Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

We've only got one day left in Leviticus, so let's make the most of it.

Today, God is still giving Moses instructions on how the people should live in society together,

since this is not only the first time they've had a chance to be free people, but also the

first time they've really interacted with God. They've only known him for about a year at this

point, and they're still learning to trust him. Maybe you can relate. God's instructions today

covered a lot of territory, the perpetual maintenance of the tabernacle,

caring for the poor, Jubilee. We also see a specific instance where God tells Israel how to handle

blasphemers. A man curses the name of God, and God orders him to be stoned. The purpose of this

illustration, since it involves a man who is half Egyptian, was likely to point out that the same rules applied

to those who are foreigners. And as far as the decision got established to stone him to death,

remember, the Israelites are in a unique situation given that they're a nation-state set apart as God's

people. And it's always important to remember that we all deserve death. This man got what he deserved.

The rest of us are just living on mercy. The blasphemer's story is immediately followed with a verse

that says, whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. This is an illustration of what we

talked about with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, about how killing is different than murder.

Otherwise, the person who puts a murderer to death would be a murderer and someone would have

to murder him and then the chain reaction would continue until all God's people were dead.

God establishes killing and murder as two different things, and he puts the power to kill in the

hands of the judges. At least, that's who most commentators believe

these instructions are for. In part, because they're followed by the whole eye for an eye passage.

The way this is delivered seems to indicate that it was guidance for judicial rulings.

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