Message Notes

YW Message 18 May 2024
Text: Exodus 21:1-11
Title: “If you buy a Hebrew servant”

THE JUDGMENTS GIVEN BY GOD

1 Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them…

Exodus 21:1

1. The 10 Commandments

a. They are great moral laws

b. But they do not cover every single situation

2. Judgments

a. They are meant for specific scenarios, should they arise (“If…”)

b. They arise from cases which have already been decided

c. For example cf. Exodus 18:13

i. Moses sat as judge for the people

ii. He would have come up with judgments for the cases he saw

d. The judgment pronounced for each case

i. They would be applicable to similar cases

ii. Thus judgments are set before the people as law

THE PROBLEM OF SLAVERY

1. Slavery was a part of society then

a. Abraham and Isaac had male and female servants

b. They played important roles in managing the work of the “clan”

2. Some reasons why people end up as slaves

a. Poverty

b. Unable to pay a debt

c. Poor decisions, etc.

3. A proper understanding of slavery

a. Slaves can be treated well

b. They are not always abused

c. Much depends on what their master is like

LAWS THAT PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS PROBLEM

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.

Exodus 21:2-6

If you buy a Hebrew servant

1. Not foreign, but one of the children of Israel

2. Laws that protect Hebrew servants

a. He serves 6 years and goes out free on the 7th year

b. Terms of his release

i. If he comes in by himself
He shall go out by himself

ii. If he comes in married
Then his wife shall go out with him

iii. If his master has given him a wife with whom he has borne children
He shall go out by himself
His wife and the children shall be his master’s

3. An exceptional situation (“But if…”)

a. A servant wants to be permanently bound to his master

b. He relinquishes his freedom

c. Legal procedures to be performed

i. Bring him to the judges

ii. Bring him to the door or doorpost

iii. Pierce his ear with an awl

If a man sells his daughter to be a female slave

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.

Exodus 21:7-11

1. The female servant is to become the wife / concubine of someone

2. This was a common practice in those times

a. Hagar was a female servant who became Abraham’s wife

b. Bilhah and Zilpah were female servants who became the wives of Jacob

3. In such cases, the term of 6 years does not apply

4. Laws that protect female servants sold into marriage

a. If she does not please her master (whom she married)

i. Then he shall let her be redeemed

ii. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people

b. If he has betrothed her to his son
He shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters

c. If he takes another wife

i. Food, clothing, and marriage rights will not be diminished

ii. If he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free

Reasons for these laws

1. To teach the children of Israel what it means to be God’s covenant people

2. They are to be different from the other nations

a. The children of Israel were once slaves in Egypt

i. They were kept under bondage permanently

ii. Whole generations of Israelites were kept under bondage

b. They are to treat their own Hebrew slaves differently

i. They will not be slaves forever, only for a fixed period

ii. They will be offered a release on the 7th year

3. They are to be distinct in their treatment of slaves

a. They would regard their slaves with dignity

b. The laws were meant to prevent possible abuses

A DEEPER LESSON WITHIN

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.

Exodus 21:5-6

1. This was illustrative of the covenantal relationship with God

2. One aspect of the covenantal relationship is a Master-servant relationship

a. The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt

b. They were redeemed by the LORD from bondage in Egypt

c. Would they now bind themselves to the LORD as His servants?

3. Reasons why a servant would bind himself to his master

a. Because his master has treated him well

b. Because of love for his master and his family

4. An example of a servant who bound himself to serve his master

a. Abraham’s servant, known as Eliezer of Damascus Genesis 15:2

b. He was Abraham’s oldest servant Genesis 24:2

c. He was faithful and loyal to Abraham till he was old

d. He loved Abraham and bound himself to serve him

5. Paul’s application of the idea of being a “Bondservant”

a. He was redeemed by the Lord Jesus

b. He has made himself a bondservant to Him Romans 1:1

c. He would serve Him for the rest of his life

THE CHALLENGE TO BE GOD’S COVENANTAL PEOPLE

1. To obey and keep the laws of God Exodus 19:5

a. To help us learn to be God’s people

b. To be different and distinct from the rest of the world

2. To bind ourselves to the LORD as His bondservants

a. Because of all that God has done for us

b. Because of love for the LORD