YouTube video sermon
Exodus 21:1-23:19
Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Exodus 21. Today, we’re going to attempt to cover three chapters in one sermon. For those of you that are members and regulars, you know how tall a task that’s going to be. In fact, I may do more teaching today than preaching. Nevertheless, that’s the goal. And part of the reason for that is because of the nature of the text.
You see, when we finish chapter 20 and the giving of the Ten Commandments, then the next several chapters are commentary, they’re expansions, they’re circumstances and scenarios, if you will, that illustrate how each of the Ten Commandments is supposed to govern their day-to-day living. God had redeemed Israel from Egyptian slavery, and in the process, He formed a people that would display His glory. But, in order to properly display God’s glory, they needed some guidelines for living.
Let me ask you; have you ever had a roommate? Perhaps you remember your college years? Maybe you and a friend rented a house or an apartment together before one of the two of you got married? Some of you can remember going to sports camps or church camps or some other form of camp and having a roommate. Whatever the situation, you know that proximity brings drama. Being in tight quarters for long periods of time can magnify difficulties and issues.
Therefore, what do we tend to do? We establish some guidelines. For that snoring friend, Isaiah, we ask him to go to sleep after us (if possible). For our friend Drew, we ask him not to play his music without headphones after 11pm. For our brother Jordan, we ask that he not lock us out of the room. If that’s the kind of thing we end up doing in our relationships, imagine what it must have been like for 600,000 men, plus women and children, living together for the first time outside of slavery. They needed some guidelines. They needed some instruction to help them get along and also glorify God in their daily lives.
At this point, I would normally read the text for us and pray, but since we’re trying to cover three entire chapters we’re not going to do that. Rather, I’ve taken these intriguing passages and tried to summarize them into three segments. To be sure, there are many more topics and issues that are dealt with in these chapters, but I’m trying to help us get a sense of the forest without examining each tree. So, would you join me in a brief prayer.
“God our Father, we thank You for the Bible, and as we seek to try and understand its broad scope, we pray for Your help, that our minds may be active, and our wills may be submissive, and our hearts may be ready to receive Your truth. To this end we seek Your help now, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Let’s look at how God expected His people to love Him and love each other.
Human Life
Many of your Bibles have a heading above Exodus 21 that speaks about slavery or fair treatment of servants, or something to that effect. You might also have a heading about a third of the way down that speaks of personal injuries, or violent crimes, or something similar. I’m grouping all of that together under the heading of “human life.” If you’re in the habit of making notes in your Bible and you want to take away one thing from all of these laws and verses (in chapter 21), then just write down: People Matter to God. We were made in His image, and therefore we ought to honor and protect all human life.
Now, let me offer just a few quick comments regarding slavery. Because, in recent years, and in other decades, race relations in our country haven’t been handled correctly. The first thing that we need to understand when we come to Exodus 21 is that what is being outlined is NOT the slavery that we tend to associate with American history. In fact, involuntary slavery (the type that America embraced) is forbidden in this very chapter (21:16), where we read, “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” This is more in line with American slavery, where people of African descent were rounded up wholesale and taken by force from their native countries and sold into forced labor. That’s NOT what is being described in the first section of Exodus 21.
Rather, what we have before us is what we would call indentured servitude. Most Hebrews ran small family-owned businesses, and their “slaves” were really more like workers or employees in the business who lived at the owner’s residence. They would work in exchange for room, board and wages. Plus, it was temporary. It ended after six years. Regardless of how much you owed or the time agreed to on the original arrangement, after six years the Jewish servant was released. It was also neither oppressive or racially based, like the Egyptian’s enslavement of the Israelites.
And there’s another difference in this form of servitude and American chattel slavery – the service that’s described here sought to preserve the sanctity of the family. Remember: People Matter to God. American slavery often separated families, but not this system. We read (v. 3), “If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.” Preservation of the family was a hallmark of this kind of service.
If the slave was given a wife by his master, then the husband was free to leave after his term of service, but his wife and the children produced by that marriage belonged to the master. Now, it seems unfair, of course, but don’t forget that she too was likely a servant with her own terms of service and they weren’t changed just because her husband’s time was served. So, the husband had a few options: 1.) he could wait for his wife and children, 2.) he could get another job and save his money to purchase their freedom, or 3.) he could voluntarily commit to work permanently for the master. If he chose the latter, then there’s an ear-piercing described in verse 6 to mark the man accordingly. In fact, our modern term “earmarking” comes from this very practice.
Verses 7-11 describe the situation for female slaves, and again, notice that there’s emphasis on human dignity and value of life. If she doesn’t please the master she’s sold to, then he can’t turn around and sell her off to foreign people. She can be redeemed. She can be bought back from her own family. By the way, this gives rise to the concept of the kinsman-redeemer and there’s an entire book of the Bible (Ruth) that centers on this beautiful and loving portrait of a woman being bought by a family member. If the master gives the woman to one of his sons, then she’s treated as a daughter. And, if the master originally takes her as his wife and then acquires another wife, then she’s still due her food, clothing and marital rights. If the master does none of these things, then she’s free.
It’s so important that we understand the distinctions that exist here. We are not describing or condoning American slavery, as it was in the earliest years of our nation’s existence and as it exists in many parts of the world (still). God loves His sons and daughters and wanted them treated fairly and lovingly. Ladies, God cares about you physically and emotionally and He expects men to defend you and treat you lovingly and rightly.
Verses 12-32 deal with personal injuries to people and animals, and the underlying principle is that the punishment should fit the crime. The fact that it often doesn’t, isn’t an indictment against God, but rather an indication that sinful man is incapable of living righteously, and thus needs a Savior. Again, whatever your view is concerning the death penalty, which, interestingly, was instituted by God before He ever gave these laws to Moses – remember God’s words to Noah after the flood; “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image” (Genesis 9:6) – whatever your view, at least grab this principle: People Matter to God!
Listen to what Dr. Tony Merida, Dean of Grimke Seminary, says in his commentary on Exodus: “A perfectly just process in a fallen world will never exist; therefore, there will be times to oppose the death penalty, even if you agree with the principle of it. What we should not oppose is a severe punishment for those who do not honor the image of God in others.” Christians must have a heart of mercy. While we won’t manage to do it perfect, we ought to seek to imitate God’s own generosity and mercy in our relationships. Remember Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:32, “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
Business Life
Now we move to what I’m calling business life, or the loss of animals and property. All of these laws have to do with the normal day in day out crimes that led to loss of income or “getting ripped off.” Notice that a “jail sentence” is never mentioned. Offenders had to generously compensate the victim face to face, and the amount required was related to the nature of the crime and it was also multiples of the value of the loss.
Look at Exodus 22:33ff, “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, the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to [the ox or donkey’s] owner, and the dead beast shall be his. 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. 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” (Exodus 22:33-36). This is all reasonable and understandable, but also notice that it’s general. It’s not intended to cover every detail of every possible scenario.
For example, these verses don’t outline what happens if the animal that falls into the pit is a sheep instead of an ox or a donkey. Or, what if a donkey kicks an ox instead of an ox butting another ox. That scenario isn’t spelled out explicitly, either, but the principle remains the same.
The first four verses of chapter 22 address theft. Verses 5-6 involve cases of negligence that lead to the loss of someone’s property. Verses 7-13 deal with giving someone property for safekeeping, but having that trust breached (remember, there were no banks in those days). Verses 14-15 deal with borrowed property like lawn mowers and wrenches and power tools. In each of these cases, the laws appear sensible. You had to respect one another’s property. Again, think about how practical these laws are. They’re wonderful gifts because they showed people how-to live-in community, loving their neighbors as themselves.
Let me ask you, can you think of a biblical character that went from a thief to a generous slave after experiencing salvation in Christ – who went to make things right with others? A wee little man comes to my mind: Zacchaeus. After encountering Jesus, he said, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord! And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much!” (Luke 19:8). He wanted to make things right. Why? Because the gospel – the Good News of Jesus’ salvation – changes us. It creates in us a new heart of love for God and others.
National Life
Finally, we turn to what I’m calling National Life. The end of Exodus 22 through the middle of Exodus 23 encourages a caring attitude toward the vulnerable and disadvantaged. As God’s people, not only are we’re called to obey the law, but to care for those in need.
And one of the first things we read about this is in Exodus 22:21, “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” Wouldn’t you know it. God called Israel to show the same kind of care they received from Him. And this fair and kind treatment extends to internationals that flood our city, either for school, for work, or as refugees. Now, I know that view and that position doesn’t sit well with many of you. And, to be honest, there’s a part of me that bristles at the thought of it too. And yet, when I consider my own plight and how Jesus has welcomed me, then I realize that it’s my job to be helpful and welcoming regardless.
(Now, just so you don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting, nor am I saying that weak immigration laws and insecure national borders are what we should be striving for. No! We need to enforce the laws that are currently on the books, and at the same time make room in our hearts for those that are genuinely seeking a better life for themselves or are seeking refuge from legitimate persecution. Do I have the “silver bullet” solution? No, and neither does any other politician, but we aren’t talking politics are we? We’re talking about loving God and loving others as ourselves. I’m afraid [in my own rhetoric] whether or not people see and hear Christ in me on this topic.)
But this matter of caring isn’t just limited to the international stranger, it also extends to the widow and the fatherless child. Why is there no mention of the motherless child? Because the primary provider of life, safety and prosperity was the father. If there was no father there was no family, there was no home, there was no security, there was no money. Again, just read the opening chapters of the book of Ruth, and you’ll get a picture of the widow and the fatherless child. And God expects us to care for those in need because He cared for us when we were in desperate need. When you were fatherless, He adopted you; when you were a widow, He became your groom; when you were a stranger to His grace, He welcomed you. Those of us who know this kind of love ought to be the very ones showing it to a broken world.
Throughout the entire Bible – Old and New Testaments – we are given consistent attention to these two groups: widows and orphans. The late Tim Keller, former pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, put it like this. He said,
When people ask me, “How do you want to be introduced?” I usually propose they say, “This is Tim Keller, minister of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.” Of course, I’m many other things, but that is the main thing I spend my time doing in public life. Realize, then, how significant it is that the Biblical writers introduce God as a “father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Psalm 68:4-5). This is one of the main things He does in the world. He identifies with the powerless, He takes up their cause.
As I said earlier, there are so many other laws and scenarios that are outlined in these three chapters, and we need to be careful not to skip over these verses just because it seems too arcane to us or that we spend too much time trying to execute every verse exactly as it’s written because legalism isn’t godly either. Rather, studying the law of the Lord drives us to the Lord of the law. It drives us to Jesus. We can’t keep God’s law any better than the Israelites could, but there’s One who lived the life we couldn’t live and died the death we should have died. Jesus obeyed for us and died in place of lawbreakers.
There’s a reason that our Call to Worship was taken directly from Psalm 19, and that’s because it says the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The conclusion of that same psalm says, “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” We’ve been redeemed. We’ve been bought with the precious blood of the Lamb of God. May God grant His fresh strength through the Holy Spirit to love Him more passionately and love our neighbors more justly.
“Lord God, we thank You that you are a God who delivers us. And some of us today have been trying on our own for a long time to reform our characters, to change our lifestyle, to do our part. And, either because of pride or unbelief, we have never come to an end of ourselves and said, ‘O God, unless You deliver me from this entrapment, then I’m going to be overwhelmed and lost forever.’ And some of us just cry out from where we are, ‘O Lord God, deliver me from myself and from my sin because of what Jesus has done, because of the fact that He died in my place.’
Some of us are living very cavalier Christian lives. We’ve somehow or another come to believe that we can do whatever we want, when we want, for as long as we want, and nothing really matters. And we need to be reminded that You are a God who makes demands, and that we should love You with ‘all of our hearts and soul and mind and strength, and that we should love our neighbor as ourselves’ (Luke 10:27). Help us, Lord, to this end, we pray. Amen.”