Mishpatim (Judgments)
(Sefer Shemot) Exodus 21:1-24:18

21:1- “Now these are the judgments which thou shall set before them.
12- He that smites a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
23- And if any mischief follow, then thou shall give life for life,
24- Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
22:31- And ye shall be holy men unto Me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the
field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
23:20- Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place,
which I have prepared.
21- Beware of him and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for My name is in him.
22- But if thou shall indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23- For Mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
27- I will send My fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shall come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
24:1- And He said to Moshe, Come up unto YHVH, thou and Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy
of the elders of Yisrael; and worship ye afar off.
4- And Moshe wrote all the words of YHVH, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Yisrael.
7- And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that YHVH has said will we do, and be obedient.
8- And Moshe took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which YHVH has made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up Moshe, and Aharon, Nadav, and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Yisrael:
10- And they saw the Elohim of Yisrael: and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in His clearness.
11- And upon the nobles of the children of Yisrael He laid not His hand: also they saw Elohim, and did eat and drink.
12- And YHVH said unto Moshe, Come up to Me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone and a law and commandments, which I have written that thou may teach them.
13- And Moshe rose up and his minister Yehoshua: and Moshe went up into the mount of Elohim.”

“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in His
love and pity he redeemed them; and he bore and carried them all the days of Old.”
(Isaiah 63:9)

“The angel of YHVH encamps round about them that fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that YHVH is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.”
(Psalms 34:7-8)

“Thou came down also upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and
gave them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments.”
(Nehemiah 9:13)

“He that has not given forth upon usury, neither has taken any increase, that has
withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true judgment between man and
man, Has walked in my statutes, and has kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just,
he shall surely live, says Adonai YHVH.”
(Ezekiel 18:8-9)

“For he established a testimony in Yaakov, and appointed a law in YIsrael,

which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children.”
(Psalms 78:5)

Mishpatim Summary:
1. Judgments Accompany the Arrival of the Just:
Akin to a victorious king descending upon a village in his domain, coming with an esoteric entourage of judgments as his administrators, retributions as his exacting enforcers, and rewards as his election examiners, the Holy One of Yisrael, the One who had with a mighty hand delivered them, would now introduce his mishpatim and let these Supernal Decrees radiate into the hearts of his chosen to make His covenantal resolve to have a Holy people liberated in their hearts as well. To greet the visitation of the Eternal is to bend to His Presence, and before we approach the Holy, these Judgments reveal this protocol as Psalms 89:14 testifies:
“Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne: mercy and truth go before Thy face.”
With the children no longer captive to men, the Mishpatim would forewarn the tribes of the consequences for profaning Elohim’s name through unrighteous behavior. These Judgments would define the parameters of a blessed nation of kohanim; Proverbs 21:3 reminds us of the non-negotiable prerequisites for a people given to offerings, as it is written:
“To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to YHVH than sacrifice.”
In the midst of this preparation for the Holy encounter, a lesson, defining right and wrong tagged in strokes of black and white would not suffice alone; an altar would be built, and the blood of the Covenant sprinkled. Today, those who walk in the ways of HaShem’s Mishpatim, bring with them the aura of discernment, to both their own path and to others. It is when we execute judgment upon our ways and disregard the assessments of the subjective opinions of those who follow with the blissfully ignorant wanderer, veiled unaware by a miasma of vagueness, deluded by the neglect of the aforementioned holy protocol. Isaiah 56:1 prescribes the method of hope:
“Thus says YHVH, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come,
and My righteousness to be revealed.”
Synonymous with the revelation of His righteousness is the revelation of His Presence, and with the arrival of the King, comes all His righteous Judgment. Jeremiah 23:5 confirms this change:
“Behold, the days come, says YHVH, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and
a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” Warned to be ready at the appearance of Eliyahu, Malachi 4:4 urges us toward the Mishpatim:
“Remember ye the law of Moshe My servant, which I commanded unto him in Chorev for all
Yisrael, with the statutes and judgments.”

2. Invited up to Sup with the Eternal:
Represented by the Seventy of Yisrael, the people of promise are confronted with the invitation of a lifetime...to dine with Elohim. So awesome is this confirmed encounter with the Divine, that we are to be a nation filled with words such as those found in Psalms 48:11, viz.:
“Let mount Tzion rejoice, let the daughters of Yehudah be glad, because of Thy judgments.” Were it not for the practiced principle of preparation, the record would be sparse. Prone to feel secure, it is the mishpatim which escort us to His safe butte, as Leviticus 25:18 reassures:
“Wherefore ye shall do My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them; and ye shall
dwell in the land in safety.”
The call has been given, the judgments have been delivered and we must arise. The King awaits our ascent, as we steady our feet upon His precepts, remaining balanced within His statutes.