May 7, 2013
GIVEN THE SHOT
Exodus 21
Charla Dixon
Central Truth
Only redeemed, submitted hearts can be trusted to lead God‘s people. And in Christ, we've been freed from sin. We have a new Master now.
Key Verse | Exodus 21:5–6
"But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,' then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently." (Exodus 21:5-6)
Exodus 21
Laws About Slaves
1 Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, 1 21:2 Or servant; the Hebrew term ebed designates a range of social and economic roles; also verses 5, 6, 7, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32 (see Preface) he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
7 When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has designated her 2 21:8 Or so that he has not designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
12 Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. 13 But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15 Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
16 Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
17 Whoever curses 3 21:17 Or dishonors; Septuagint reviles his father or his mother shall be put to death.
18 When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, 19 then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.
20 When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
22 When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is harm, 4 21:23 Or so that her children come out and it is clear who was to blame, he shall be fined as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he alone shall pay. 23If it is unclear who was to blame then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
28 When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. 29 But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. 31 If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. 32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels 5 21:32 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
Laws About Restitution
33 When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
35 When one man's ox butts another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. 36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.
Footnotes
[1] 21:2 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles; also verses 5, 6, 7, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32 (see Preface)[2] 21:8 Or so that he has not designated her
[3] 21:17 Or dishonors; Septuagint reviles
[4] 21:23 Or so that her children come out and it is clear who was to blame, he shall be fined as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he alone shall pay. 23If it is unclear who was to blame . . .
[5] 21:32 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
Dive Deeper | Exodus 21
As quickly as Exodus begins, the story gets raw, bloody, and dark in shadows. God's people are brutally enslaved, abused by heavy hands of power over them. God hears and rescues them. And now, the people are fresh out of Egypt, still growing in their faith and identity, still learning that God's commands from Sinai were exposing their needs in greater ways. What's the next topic God addresses? The Wound: Slavery. Now comes the test. Given the shot to have power over another person, what would they choose?
Years ago, I was an in-school suspension aide for 5th-6th graders. Stories of abuse in those kids‘ lives still burn in me. Last year, I searched to see where they were today, hoping they faced their abuse, found healing, and now breathe life, not pain, into others. Instead, I saw two mug shots of boys, now men, convicted of major felonies leaving greater pain in their wake. It broke me.
God knew the Israelites needed more than freedom. They needed Him, healing, and a new way. They needed to know how to lead differently than what they had experienced. For a time, God tested their hearts, allowing slavery in order to see how they would treat others under their care. Would they be brutal oppressors, or would they protect, provide, invest, share life, and defend those under their care? God made it clear they didn't ultimately own anyone. Their rule was limited and temporary, and they were accountable. God wasn't going to breed a rule of law in which pain and life don't matter. He valued every life. Under the rule of a redeemed heart, some even chose to stay under that kind of care for life because of the love they encountered.
In greater ways, Christ rescued us from the domain of darkness. No longer slaves to sin, we're now slaves to the One who paid our ransom with His precious life. Letting shrapnel of the past trump Christ's lead only enslaves us all over again. We'll wake to find we've become the brutal hand we hated. Thanks be to God who makes us new in Christ. We have a new Master now.
Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever been so well cared for by someone in your life whom you served or worked for that you wanted to remain under his or her care and influence? What was he or she like? Or if not, have you ever seen such care in someone else's life and wished you could experience something like that?
2. In what ways have your past wounds influenced how you lead those under your care? In what way can you begin taking steps to allow Christ to bring healing there?
3. How does your rescue by Christ impact your view of sin's rule over you and the freedom you now have in Christ? If you have not yet experienced that rescue, call 214.361.2275 to learn how you can.
4. How have you seen God redeem your life and change you? How has that breathed life into others rather than leaving a wake of pain?