The Law of the Covenant: An Exposition of Exodus 21-23

James B. Jordan, The Law of the Covenant: An Exposition of Exodus 21-23 (1984).

From the inside flap: How relevant are the laws of the Old Testament for today? God said that Israel was to be a light to the nations (Hebrews 42:6). That someday all nations would come to Jerusalem to receive the Law (Micah 4:2). That in His Law, "every transgression and disobedience receives a just recompense" (Hebrews 2:2). That all peoples would marvel at the wisdom and justice of Israel's laws (Deuteronomy 4:6-8). Yet, with the change from the Old to the New Covenant, there are clearly changes in the Law, "for when the priesthood changes, there must also take place a change of law" (Hebrews 7:12). How, then, are we to approach the many laws found in the Old Testament? Some of them are obviously superior to our modern law today (such as restitution instead of imprisonment for theft.) Some of them have obviously been superseded in Christ (such as the sacrificial system). Some of them seem overly harsh (such as the death penalty for "cursing" parents). Some of them seem weird and strange (such as the prohibition on boiling a kid in its mother's milk). In this book, Mr. Jordan provides four introductory chapters of the nature of Biblical law, on the redemptive historical context in which the law was first written, and on the overall changes in the law system which the New Covenant brings. Then, moving to the concrete, Mr. Jordan provides the first truly in-depth commentary on the case laws of Exodus 21-23, the Book of the Covenant. The laws are taken up one at a time. In each case, the question is asked, "What did this law mean to the people of the Old Testament age?" Then the question is asked, "What relevance might this law have for the Christian faith today?" Finally, the question is asked, "How does this law shed light on the work of Jesus Christ, of whom all Scripture speaks? That is, how can we preach Christ from this law?" In his preface, Mr. Jordan states that he has not tried to say the last word on these chapters of Scripture, but that he has tried to say a first word, and to challenge the Church to look further into these verses to find the wisdom for today. No preacher and no student of the Word can afford to be without this study.

Note: This book, published by the Institute for Christian Economics, is a worth-while introduction to a theonomist view towards Exodus 21-23. One should be sure to read the Introduction by John M. Frame. Pages 93 – 130 address Criminal Law, and pages 131 – 144 address Property Law.
The book is available for download here, or here (PDF).

On Human Work

John Paul II, Encyclical Letter on Human Work: Laborem Exercens ¶¶ 24 ff. (1981).

A continuation, expansion, and explication of the Church’s social teaching on work. Written on the ninetieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the encyclical sets out the basis of the Church’s social teaching in Genesis and then develops the idea of the “spirituality of work.”

This resource is available online.

Markets and Morals

Jonathan Sacks, Markets and Morals, First Things, Aug./Sept. 2000, at 23.

Sacks explores the relationship between private property, morality, and the biblical tradition and its view of man.
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A brief write-up on Sacks in The Independent is available here. Another article by Sacks dealing with similar themes is available from the The Times here.

On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum

John Paul II, Encyclical Letter on the Hundredth Anniversary: Centesimus Annus (1991).

The Pope reviews and affirms the social teachings of the church first promulgated in Leo’s Rerum Novarum. In his discussion of Rerum Novarum, Pope John Paul addresses the nature of man, the right and duties inherent in private property ownership (¶¶30-31), the role and nature of the state (¶¶40-48), and the relative weaknesses and strengths of political and economic systems of the world. In addition, he addresses the “welfare state” and the relative rights and duties of the State, individuals, and intermediary institutions in caring for others (¶48).

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On Christianity and Social Progress

John XXIII, Encyclical Letter on Christianity and Social Progress: Mater et Magistra (1961).

This encyclical addresses issues of work, private property, and social justice, first set forth seventy years earlier in Rerum Novarum. Pope John summarizes and quotes extensively from Rerum Novarum, Pope Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno, and from Pius XII, tracing changing conditions regarding work, property, and wealth. In discussing the role of private property, John lauds state and public ownership of property (¶117), and cautions against evil men in positions of power (¶118).

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On Reconstruction of the Social Order

Pius XI, Encyclical Letter on Reconstruction of the Social Order: Quadragesimo Anno (1931).

Commemorating the fortieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum, this encyclical is most significant for the development of the principle of subsidiarity:

"This is a fundamental principle of social philosophy, unshaken and unchangeable. . . Just as it is wrong to withdraw from the individual and commit to a community what private enterprise and industry can accomplish, so too it is an injustice, a grave evil and a disturbance of right order, for a larger and higher association to arrogate to itself functions which can be performed efficiently by smaller and lower societies. Of its very nature the true aim of all social activity should be to help members of the
social body, but never to destroy or absorb them."

In addition, Pope Pius XI builds on Rerum Novarum’s foundations:

Pius XI's teaching in this encyclical can be summed up under two heads. First he taught what the supreme criterion in economic matters ought not to be. It must not be the special interests of individuals or groups, nor unregulated competition, economic despotism, national prestige or imperialism, nor any other aim of this sort. On the contrary, all forms of economic enterprise must be governed by the principles of social justice and charity.

The second point which We consider basic in the encyclical is his teaching that man's aim must be to achieve in social justice a national and international juridical order, with its network of public and private institutions, in which all economic activity can be conducted not merely for private gain but also in the interests of the common good.

John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Christianity and Social Progress: Mater et Magistra ¶¶38-40 (1961).

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On Capital and Labor

Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter on the Condition of the Working Classes: Rerum Novarum (1891).

Rerum Novarum, the major landmark in Catholic social teaching, addresses work, private property, and the social ends of each. On these subjects, Rerum Novarum should be read in light of encyclicals celebrating its fortieth, seventieth, ninetieth, and one hundredth anniversaries, explaining, affirming, and expanding upon Leo’s teaching (see below). Pope John XXIII summarizes the key teachings of Rerum Novarum:

[Work must be regarded] not merely as a commodity, but as a specifically human activity. In the majority of cases a man's work is his sole means of livelihood. Its remuneration, therefore, cannot be made to depend on the state of the market. It must be determined by the laws of justice and equity. Any other procedure would be a clear violation of justice, even supposing the contract of work to have been freely entered into by both parties.

Secondly, private ownership of property, including that of productive goods, is a natural right which the State cannot suppress. But it naturally entails a social obligation as well. It is a right which must be exercised not only for one's own personal benefit but also for the benefit of others.

As for the State, its whole raison d'etre is the realization of the common good in the temporal order. It cannot, therefore, hold aloof from economic matters. On the contrary, it must do all in its power to promote the production of a sufficient supply of material goods, "the use of which is necessary for the practice of virtue." It has also the duty to protect the rights of all its people, and particularly of its weaker members, the workers, women and children. It can never be right for the State to shirk its obligation of working actively for the betterment of the condition of the workingman.

It is furthermore the duty of the State to ensure that terms of employment are regulated in accordance with justice and equity, and to safeguard the human dignity of workers by making sure that they are not required to work in an environment which may prove harmful to their material and spiritual interests. It was for this reason that the Leonine encyclical enunciated those general principles of rightness and equity which have been assimilated into the social legislation of many a modern State, and which, as Pope Pius XI declared in the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, have made no small contribution to the rise and development of that new branch of jurisprudence called labor law.

Pope Leo XIII also defended the worker's natural right to enter into association with his fellows. Such associations may consist either of workers alone or of workers and employers, and should be structured in a way best calculated to safeguard the workers' legitimate professional interest. And it is the natural right of the workers to work without hindrance, freely, and on their own initiative within these associations for the achievement of these ends.

John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Christianity and Social Progress: Mater et Magistra ¶¶18-22 (1961).

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