Exodus 21
On the heels of providing His chosen people with the Ten Commandments, God continues to instruct the Israelites on how a just, set-apart society should function. As He does, it is easy to discern His heart for His most prized creation (mankind). If that’s the case, one may wonder why God speaks to laws governing slavery in the Bible.
To begin, we must recognize that the “slavery” mentioned in today’s reading is not what most of us think of upon hearing the term. Our likely interpretation is based on the horrific treatment many people endured throughout history, including the Israelites, who were just freed from 400 years of hard, abusive enslavement in Egypt. But in the context of today’s reading, “debt was the most common reason people became slaves. To employ a destitute person as a slave could be seen as a benevolent act, as it guaranteed him food, shelter, and income.”[i] As such, a proper reading of Exodus 21 reveals that:
· God intends for the slave to be protected and cared for while under the care of his master; and
· God clearly outlaws a person being stolen and made a slave (v. 16); such an action was punishable by death!
Could God take something like slavery and use it to teach us about life with Him? Yes, I believe so. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes this in Romans 6:22-23 (emphasis added): “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (emphasis added): “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Simply, our sin is a debt we could never repay, so instead of demanding a payment that we could never reconcile, God graciously and mercifully sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to a broken world to satisfy our debt. Jesus paid the penalty for us to be set free from bondage to sin, and now, what other response could there be but that we freely and gratefully offer ourselves back to Him as our Master? In choosing to subject ourselves to His loving care, the same truths we just stated about Exodus 21 are very much relevant to us in the present: we are protected and provided for, and the demise of the one trying to steal us away (the devil) to make us his servant is inevitable and imminent. So, yes, we are God’s slaves, but it is our choice. So good a Master do we serve, that we want to remain under His rule and authority. We would rather be a doorkeeper in his house (Psalm 84:10), as David said, than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Verses 12 and following validate God’s value of human life, reminding us that all mankind has been made in His image. We read of God’s justice (v. 12), while also seeing His mercy (v. 13). There are a few takeaways I would encourage you to meditate on:
· The death of one resulted in the death of another, similar to how our spiritual death as a result of sin resulted in the physical death of our Lord and Savior.
· Life was to be esteemed and protected. Every life matters to God, even those in the womb (vv. 22-25) or others who this fallen world deems as outcasts.
· A child’s cursing of his parents resulted in death. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21), and although forgiveness is possible, it’s impossible to unhear what you hear. Use caution when speaking ill of one made in the image of God.
· Lest we think that being slaves to our Master is a derogatory role, Exodus 21:32 identifies that the price for a slave who was gored by an ox (30 shekels of silver) was the same amount that Judas betrayed Jesus for (Matthew 26:15).
Even though you and I are not under the Law (Romans 6:14), please don’t throw these pages aside as not relevant to our lives today. Instead, as you continue reading through God’s rules and laws that He commanded, discipline yourself to look deeper into these provisions to see God’s heart for His people, as well as His call for us in Christ to be distinct and different from the pattern of this world (Romans 12:2).
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Journal responses to the following prompts:
· Are you overjoyed and filled with gratitude at the thought of being a slave to Jesus? Or, do you bristle at that truth?
· Do you esteem and value every individual who is made in God’s image? Or, are you prone to look down on others because of their worldly status and worth?
[i] ESV Study Bible. (2008). Crossway Books.