Exodus 21:20-36 NKJV
21 “Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them: 2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the servant 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 the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
7 “And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights. 11 And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.
12 “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.
14 “But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.
15 “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
16 “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.
17 “And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
18 “If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, 19 if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.
What can we glean from the civil laws set forth in today’s reading as the Lord sought to keep order in Israelite society?
There was to be punishment if a master murdered his indentured servant. This taught respect for the humanity of the servant. At the same time, the law imposed no penalties for beating a servant, recognizing that, during his time of servitude, the servant was also the property of the owner, thus strongly discouraging people from making the poor choices that could lead to their servitude. But the servant was to be set free if the owner were to permanently disable the servant, even the loss of a tooth, which would deter an owner from beating his servant harshly in the first place. Thus, the curb of the law served as a deterrent for all bad behavior, even as it incentivized good behavior, because sinful human beings need those deterrents and incentives in order to live at peace with one another.
There were penalties imposed for doing any harm to a pregnant woman, especially if any permanent harm came to her or to her child, showing God’s determination to protect life both inside and outside the womb. He required “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc.” for any injury that occurred.
Jesus cited this law in the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt. 5:38-39). The Lord was not disagreeing with the law He Himself had given through Moses. The civil laws of Moses were to be implemented by the civil authorities, but not by the individual. It’s personal, private revenge that Jesus forbids, not the carrying out of justice by the civil authorities.
So, again, we find some general principles revealed in the civil law of Moses: God, through government, holds people responsible for their actions. Accidents are not crimes, but negligence is. Punishments are to fit the crime. And those who have lost are to be compensated for their loss by the one responsible for it. Truly God’s ways are just and right! Let us pray: O Lord, we praise You for preserving a degree of peace on this earth through the principles of justice You have established; through Christ our Lord. Amen.