Righteous and Holy Laws in a Sinful and Broken World

At this church, we seek to preach the whole counsel of God. The main way that we do this is through expository preaching. We move through books of the Bible, verse by verse, and explain the meaning and apply it to our lives. This keeps us from avoiding uncomfortable or difficult passages, like the one we just read.

So I want to begin by acknowledging the angst and discomfort that a passage like that may cause. Slaves, masters, striking with rods, crimes worthy of death--this passage makes us uncomfortable. And the first step toward addressing that discomfort is understanding. Our first goal should be to understand what is being said here. So today’s sermon will be light on application. And given constraints of time, we’ll need to focus our attention. So I want you to remember: 5 - 5 - 5.

I want to make five remarks about how we approach the Law in general (some of these are reminders of things we said in our series on the Ten Commandments).

Then I want to make five observations from the first 11 verses that contain laws on slavery. 

Then I want to make five observations from the last section of today’s passage that deals with laws related to violence. 

The Law in General

1) God’s law is holy, righteous, and good. Paul insists on this in Romans 7. This is because the law reveals God’s character: his justice and mercy, his holiness and grace, and his wisdom in weaving these together for the good of his people. 

2) We must not abstract the commandments from their context. This includes their immediate legal context (the other laws around them), the immediate narrative context (embedded within the story of God’s redemption of his people from bondage in Egypt to the promised land), and the wider canonical context (in the book of Exodus, which is within the Pentateuch, which is within the Old Testament, which is within the Scriptures as a whole, which reaches its climax in the revelation of Jesus Christ). We must not read laws in isolation, as though they were autonomous commands which fell from heaven. 

3) A key part of that wider context is God’s original design in creation, man’s rebellion against God, and God’s redemptive purposes. Jesus clearly and succinctly displays this for us in his teaching on divorce. 

And Pharisees came up to him and rested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:3-19)

As we interpret the laws, we must keep in mind 1) From the beginning it was not so, and 2) God gave you some commandments because of the hardness of your heart. In other words, part of the goodness and righteousness of God’s law is its awareness of God’s original design and a kind of temporary, merciful accommodation to the reality of human sinfulness. As one commentator puts it, some passages in the Old Testament present a picture of what God wanted us to be, and others seek to limit the damage arising from a broken world.

4) We must recognize the nested nature of the law. We can move from the Greatest Commandments (Love God and love neighbor) to the Ten Commandments to the application and extension of those commandments in the life of Israel. 

God’s holy character is reflected and expressed first in the law of human nature, which is universal and unchangeable, applying in all times and all places. The Law of Moses is a specific published covenant between God and his people for a particular era of redemptive history. The laws within it contain various layers in various combinations. There’s a moral layer which is connected to that universal law of human nature. There’s a ceremonial layer, which teaches us through symbols and images and can be changed when God chooses. There’s a judicial layer, which applies the moral and ceremonial layer in Israel’s context, with particular penalties, and which we can use as wisdom in our own attempts to apply the law. But, as Christians, we’re not directly under the Mosaic Law as a covenant. We’re under grace. We’re in Christ; all authority has been given to him as the head of the new covenant. FROM APPROACHING THE LAW SERMON

5) We must recognize that the Law of Moses provided legal and ethical instruction to Israel’s leaders. We see an awareness of certain aspects of the law earlier in biblical history: Noah’s awareness of clean and unclean animals, the expectations on families in terms of inheritance among the patriarchs, and so on. But now Israel was to be more than a household, more than a nation under the thumb of a foreign power. They are to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. And with the encouragement of Jethro, this includes the appointment of elders and judges to govern the people and judge between them. On what basis will these men make their decisions? The Law given to Moses is the answer. 

And notice the kind of answer it is. The Law of Moses is not a law code; rather it’s a case law system. A law code attempts to be exhaustive, covering as many contingencies as possible. A case law system is exemplary, offering case studies designed to reveal God’s character, his principles, his priorities, as they come into contact with human life in a particular context. 

Israel’s leaders, whether judges and rulers, were to meditate and reflect on God’s law in order to grow in wisdom and knowledge of God. They were to pay attention to:

• The case law itself

• The arrangement and clustering of the laws (for example, many laws seem to be clustered in relation to one of the Ten Commandments. Sometimes a law shows up multiple times in different clusters, suggesting that it is rooted in several of the Ten Commandments)

• The repetition of the law (or similar laws) at different points in the Pentateuch (Exodus vs. Leviticus vs. Numbers vs. Deuteronomy).

• The punishments associated with different violations, so as to learn the relative gravity of different principles (for example, the difference between murder and manslaughter, or between murder and theft)

Laws on Slavery

We begin with laws addressing slavery. Before we do, let me make a brief note about terminology. As Americans, every one of us hears the word “slave” through the lens of American history. Two years ago, in preaching on one of the passages addressing masters and slaves in the New Testament, we explored some similarities and differences between Roman slavery at the time of Jesus and Paul and New World slavery from the 1500’s through the 1800’s. And in that sermon, we saw a number of similarities between the ungodly pagan system in Rome and the supposedly “Christian” system re-introduced by European nations out of greed and love for money, which is the root of all kinds of evil. And we noted that reintroducing slavery was an assault on the fruit of the gospel, which had undermined, transformed, and ended the old pagan systems. The reintroduction of slavery re-paganized the social order--entire ethnic groups were dehumanized and their bodies treated with utmost contempt, and their souls assaulted by the lies of racial superiority and supremacy.

This morning, we’re not talking about Roman slavery in the first century, but ancient near Eastern slavery from two thousand years before that. And at the outset, it’s important to recognize the wide array of economic and social relationships that fall under the Hebrew terms baal (master) and ebed (slave/servant). The term encompasses everything from an employee under a long-term contract (say, for six years) to a debtor who is working off his debt in service to his creditor to a permanent, lifelong relation of servitude. Within the biblical narrative and the law, we see distinctions between Hebrew slaves of Hebrew masters (such as Exodus 21), and non-Hebrew slaves of Hebrew masters (Deuteronomy 24), and Hebrew slaves of non-Hebrew masters (such as under Pharaoh). There are morally permissible ways of entering into a master-slave relation (such as a voluntary contract, to pay off debts, or prisoners captured in war), and there are morally wicked ways of entering into that relation (such as kidnapping).

In other words, there were all sorts or hierarchical social and economic relationships in the ancient world, some of them benign and godly, and others wicked and cruel. My goal today is to try to help us to understand the laws and principles in Israel in the ancient biblical context. I’m not planning in this sermon to draw extensive comparisons and contrasts between ancient Hebrew slavery and New World or American slavery (like I did with Roman slavery in the earlier sermon). However, I will highlight two major ways that New World slavery directly and egregiously violated the law of God as set down in this passage.

In saying that ancient slavery covered a wide array of social relations, I’m not suggesting that it was similar to modern notions of employment. It wasn’t. Slaves were typically a part of the master’s household, living on his land or in his tents, as opposed to simply venturing to the factory or office and returning to his own home at the end of the day. One commentator notes that the better modern analogy might be to military service. You commit to military service (often for a set period of time). During that time, you relinquish a number of your freedoms and in exchange receive compensation: housing, food, clothing, money. The military receives your service and you are obligated to follow orders and fulfill your duties.

Laws on the Release of the Slaves

With that background, let’s consider the first section of the book of the covenant in 21:2-11. As we meditate and reflect on these case laws, what do we notice? Five observations.

First, the focus here is on Hebrew slaves of Hebrew masters, not arrangements between Hebrew masters and Gentile slaves. 

Second, the focus is on the release of slaves--male slaves in 21:2-6 and female slaves in 21:7-11. The focus on the release of slaves is important. It connects these laws to the prologue of the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of slavery.” The fundamental narrative background of these laws is God’s deliverance of his people from the harsh and cruel taskmasters of Pharaoh and Egypt. It’s significant that the first time that the Mosaic law directly addresses the subject of slavery, the focus is on releasing slaves.

Third, the basic law is given in 21:2: You can “buy” a fellow Hebrew for a period of 6 years; after that, he goes free, and he doesn’t have to buy his way out. The master’s compensation is the 6 years of labor. The master’s responsibility is the food, housing, and provision for his servant over those six years. Beyond that, the servant is not obligated. 

And if we compare this law to its counterpart in Deuteronomy 15:12-18, we see that the master ought to generously equip his slave upon completion of his service. “You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress.” Perhaps we also hear in this command an echo of the Exodus, in which the Egyptians gave gifts of gold and silver and fine lines to the Hebrews as they went. The difference is that, whereas the Egyptians were compelled to release the Hebrews and give gifts by God’s judgment, Hebrew masters are to be generous to their servants because of his blessing. As God (who is your master) has blessed you, so you should bless him. Again the laws are rooted in God’s holy character and the story of his gracious actions on behalf of his people.

Fourth, after stating the basic principle in 21:2, the primary focus of 3-11 is on the intersection of the relation of servitude and the institution of marriage. If a man comes in single or married, it’s simple: he finishes his service the same way. But what if his marital status changes? What if, three years into his six years of service, he marries a female servant who has five years left with her arrangement? In that case, she must complete her term; getting married doesn’t alter the original terms.

But the servant has the option, upon counting cost and thinking through it, of becoming a permanent slave in his master’s household. Thus, with respect to fellow Hebrews, Hebrew slavery is temporary, unless it is voluntary, intentional, and desirable. Notice that the basis mentioned is love—love for his master, his wife, his children. Notice that this can’t be a rash decision; the servant must make the declaration to God (likely to the priests at the tabernacle), and it must be sealed in a permanent way. (And the mention of the ear, the blood, and the doorpost can’t help but call to mind the Passover and make us consider whether there is a symbolic connection in play at this point). 

Fifth, turning to the situation with female slaves, notice that marriage is still in view. But what kind of father would sell his daughter as a slave? Remember that almost all marriages at this time were arranged marriages. A father (or brother) would arrange for his daughter (or sister) to be married (think about Jacob and Laban). The groom (or his family) would pay a bride price. Think of the bride price as compensation to the bride’s family for the loss of a valuable and productive member of the household. The scenario here seems to be that a man has acquired a female servant with the intent of eventually making her his wife (or his son’s wife). Thus, there are two arrangements in view: the service in the household, and the future marriage. 

The agreement to marry her carries obligations; he can’t simply unilaterally change the agreement if he decides not to marry her (or give her in marriage to his son). He cannot sell her to foreign peoples. He must treat her like a daughter. And if he takes a second wife to himself (another indication that these laws are accommodating the hardness of heart, since from the beginning polygamy was not so), he doesn’t get to demote her to a second-class wife. If he does, then she is freed from her obligations and may leave with no compensation to him for all of his provision. 

So in all of these laws, we see God’s wisdom in providing instruction for Israelite society in a broken and sinful world such that no one is able to exploit or take advantage of each other. Servants have obligations; masters have obligations. Navigating the complexity of service and marriage and inheritance against the background of polygamy, debt, family relationships, and human sin is complex. And God’s law in that context is holy and righteous and good.

Laws Addressing Violence

We turn now to the next major section: Laws addressing Violence. These are laws clustered around the sixth commandments: You shall not murder. We see four sub-groups:

• Violent offenses worthy of death (21:12-17)

• Violent offenses that don’t demand the death penalty (21:18-27)

• Animal violence against men (21:28-32)

• Violence from animals against animals (21:33-36)

Again, let’s reflect on five elements revealed in these case laws.

First, intent matters. There is a distinction between murder and accidental manslaughter. The former (willful and premeditated killing of an innocent) is a capital crime. The latter (accidental death under your hand) is still a grave issue and requires consequences, but does not require death. In that case, cities of refuge are established (there are no prisons) in which someone who accidentally kills someone may flee and reside for the rest of their lives (for more detail, see Numbers 35:6-34). Such laws overthrow the unwritten system of blood feuds that dominated ancient societies. In many ancient societies, if you killed a member of my family (intentionally or not), I was obligated to take vengeance upon you. The Bible rejects that entire approach to justice. When an avenger of blood is mentioned, he acts under the regulation of the society as a whole and in obedience to God’s law. He’s not merely a member of his family or clan.

We see the same focus on intent in 21:18-19. When men quarrel, there is mutual responsibility. This is different than a planned assault, but involves the heat of the moment, fear, anger, and a host of passions. There are still consequences; someone has to pay the hospital bills and compensate the injured for his lost time. But if the injured man was partly to blame for the quarrel, then this situation is different than simply being attacked.

Second, we can see the way that violations of the Ten Commandments can be combined. For example, violence (a violation of the sixth commandment) against parents (violation of the fifth commandment) is a greater offense than general violence. To beat one’s parents and to publicly repudiate, denounce, and curse them before the community is a capital crime. If you take a lesser form of the sixth commandment (violence, not murder) and combine it with a high-handed violation of the fifth commandment, it’s a capital crime. God recognizes that human society depends on the order and structure provided by the family and by relations of authority and submission that flow from it. To tear those bonds apart through violent action or violent words is to dishonor God the Father and to threaten the good of the whole community.

There is a similar combination in 21:16. Kidnapping combines a lesser violation of the sixth commandment (murder) with a high-handed violation of the eighth commandment. To kidnap and steal an innocent freeman and enslave him against his will warrants the same punishment as murdering him intentionally. So does being the middle-man, the slave trafficker. This is why the system of slavery practiced in America and the New World, built as it was on kidnapping and man-stealing, was such a high-handed affront to God. Every pirate, kidnapper, and enslaver participating in the Middle Passage was committing high-handed wickedness worthy of death.

Third, we see significant restrictions on corporal punishment of slaves. It’s important to recognize that corporal punishment was permitted. But this permission had important limits. To beat a slave to death is simply murder and calls forth vengeance from God and the community. (And we must recognize how radical a law that was in the ancient world). The survival of a slave a day or two puzzles us, but likely highlights the issue of intent. And in 21:26-27, permanent damage to a servant (lost eye or even a tooth) requires the release of the slave. The effect of these sorts of laws would be to regulate corporal punishment. If you lash out in anger or frustration, it will cost you immensely. Thus, corporal punishment, when necessary, is meted out with a measure of sobriety and intentionality.

And now we come to the third way that American slavery violated God’s character and his word. Remember, the first way (from the 1 Timothy sermon) was that it undid the fruit of the gospel and repaganized the social order by dehumanizing entire ethnic groups (dehumanizing, anti-gospel framework). The second was that it was built on man-stealing and kidnapping, crimes worthy of death (dehumanizing, wicked source of slaves). Finally, here we see the absence of just laws concerning the treatment of slaves, and therefore the legal permission to further dehumanize slaves in America through cruel and barbaric treatments. Whereas the law of God regarded slaves as image-bearers worthy of legal protection, in direct contradiction to other ancient slave codes which did not, the legal system in the New World offered no such protection, and therefore egregiously and wickedly violated God’s holy law. How many masters in the New World would have met God’s justice and vengeance for their treatment of their slaves? How many slaves would have been freed if laws like these were on the books and enforced in Virginia, Maryland, and Mississippi?

Three major ways that American slavery violated God’s law: 1) a repaganized anti-gospel social order that dehumanized entire groups of people, 2) capital crimes committed against innocents through kidnapping and man-stealing, 3) the absence of legal protections that ensured humane and just treatment of slaves. That system, in this country God hated.

But I would be remiss if, having highlighted and condemned three ways that American society in the past egregiously violated God’s word, I neglected to point out that American society in the present egregiously violates God’s law. Because slaves are not the only marginalized social group that are humanized in our passage today. So are the unborn. And we live in a repaganizing society that dehumanizes unborn children, that commits capital crimes against unborn innocents, and that lacks legal protection for humane and just treatment of the unborn. And far be it from us to condemn and lament the sins of the past while ignoring or excusing the sins of the present.

Fourth, our unborn neighbors are mentioned in order to reveal a fundamental principle of justice in 21:23-25. It’s the principle of proportionate response. Life for life; eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. The examples are meant to hammer home the point that it is unjust to demand life for an eye, or eye for a life. The punishment must fit the crime. This isn’t meant to be applied literalistically; in this very passage, the master who destroys his slaves’ eye doesn’t lose his own eye; he loses his slave. But the principle of proportional justice remains.

Finally, we see the importance of carefulness and our responsibility to avoid recklessness in a number of places. If a quarrel spills over and harms bystanders (including unborn bystanders), there are consequences. If your ox (or anything else that you’re responsible for) commits violence repeatedly, there is greater punishment. Repeat offenders warrant greater punishment. These laws recognize that we live in a fallen world and can’t control everything, and therefore can’t be held responsible for everything. But if, because of past experience, we have not taken action to lower clear and known risks, we’re culpable. There is such a thing as reckless endangerment.

So then to summarize this section, in meditating on these laws, we see that intent matters. The heart matters. We see the way that lesser violations of one law can be combined with violations of another law, and that the combination demands greater punishment. We see that in a fallen world, God places limits on the power of those in authority. We see the importance of proportionality; the punishment must fit the crime (no more, no less), and that while we can’t control everything, we must learn from past experience and take responsibility for preventing violence and harm.

The Table

As we come to the Table, I want to circle back to the question of slavery, and in particular verse 5 and the slave who says, “I love my master, my wife, and my children. I’m staying here.” In this, we see a picture of our relationship to Christ, our Master in heaven. We love him, and we love the people in his household. And in the passage, the love slave has his ear bored by his master at a doorpost, no doubt leaving his blood there. And as I said, that can’t help but call to mind the Passover, in which the blood of a lamb on the doorpost protected the people from the eye-for-an-eye justice due to them.

And we are at the Table of the Master who humbled himself and took the form of a servant, a slave, and became obedient unto death. And we are at the table of the true Passover Lamb, whose blood is the ultimate expression of the love and the justice of God.