God is now telling them exactly what He wants them to do. If they are going to obey His Word they must hear it very clearly and not have any doubt regarding its inspiration and divine authority. He wants them to “Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.” He is stressing the man-to-man horizontal responsibilities to each other. This presupposes a correct relationship with God also known as the vertical relationship. The correct outcome of following God’s Word is a positive relationship between each other. This directive is for people in the Israelite community and not outside of it. It has a similar connotation to the word neighbor. Generally, the various Hebrew forms refer to someone that is extremely close. The Jewish usage of the term neighbor always means any member of the Hebrew nation and commonwealth. That is, another Israelite. It can refer to a brother, lover, companion, friend, or husband. In this instance God is making the relationship extremely close by using the term brother, another Jew.
In the New Testament we are commanded to love our neighbors. Perhaps the verses which exemplifies its usage the most is Matthew 23:38-39. In this section of Scripture the Lord is responding to a challenging question from one of the lawyers trying to trap Him in a theological issue related to the Law.
NOTES HERE: https://media-cloud.sermonaudio.com/text/812142346531.pdf
Content retrieved from: https://youtu.be/VyjE16m7ijw.
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