Commentary - Exodus 22:28

Bird's-eye view

Exodus 22:28 is a pithy and potent command that stands as a guardrail for civilized, godly society. In just two clauses, it establishes the foundational principles of piety and order. First, it deals with the vertical relationship between man and God: "You shall not curse God." This is the bedrock of all true religion. All authority, all meaning, all law flows from the character and nature of God Himself. To revile Him is to saw off the branch you are sitting on; it is a suicidal act of cosmic treason. Second, the verse addresses the horizontal relationship, specifically with regard to delegated authority: "nor curse a ruler of your people." This is not a separate, disconnected command, but rather a necessary application of the first. Because God is God, the authorities He establishes are to be respected as His ministers. This verse, therefore, is a direct prohibition against both blasphemy and anarchy, reminding Israel that a stable society is one that fears God and honors the king.

This law is found within the "Book of the Covenant" (Exodus 20:22-23:33), a section of case laws that apply the principles of the Ten Commandments to the daily life of Israel. This specific command flows directly from the third commandment, which forbids taking the Lord's name in vain. Cursing God is the ultimate and most direct violation of that principle. The command against cursing a ruler is an application of the fifth commandment, to honor father and mother, extending that principle of respect for authority to the civil sphere. As we see later in Israel's history, such as in the case of Naboth's vineyard, a false accusation of violating this very law was sufficient to have an innocent man executed, demonstrating the gravity with which it was held. It is a foundational text for understanding a biblical worldview of authority and submission.

Outline

Context In Exodus

This verse comes in the heart of a section of laws given to Moses on Mount Sinai immediately following the Ten Commandments. These are not abstract principles but practical, specific applications of God's law for His covenant people as they prepare to establish a new society. The surrounding verses deal with various civil and religious duties: offering the firstfruits to God (v. 29), the consecration of the firstborn (vv. 29-30), and maintaining holiness by not eating meat torn by beasts (v. 31). The immediate context is one of covenantal obligation and separation. Israel is to be a holy nation, distinct from the surrounding pagan cultures. This command to refrain from cursing God or their rulers is central to that identity. A people who speak with reverence toward God and respect toward their leaders is a people ordered by divine wisdom, not by the chaos of rebellion and impiety that characterizes the nations who do not know Yahweh.

Key Issues

God and the Magistrate

It is no accident that these two prohibitions are bound together in a single verse. You cannot separate them. A society that begins by cursing its God will inevitably end by cursing its rulers. And a society that has no respect for its rulers is demonstrating that it has already, in its heart, abandoned the fear of God. All authority is delegated authority. As the Apostle Paul argues in Romans 13, the governing authorities are "God's ministers." They are established by Him for the punishment of evil and the praise of good. Therefore, to curse the ruler is to show contempt for the One who appointed him.

This does not mean that rulers are above the law or that they are to be obeyed when they command what God forbids. The same Scriptures that tell us to honor the king also provide us with numerous examples of righteous civil disobedience. But it does mean that the default posture of the Christian is one of respect. The office is to be honored even when the man in the office is not personally honorable. The Apostle Paul, even when being unjustly treated, corrected himself when he inadvertently spoke disrespectfully to the high priest, quoting this very verse from Exodus (Acts 23:5). Our speech about our leaders, even when we must criticize or oppose them, should be marked by a sobriety that recognizes we are speaking of an office ordained by God Himself.

Verse by Verse Commentary

28a “You shall not curse God...

The Hebrew word for "curse" here is qalal, which means to treat lightly, to belittle, to revile, or to declare contemptible. This goes beyond simply using God's name as a swear word; it is an attack on His character, His majesty, and His authority. It is blasphemy. This is the fountainhead of all sin. At the root of every act of disobedience is a heart that has, in some measure, treated God lightly. The serpent in the garden began his temptation by encouraging Eve to belittle God's word and His goodness. To curse God is to declare oneself an enemy of reality, to stand in opposition to the very source of one's own being. This is why, under the Old Testament civil code, blasphemy was a capital crime (Lev. 24:16). It was a form of spiritual treason, an assault on the King of the nation. For a society to tolerate open reviling of its God is for that society to sign its own death warrant. It is to declare that there is no ultimate standard of right and wrong, no final authority, and therefore no basis for law at all.

28b ...nor curse a ruler of your people.

Having established the principle of ultimate reverence, the law immediately applies it to the civil sphere. The word for "curse" is the same, and the word for "ruler" (nasi) refers to a prince, a chieftain, or a leader of the people. This command logically follows the first. If God is to be revered as the ultimate authority, then the authorities He has put in place must also be given due respect. To revile the ruler is to revile God's ordinance. This is a deeply counter-cultural idea in our modern democratic age, which often treats disrespect for politicians as a civic virtue. The Bible's view is that authority is a real and weighty thing. It is a gift from God for the ordering of society. Even when the ruler is flawed, as all human rulers are, the office itself is part of God's plan for restraining evil in a fallen world.

This does not grant rulers a blank check. They are rulers "of your people," implying a covenantal bond and responsibility. And they, too, are under God's law. When a ruler commands what God forbids, the Christian's duty is to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). But even in our disobedience to an unlawful command, we are not given license to revile the office. Our protest should be principled, sober, and respectful, demonstrating that we are not acting out of a spirit of anarchy, but out of a higher loyalty to the King of kings.

Application

In an age that prides itself on irreverence, this verse is a bucket of ice water. Our culture is saturated with the casual cursing of God. His name is a punchline, a throwaway expletive. And our political discourse is little more than a shouting match, where cursing our rulers is the national pastime. Christians are called to be different. Our speech is to be seasoned with grace, and this applies directly to how we speak about God and government.

First, we must cultivate a deep and abiding fear of God. This is not a cowering dread, but a joyful, trembling reverence for His holiness, power, and glory. We should be the people who are most jealous for the honor of God's name. When we hear it blasphemed, it should grieve us. And we must ensure that our own words, our worship, and our lives are a testimony to His greatness, not a belittling of it.

Second, we must learn to speak about our civil leaders with a respect that is grounded in theology, not in their poll numbers or party affiliation. This means we pray for them, as Paul commands (1 Tim. 2:1-2). It means that when we offer criticism, we do so without vitriol, without slander, and without a spirit of contemptuous rebellion. We can and should oppose ungodly policies with all our might, but we must do so as respectful citizens, not as sneering anarchists. By honoring the office, even when we must resist the man, we bear witness to the fact that there is a God in heaven who establishes authorities on earth, and to whom every ruler, and every citizen, must one day give an account.