Sermon text: Leviticus 24:10-23
Scripture reading: Matthew 5:38-48

Here's an enlightening comparison. First of all, God's Law:

Leviticus 24:19-20 - "If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him."

Secondly, Hammurabi's Law (from Babylon, around 1790 B.C.):

200. If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.
201. If he knock out the teeth of a freed man, he shall pay one-third of a gold mina.
202. If anyone strike the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.
203. If a free-born man strike the body of another free-born man of equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina.
204. If a freed man strike the body of another freed man, he shall pay ten shekels in money.
205. If the slave a freed man strike the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off.

The contrast between God's perfect law and this famous ancient law code is striking!