Sunday, March 11, 2007

Exodus 21 - The Laws of the Nation

(1)“These are the regulations* you must present to Israel.


*regulations: Judicial precedents to be used in settling questions of law and custom. This introductory phrase serves as the title of the following collection of civil and religious laws (Exodus 21-23) which is called in Exodus 24:7, the "Book of the Covenant" (Hebrew Mishpatim). Most of these regulations are not really relevant until Israel enters the land, so they are in anticipation of that day. Additionally, the judges appointed by Moses as suggested by Jethro needed some guidelines. They lay out how the judges are to apply the law.


(2) “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.


Deuteronomy 15:12-15: “If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free. “When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed. Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the Lord your God has blessed you. Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.


   "The main reason for the existence of slavery in Israel was financial. It was common practice in the Ancient Near East to pay off unresolved debts through servitude. If you were unable to pay, you could sell yourself or a member of your family to your creditor as payment. But God’s concern is that financial obligation should never lead to financial exploitation, which is very destructive to community. Therefore, God commands that all debt is to have limits. A “debt slave” could serve his creditor for six years, but on the seventh year he was to be set free, with no payment of release. In God’s economy, people are more important than money; therefore no debt should rob a person of his entire future. There should always be an opportunity to start over." -- Sermons by Brian Morgan - Peninsula Bible Church Cupertino: www.pbcc.org/sermons/morgan/


   No man could make himself a servant or slave for more than seven years; and if he mortgaged the family inheritance, it must return to the family at the jubilee, which returned every fiftieth year. It is supposed that the term "six years" is to be understood as referring to the sabbatical years; for let a man come into servitude at whatever part of the interim between two sabbatical years, he could not be detained in bondage beyond a sabbatical year; so that if he fell into bondage the third year after a sabbatical year, he had but three years to serve; if the fifth, but one. Others suppose that this privilege belonged only to the year of jubilee, beyond which no man could be detained in bondage, though he had been sold only one year before. -- Clarke's Commentary - Exodus 21: www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeexo21.htm


There were four basic ways a Hebrew might become a slave to another Hebrew:

· In extreme poverty, they might sell their liberty (Leviticus 25:39).

· A father might sell his children into servitude (Exodus 21:7).

· In the case of bankruptcy, a man might become servant to his creditors (2 Kings 4:1).

· If a thief had nothing with which to pay proper restitution (Exodus 22:3-4).


(3) If he was single when he became your slave, he shall leave single. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife must be freed with him.


(4) “If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave and they had sons or daughters, then only the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.


(5) But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’


(6) If he does this, his master must present him before God*. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.


*before God: Or before the judges


Deuteronomy 15:16-17: “But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you. In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.


   "The piercing of the ear would result in the shedding of blood, and the blood sealed the covenant. Furthermore he is brought to the door. This would at this stage be the door of the tent. Later when they received the land of promise it would be a door with door posts. And the awl is then passed through the ear and into the tent pole or door post. This might be seen as symbolizing his permanent attachment to this home. But from then on he is a bondman for ever". -- Commentary on Exodus (part 4 chapters 19-24): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus4.html


   Pagans had a custom of branding the slave with the name or the sign of the owner. Paul referred to himself as just such a slave in Galatians 6:17: From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus. Since the expression "to have an open ear" meant "to obey," a pierced ear lobe was an ancient symbol of obedience.


   King David confesses in the Psalms that he had entered the house of God unwillingly, like a forced servant, but that he has fallen in love with God his Master. He no longer wishes to leave God's house. Instead he longs for God to pierce his ear and permanently incorporate him into God's household. Jesus also picks up this theme of servants who come to permanent membership in John 15 where he upgrades his disciples from mere servants to actual sons and daughters of the household. Not only have the followers of Jesus received lifelong membership in God's household, they have also become much more than servants. They have become adopted children of God. They now share in the family fortune and spend their days going about family business. Their adoption is complete. This 'ear piercing' custom in Exodus caught my eye because it wonderfully chronicles the spiritual journey that many people are on. We enter God's house unwillingly at first, perhaps forced to do so by our parents. God seems harsh, demanding and foreign. Yet slowly we discover the 'ways of the house' and learn that God really does know what He is doing. In fact, we discover that God is pretty amazing. Our service is no longer harsh and difficult. It becomes joyful and worthwhile. At some point we come to desire a permanent part in God's household. We ask for God to 'nail us on' so that we can stay with Him for life. Even more incredibly, Jesus upgrades us from mere servants to real children of God. Complete, lifelong participants in the family of God. Our servitude is transformed to warm, willing family life. God pierces not only our ear but deep into our hearts making us His own. For life. -- My Ear You Have Pierced: peoplebooksandchrist.blogspot.com/2005/05/my-ear-you-have-pierced.html


(7) “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.


   "This the Jews allowed no man to do but in extreme distress-when he had no goods, either movable or immovable left, even to the clothes on his back; and he had this permission only while she was unmarriageable." -- Clarke's Commentary - Exodus 21: www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeexo21.htm


(8) If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.


(9) But if the slave’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave but as a daughter.


(10) “If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy.


(11) If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.


(12) “Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.


Numbers 35:31, 33-34: Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death ... This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder. You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the Lord, who lives among the people of Israel.”


(13) But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.


   Later (Numbers 35 and Joshua 20) God commanded and Israel made cities of refuge - a place where he may flee - cities where one could flee in a case of manslaughter, and be protected until his case was properly heard.


(14) However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.


(15) “Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.


   "In a patriarchal society the leader was father of the clan, and then authority went downwards to the fathers of sub-clans or family groups until the lowest authority was reached, the father of the family. Each was seen, within his sphere, as standing, as it were, along with his wife, in the place of God. That is why the command to honor father and mother received such prominence (20:12). To smite such was like striking a judge or even God. It was to hit at recognized authority and demanded the death penalty. By this the authority of the parents was firmly established. It is the principle that is important. Not every father would demand the death penalty for his son, circumstances would be taken into account. In the Code of Hammurabi a son who lifted up his hand against his parents was to have his hands cut off." --
Commentary on Exodus (part 4 chapters 19-24): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus4.html


(16) “Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.


(17) “Anyone who dishonors* father or mother must be put to death.


*dishonors: Greek version reads Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of.


Deuteronomy 21:18-21: “Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

Leviticus 20:9: “Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. Such a person is guilty of a capital offense.

Mark 7:10-13: For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”


(18) “Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.


(19) If he is later able to walk outside again, even with a crutch, the assailant will not be punished but must compensate his victim for lost wages and provide for his full recovery.


(20) “If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished.


(21) But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.


(22) “Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely*. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve.


*gives birth prematurely: Hebrew reads so her children come out. This is not miscarriage. Hebrew had other words more suited to pinpointing a miscarriage or stillbirth. It is very important to note the same writer used the normal word Hebrew word for miscarriage "shakal" just two chapters later in Exodus 23:26. This clearly indicates the writer had something besides miscarriage in mind for the Exodus 21:22-25 passage.


(23) But if there is further injury*, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,


*further injury: That is, if the child or the woman should die.


(24) an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,


(25) a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.


Matthew 5:38-41: “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.


   The section of verses 23-25 is known as the lex talionis, the law of tit for tat. The purpose of this law was not merely the enforcement of rigorous justice, but also the prevention of greater penalties than would be just.


(26) “If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.


(27) And if a man knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.


(28)If an ox* gores a man or woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable.


*ox: Or bull, or cow; also in 21:29-36.


(29) But suppose the ox had a reputation for goring, and the owner had been informed but failed to keep it under control. If the ox then kills someone, it must be stoned, and the owner must also be put to death.


(30) However, the dead person’s relatives may accept payment to compensate for the loss of life. The owner of the ox may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.


(31) “The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.


(32) But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins, and the ox must be stoned.


*thirty silver coins: Hebrew shekels of silver, about 12 ounces or 342 grams in weight. Significantly, this was the same price Jesus was "sold" for. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15).


(33) "Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.


(34) The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.


(35) “If someone’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and the injured ox dies, then the two owners must sell the live ox and divide the price equally between them. They must also divide the dead animal.


(36) But if the ox had a reputation for goring, yet its owner failed to keep it under control, he must pay full compensation—a live ox for the dead one—but he may keep the dead ox.



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