deuteronomy 22:1-4 and Exodus 23:4-5 command helping even an enemy's animals, implying a greater duty to help humans.

Weaver states, 'If you're responsible to help preserve the lives of your neighbor's animals, how much more are you responsible to help to preserve his life?'

Withholding wages is theft

The case law of not muzzling the ox (Deuteronomy 25:4) teaches that laborers must be paid promptly and fairly; underpayment or delay is stealing.

Weaver says, 'if I know what that work is worth, and I deliberately, purposefully underpay him, it's theft' and 'I've stolen the use of his money for one week.'

Respect for animal families teaches respect for human families

Commands not to boil a kid in its mother's milk and not to take a mother bird with her young teach respect for family units, which applies to honoring parents.

Weaver says, 'what He is teaching us is respect for families. And it's an argument from the lesser to the greater.'

Cursing parents includes refusing to support them

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for using 'Corban' to avoid helping parents, showing that cursing is not just verbal but also neglect.

Weaver explains, 'You can curse your father and your mother and never raise your voice... How do you curse your parents? By refusing to help them.'

Children must 'requite' their parents

1 Timothy 5:4 commands children to pay back their parents for the care they received, and failure to provide for family is worse than unbelief.

Weaver says, 'let them learn to requite their parents... to pay back your parents. You take care of them.'

Scripture References

Exodus 20:1-3: Introduction to the Ten Commandments; God speaks all these words.
Matthew 5:17-20: Referenced as the previous sermon text on the abiding validity of the law.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: Paul primarily had the Old Testament in mind when writing about Scripture's inspiration.
Genesis 6:8: Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, showing grace in the Old Testament.
Ephesians 6:1-3: Children obey your parents; law in the New Testament; promise of long life.
Hebrews 8-10: The ceremonial law is fulfilled in Christ, who is the reality of the Old Testament shadows.
1 Corinthians 5:7: Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Hebrews 13:10: We have an altar; Christ is our altar.
John 1:17: The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ; explained as fullness in Christ.
Exodus 20:13: The sixth commandment: Thou shalt not kill.
Exodus 21:12-14: Death penalty for murder, but not for accidental killings.
Deuteronomy 22:23-27: Case law on rape of a betrothed virgin; distinction between city and field; duty to rescue.
Deuteronomy 22:1-4: Duty to return lost animals and help a fallen animal; argument from lesser to greater.
Exodus 23:4-5: Duty to help even an enemy's animals.
Mark 3:1-4: Jesus asks if it is lawful to save life on the Sabbath, affirming the duty to preserve life.
Exodus 20:15: The eighth commandment: Thou shalt not steal.
Deuteronomy 25:4: Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn; case law on theft.
1 Corinthians 9:7-10: Paul applies the ox law to the principle that laborers deserve support.
1 Timothy 5:17-18: Elders who rule well are worthy of double honor; quotes Deuteronomy 25:4.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15: Do not oppress a hired servant; pay him before sunset.

Historical References

Kitty Genovese murder (1960s): A woman raped and murdered while 21 witnesses did nothing; used to illustrate the duty to preserve life.

Important Quotes

circumstances change, but principles never change.

Core hermeneutical principle for applying Old Testament case laws today.

every negative has a positive. When God tells you not to do something, He's also telling you to do something.

Key to understanding the full scope of the commandments.

Self-defense is biblical and according to the Bible, self-defense is obligatory.

Direct application of the sixth commandment's positive duty.

it is theft according to the word of God to withhold a man's due.

Expands the definition of theft beyond robbery.

there may be a time when obedience ceases in one sense of the word, but there is never a time when honor ceases.

Clarifies the lifelong duty to honor parents.

If you will not obey your parents, if you will not honor your parents, if you will not help your parents, God says you've denied the faith, you're worse than an infidel.

Strong warning about the seriousness of neglecting parents.

If you despise your earthly parents, you're despising your heavenly Father, for your heavenly Father gave you your earthly parents.

Connects honoring parents directly to honoring God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding the case laws change your view of the Ten Commandments?

[Context]

Weaver argues that case laws are necessary to understand the broad principles.

[Question]

In what practical ways can you fulfill the positive duty to preserve life?

[Context]

The sixth commandment implies a duty to protect life, including self-defense and rescuing others.

[Question]

Are there areas where you might be guilty of theft by withholding what is due to others?

[Context]

Theft includes underpaying, delaying payment, and robbing God of tithes and praise.

[Question]

What does it look like to 'requite' your parents in your current stage of life?

[Context]

1 Timothy 5:4 commands children to pay back their parents for their care.

[Question]

How can you honor your parents even if obedience in some areas is no longer required?

[Context]

Honor never ceases, even when children establish their own households.

[Question]

Why does God connect long life with honoring parents and with just weights and measures?

[Context]

The promise of long life appears in Deuteronomy 22:6-7, 25:15, and Ephesians 6:2-3.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T17:02:18Z