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An Economic Commentary on the Bible #5
Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus
In Tools of Dominion Dr Gary North examines in detail the meaning of the case laws. How did they operate in ancient Israel? What moral and judicial prinicples undergirded each of them? How did the coming of Jesus Christ modify them? How could they be applied today?
Tools of Dominion describes in great detail the way the world is supposed to work in God's historic kingdom, in terms of His revealed law. It shows how judges and juries are required by God to dispense justice, and it reveals the promises that God has made to those societies that honor His word.
But Tools of Dominion is also a warning. It is a warning to those individuals and societies that believe that they can defy God daily by ignoring His requirements for justice. It warns of the negative sanctions that God eventually brings against all societies that turn their backs on His precepts. He extends mercy in history, but He also brings judgment.
Tools of Dominion describes in great detail the way the world is supposed to work in God's historic kingdom, in terms of His revealed law. It shows how judges and juries are required by God to dispense justice, and it reveals the promises that God has made to those societies that honor His word.
But Tools of Dominion is also a warning. It is a warning to those individuals and societies that believe that they can defy God daily by ignoring His requirements for justice. It warns of the negative sanctions that God eventually brings against all societies that turn their backs on His precepts. He extends mercy in history, but He also brings judgment.
- GenresChristianChristianity
1287 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1990
8 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Gary North
173 books96 followersGary North received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside. He served on the Senior Staff of the Foundation for Economic Education, in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, and was the president of the Institute for Christian Economics. Dr. North’s essays and reviews have appeared in three dozen magazines and journals, including The Wall Street Journal, National Review, The American Spectator, and others.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 14, 2024
THE FIFTH VOLUME OF NORTH’S ECONOMIC COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE
Gary Kilgore North (1942-2022) was head of the Institute for Christian Economics, and a prominent Christian Reconstructionist, who wrote widely on many topics (including postmillennial eschatology).
He wrote in the ‘Note to the Reader’ section of this 1994 book, “You have in your hands a drastically stripped-down version of a far longer book: ‘Boundaries and Dominion: The Economics of Leviticus.’ … The price tag for the book would have been at least $50. What reader is going to invest $50 plus, say, 80 hours to read an economic commentary on the Book of Leviticus?... I decided not to publish it in the traditional format… before I published this shorter commentary… Readers who are really serious about Leviticus can and should consult ‘Boundaries and Dominion’ … [which] is available on a pair of 3.5-inch plastic disks… Eventually, I will publish [it] as the fifth volume in ‘The Dominion Covenant’ series… But that will have to wait on finances. Until then, this shortened version … will be adequate for most readers.”
He explains, “I am targeting an audience that is not yet in existence. This nonexistence audience is the future leadership of Christianity.” (Pg. xv) He adds later, “Of those who are interested in biblical law, few are interested in Mosaic laws that are no longer in force. In this commentary, I show why most of the economic laws in Leviticus are no longer in force… Some of the laws of Leviticus are still binding. Which ones? This is a difficult question to answer, but Christians need to find the correct answer. This… requires a … consistent, coherent principle of biblical judicial interpretation …” (Pg. xxxvii-xxxviii)
He admits, “I am the first commentator to discuss the land ownership aspect of Israel’s sacrificial system, and I discovered it only after I had completed two-thirds of … ‘Boundaries and Dominion.’ … I finally noticed … [that] the festival system subsidized gentiles in the nation. I say this… shocked humility. What else haven’t I figured out? How much don’t we know about the actual operations of biblical law in Old Covenant Israel? A very great deal, I suspect.” (Pg. 21)
He observes, “there can be no doubt that the general thrust of the economic incentives under Mosaic law’s system of costs and benefits was to move God’s covenant people off the farms and into the cities. They were to become a nation of manufacturers, shopkeepers, traders, and bankers…. They were also to become a nation of missionaries. If there is a unique thesis found in this commentary, this is it.” (Pg. 35) Later, he adds, “bankruptcy laws are a legitimate aspect of a Christian society. That a person in the United States is allowed this God-granted privilege once every seven years is a dim reflection of the Mosaic Covenant’s law of sabbatical release.” (Pg. 57)
He states, “the church ... is more fundamental than the State in the political economy of the Bible. The church is central to society: not the State and not the family. The family and the State have been more universal in time and place; neither has been central in history.” (Pg. 97)
He proposes, “This law requires that the local civil government identify the local ecclesiastical guardians of the oath. It must identify those congregations that area confessionally orthodox and therefore eligible to receive the trespass offering. This authority to identify confessionally orthodox churches implies that members of associations not so identified as orthodox cannot legally be granted the legal status of citizens. In short, the State is a confessional, oath-bound, covenantal institution… [If members and officers] … do not confess the Trinity, they are not to be recognized as guardians of the civil oath.” (Pg. 144)
He explains, “Ultimately, it is the goal of Christianity to bring the whole earth under the dominion of Christ… The New Covenant’s strategy is ‘conquest by conversion’ rather than conquest by destruction and expulsion.” (Pg. 194) But later, he adds, “There can be no permanent harmony of interests between covenant-breakers and covenant-keepers. There can, however, be temporary cooperation in history based on mutual self-interest.” (Pg. 220) He also comments, “God prepared a place for strangers to live in peace through justice. This system of justice did not give strangers political authority … But the system provided liberty. Conclusion: political pluralism is not biblically necessary for civil liberty.” (Pg. 309)
He states, “the Bible makes it clear that God is not on the side of the poor in general. This is why liberation theology is heretical when it is not actually apostate.” (Pg. 241) Later, he argues, “The jubilee law was in no sense a law mandating the State-enforced equalization of wealth, contrary to that peculiar late-twentieth-century theology known as Liberation Theology.” (Pg. 422)
He says, “Heresy is not a crime. It is not a direct public assault on the character of God. It is a serous error to equate blasphemy with heresy.” (Pg. 381)
He contends, “The jubilee land laws of Israel have all been annulled.” (Pg. 429) And “There is no evidence that the jubilee laws were ever enforced in Israel.” (Pg. 447) He wonders, “Could there be any Christian who has read this far and still not understand what the jubilee law was all about?... Why have expositors who are masters of Hebrew, with years of experience, failed to recognize what is so incredibly obvious that it screams at the reader?... Why … am I the first expositor who has seen all this?” (Pg. 524)
He laments, “modern Christians have become inclusivists. They have become civil Unitarians---belief in any god as sufficient for civil oath … without reference to God. That is, they have become pluralists.” (Pg. 635)
This book will appeal to those studying Christian Reconstruction, and related areas.
Gary Kilgore North (1942-2022) was head of the Institute for Christian Economics, and a prominent Christian Reconstructionist, who wrote widely on many topics (including postmillennial eschatology).
He wrote in the ‘Note to the Reader’ section of this 1994 book, “You have in your hands a drastically stripped-down version of a far longer book: ‘Boundaries and Dominion: The Economics of Leviticus.’ … The price tag for the book would have been at least $50. What reader is going to invest $50 plus, say, 80 hours to read an economic commentary on the Book of Leviticus?... I decided not to publish it in the traditional format… before I published this shorter commentary… Readers who are really serious about Leviticus can and should consult ‘Boundaries and Dominion’ … [which] is available on a pair of 3.5-inch plastic disks… Eventually, I will publish [it] as the fifth volume in ‘The Dominion Covenant’ series… But that will have to wait on finances. Until then, this shortened version … will be adequate for most readers.”
He explains, “I am targeting an audience that is not yet in existence. This nonexistence audience is the future leadership of Christianity.” (Pg. xv) He adds later, “Of those who are interested in biblical law, few are interested in Mosaic laws that are no longer in force. In this commentary, I show why most of the economic laws in Leviticus are no longer in force… Some of the laws of Leviticus are still binding. Which ones? This is a difficult question to answer, but Christians need to find the correct answer. This… requires a … consistent, coherent principle of biblical judicial interpretation …” (Pg. xxxvii-xxxviii)
He admits, “I am the first commentator to discuss the land ownership aspect of Israel’s sacrificial system, and I discovered it only after I had completed two-thirds of … ‘Boundaries and Dominion.’ … I finally noticed … [that] the festival system subsidized gentiles in the nation. I say this… shocked humility. What else haven’t I figured out? How much don’t we know about the actual operations of biblical law in Old Covenant Israel? A very great deal, I suspect.” (Pg. 21)
He observes, “there can be no doubt that the general thrust of the economic incentives under Mosaic law’s system of costs and benefits was to move God’s covenant people off the farms and into the cities. They were to become a nation of manufacturers, shopkeepers, traders, and bankers…. They were also to become a nation of missionaries. If there is a unique thesis found in this commentary, this is it.” (Pg. 35) Later, he adds, “bankruptcy laws are a legitimate aspect of a Christian society. That a person in the United States is allowed this God-granted privilege once every seven years is a dim reflection of the Mosaic Covenant’s law of sabbatical release.” (Pg. 57)
He states, “the church ... is more fundamental than the State in the political economy of the Bible. The church is central to society: not the State and not the family. The family and the State have been more universal in time and place; neither has been central in history.” (Pg. 97)
He proposes, “This law requires that the local civil government identify the local ecclesiastical guardians of the oath. It must identify those congregations that area confessionally orthodox and therefore eligible to receive the trespass offering. This authority to identify confessionally orthodox churches implies that members of associations not so identified as orthodox cannot legally be granted the legal status of citizens. In short, the State is a confessional, oath-bound, covenantal institution… [If members and officers] … do not confess the Trinity, they are not to be recognized as guardians of the civil oath.” (Pg. 144)
He explains, “Ultimately, it is the goal of Christianity to bring the whole earth under the dominion of Christ… The New Covenant’s strategy is ‘conquest by conversion’ rather than conquest by destruction and expulsion.” (Pg. 194) But later, he adds, “There can be no permanent harmony of interests between covenant-breakers and covenant-keepers. There can, however, be temporary cooperation in history based on mutual self-interest.” (Pg. 220) He also comments, “God prepared a place for strangers to live in peace through justice. This system of justice did not give strangers political authority … But the system provided liberty. Conclusion: political pluralism is not biblically necessary for civil liberty.” (Pg. 309)
He states, “the Bible makes it clear that God is not on the side of the poor in general. This is why liberation theology is heretical when it is not actually apostate.” (Pg. 241) Later, he argues, “The jubilee law was in no sense a law mandating the State-enforced equalization of wealth, contrary to that peculiar late-twentieth-century theology known as Liberation Theology.” (Pg. 422)
He says, “Heresy is not a crime. It is not a direct public assault on the character of God. It is a serous error to equate blasphemy with heresy.” (Pg. 381)
He contends, “The jubilee land laws of Israel have all been annulled.” (Pg. 429) And “There is no evidence that the jubilee laws were ever enforced in Israel.” (Pg. 447) He wonders, “Could there be any Christian who has read this far and still not understand what the jubilee law was all about?... Why have expositors who are masters of Hebrew, with years of experience, failed to recognize what is so incredibly obvious that it screams at the reader?... Why … am I the first expositor who has seen all this?” (Pg. 524)
He laments, “modern Christians have become inclusivists. They have become civil Unitarians---belief in any god as sufficient for civil oath … without reference to God. That is, they have become pluralists.” (Pg. 635)
This book will appeal to those studying Christian Reconstruction, and related areas.
March 9, 2019
A commentary on Exodus 21-23 that runs to over a thousand pages in length, besides North's unrelenting worship of capitalism and his tortured attempts to read capitalism back into the bronze age, the book is most known for his argument that those who break the laws in the Hebrew law should be stoned to death with rocks by their friends and neighbors. Why rocks? They're cheap and efficient, and that's how God told us to do it, of course.
January 5, 2021
It's North, so it comes with all the benefits and flaws. Really could have used an editor, but it just wouldn't have been the same. "A Biblical Theology of Slavery" is probably the best chapter in the book, and can be read more or less independently.
April 13, 2020
Of all his economic commentaries, this is my favorite.
December 31, 2017
Good book. But way too many words. If you have this much time and intrest, try reading Rushdoony's Institutes. If you want just an intro, try James Jordan's the Law of the Covenant.
June 24, 2024
Extensive. For a commentary on the case laws of Exodus, this is amazingly practical. I greatly appreciate how thorough the analysis of the various laws in this book is. North uses his understanding as an economist to comprehensively examine the impacts of the laws and propose how they could be implemented in the modern day. While I do not necessarily agree with all of the interpretations of the author, he has certainly thought through his opinions carefully, and he is right more often than he is wrong. I would recommend this for any Christian who is interested in a detailed (and lengthy) application of the laws of the latter half of Exodus.
January 7, 2012
Gary North is gloriously arrogant, gleefully sarcastic, and regularly goes severely off track (witness: Y2K debacle), but I found this book highly readable and interesting. I don't buy much of his eschatology, but what I enjoyed about this book was his discussion on how Mosaic law was actually implemented. He's not always spot on, and he doesn't dig too deeply into anything except, perhaps, slavery, but he's usually in the ballpark. I would not take his word on medieval Jewish attitudes toward, well, much of anything, really (he'll always find the quote to paint them in the worst light), but most of the book is discussing their beliefs before and during the time of Christ, where his treatment is much more even-handed.
December 1, 2012
The book is a must read by any serious student of the Bible, especially one who is going to study the Old Testament and Ancient Israel. In my past readings of Exodus (some Leviticus & Deuteronomy) the list of Old Testament Laws were somewhat interesting but in all honesty sometimes quite boring. Often thought, "Why are these in here?" But Dr. North really explains them and their application not only to Ancient Israel but the Church today (not just the Church technically but the world).
The explanation of slavery is first in the book and is probably some of the best. Is it an absolutely fantastic book if you want to understand the Old Testament then the New Testament and how to apply your faith beyond the church walls!
The explanation of slavery is first in the book and is probably some of the best. Is it an absolutely fantastic book if you want to understand the Old Testament then the New Testament and how to apply your faith beyond the church walls!
June 16, 2010
Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus was an interesting and in some ways, an inspirational read. Gary North, while coming off frequenly as pompous, holds facinating opinions and his push for Bibical law in modern government, and how it would work, really challenged me. I learned a lot yet if I re-read the book again, I'm certain I would discover a thousand new things.
February 27, 2015
Keep your critical thinking abilities on their maximum setting if you're gonna read this. Its written by an avid post-millenialist, who believes that the Holy Spirit will soon force everyone to convert to Christianity, and will institute a new world order based on the Old Testament law.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews