Exodus 21-24
The study of ancient law is very interesting. Chapters 21-23 are filled with the law not only concerning people, but also animals and their control. I'm sure many of our animal control laws stem from these very verses. Isn't funny how man does not want to give the holy scriptures any credit for being "pertinent" to today's society; yet law, science, and history can be traced through God's inspired word. The Bible is a wealth of knowledge, understanding and practical values for daily living. We would all be better off if our society turned back to the Bible for help in all those areas of life.

The Law Concerning Servants (21:1-11)
The Law Concerning Violence (21:12-27)
Animal Control Law (21:28-36)
The Ox That Gored (Ex. 21:28-32)
Certain laws found in the Law of Moses concern subject matter that is treated quite similarly in the laws of other ancient Near Eastern cultures. One example, found in this passage,is the law dealing with an ox that gores a human causing personal injury or death. A "goring-ox" law was not unique to Israel; at least four other ancient Near Eastern traditions had legislation on this issue.

**Earliest appearance-(C. 2017-1793 B.C.) from Eshnunna, early Old Babylonia

In these laws there is no stipulation to stone an ox that gored habitually. The owner, rather, was heavily fined, especially if the ox had not been previously dehorned and was not kept confined (21:29). In Israel, owners were also fined (21:30-32) but the ox was stoned.
Other examples of ox-goring legislation show that such laws existed over a long period of time. One letter comes from the Old Babylonian city of Mari on the Sytian side of the Euphrates River. The Mari tablets date from around 1813 to 1760 B.C., and demonstrate that goring-ox laws were actually put into practice in Syro-Mesopotamia during the time of the biblical patriarchs. Another letter from Nuzi in northern Mesopotamia places similar laws a few centuries later (C. 1450-1330 B.C.).
Apparently, Israel shared in a tradition of laws that were common in the ancient near East. Israel and the Old Babylonian cultures shared the principle of negligence and liability in the law concerning goring-oxen. Owners who failed to safeguard against potentially dangerous situations were held responsible (21:29). Sounds a lot like our leash laws of today, doesn't it? The principles of negligence and liability are obviously still prevalent in a large portion of the laws in our current judicial system.

**Also found in the code of Hammurabi (c.1792-1750 B.C.)
Babylon's king Hammurabi is best known for his law code.
The code of Hammurabi (as it is called) contains 282 laws and has numerous parallels with Scripture. Few of the laws, however, were ever cited in existing Old Babylonian court cases. Hammurabi did not create these laws; rather, they appear to be a collection of diverse traditions. The "if...then" format of the Code of Hammurabi ("if" you do this....."then" the consequences are this...) appears frequently in the Covenant Code (Ex. 22:8,16, 17)without the word "then". This format of style of law is often called case law since its format describes particular cases of situations. There was a wide-spread legal tradition in the 2nd millennium B.C. and case law is still in modern societies to govern people.

Responsibility for Property (22:1-15)
Moral and Ceremonial Principles (22:16-31)

Justice For All (23:1-9)
The Law of Sabbaths (23:10-13)
Three Annual Feasts (23:14-19)
The Angel and the Promises (23:20-33)
This angel, it would seem, from the wording, is the Lord himself (23:21) for the Lord is the only one who can pardon our transgressions. These were a set of laws that the people were to follow while in conquests of other people and their land.
This is the continuation of the possession of the covenant promised land.

Israel Affirms the Covenant (24:1-8)
Sacrifices are made, the book of the covenant is read to the people and they promise to obey (24:5-8)

On the Mountain with God (24:9-18)
Moses went up into the cloud to be with God for forty days and forty nights.
I'm so grateful that God gave us laws to live by. I cannot even imagine how our society would be without them. The sad thing is, in our modern society, man is quickly moving away from the laws of God and increasingly relying on his own wisdom to govern.....we all see the results of this. God and prayer have been removed from the school system, the ten commandments are being removed from places where they have been for centuries, and even basic institutions created and ordained by God (marriage and the family) for example are being legislated contrary to God's word. I fear that the blessings of God on our nation are very soon going to be removed from us because of man's pride and resistance to acknowledging Him and his authority over us as a nation.

In the next few chapters we will see the specific instructions given by God to Moses for the construction of the tabernacle and every item that was to be used inside to enable His people to have fellowship with him.