Day 1197: God's slaves - Exodus 21 vs 1 - 11

1 “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3-5 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 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. 6 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free’, 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 for ever.

7-8 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has 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. 9-11 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money. Exodus 21:1-11 English Standard Version

We come to a section of Exodus that people living in the UK in 2026 may find difficult. But we must remember that we've had nearly 2000 years of Christian teaching which has steadily influenced how we think and behave, so the modern laws we take for granted were not there when Israel left Egypt. Slavery was a big part of the ancient world, and still exists today. But God gave laws for the fair treatment of those unfortunate enough to be slaves.

In the years prior to the exodus, people in Babylon lived by the 'Code of Hammurabi' which had details about slaves, as well as other everyday issues. The rules which God gave to Moses were for a people who'd experienced harsh slavery, as well as a despotic king who'd sought to kill all their male children. So when it came to Hebrew slaves, the owners were given responsibilities. (vs 3-5) What do these words show about a slaves life?

They were able to marry. Slavery was not meant to be about chains and drudgery. Masters were called to treat them well and they were often valued. So well in fact that it could lead to a slave saying ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free’. Slavery still abounded in New Testament days, and Christians who were slaves were encouraged to serve their masters well. The apostle Paul gently urged Philemon to give his slave, Onesimus, his freedom, saying: “Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever - no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother.” (Philemon 1:15-16.)

But vs 7-11 make particularly hard reading. It seems that very difficult circumstances could result in a Hebrew man selling his own daughter. Once again, we must realise this happened in those days. Sometimes the purchase was made with the intention of marriage. God gave Moses instructions for what was already a custom to soften the blow. Thus a Hebrew woman could not be sold on to a foreign people – as Joseph's brothers had done to him.

For myself, the big lesson in this difficult section is that God gives teaching to restrain us from doing what the world does. He doesn't take us out of the world (even though it has so much wickedness in it), but He works slowly but steadily to take the world out of us. The Israelites weren't a holy people when they left Egypt, despite the good example we saw of the Hebrew midwives. Israel quickly blamed God when difficlties came, and readily turned to idols. So God patiently weaned them away from the customs they had been used to. This is true also for people who are converted from backgrounds where Christianty was absent, as Paul's letters to the Corinthians show. But perhaps the apostle Peter's words are the most apt. He said to Christians: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority . . . live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.” (1 Peter 2:13 & 16)