You can’t even go shopping without seeing people being lied about in the tabloids – false accusations everywhere! God gave Israel some very specific laws in this week’s Torah portion about what is called a “malicious witness” – they had to pay the penalty for the crime they accused someone else of committing if they had lied! Sometimes that penalty was death, but at the very least it was 39 lashes!
That’s very different than here in the United States where you actually have to sue someone if they lie about you, and suing someone is way too expensive for most people! That means that people are almost never punished for their lies, no matter how badly it hurts someone else’s life.
I wanted you to check out this awesome poem written by Abbi Henkel after taking lesson #20 in Context for Kids: Honor and Shame in the Bible – she definitely nailed it!
“His name is like no other,
He is worthy of esteem,
Praise and exaltation are His words,
Though by some, he is taunted and despised.
His forgiveness and splendor surpasses all,
Those who reproach Him will turn in embarrassment.
Whether His honor grows or decreases
His love will always shine”