“Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 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 forever. When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” (v1-2,5-6,22-25)
This chapter contains a list of laws that God gives to Moses – these laws would not only be upheld by Moses, but also those who he appointed as chiefs (judges) over thousands/hundreds/fifties/tens (Ex 18).
These laws are harsh (but fair), and many offenses received the death penalty, even some of the offenses involving slaves. God is holding His people to a high standard, putting rules in place so that they would treat each other (even their slaves) with honor and respect.
For example, v20 says “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged.” This is counter-cultural in its day, and the Hebrews would know this since they were just freed from slavery in Egypt. It was common belief in the ancient world (and sadly in recent history as well) that slaves were not people, they were property, and they could be treated (and killed) as the owner saw fit. God however institutes several laws that give slaves human rights, including the death penalty for a master who murders a slave, and freedom for slaves under a number of conditions. This was very uncommon practice and and very different from how Israel was treated in Egypt (which is a very good thing).
The law I’ll touch on in the most detail is the commonly abused / misquoted / misunderstood law of the land that says “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Again, it was common in ancient practice (and today) to get revenge for the wrongs done to us by not only striking back at the initiator, but getting them back greater than the originating offense. Unfortunately this is still common today – have you heard of lawsuits or “class action” lawsuits resulting in millions/billions of dollars in restitution? Getting revenge (more-than-fair restitution) on offenders is still common practice, even though God tried to deal with that thousands of years ago.
In our current context (specifically v23-25), God takes the commonly used (and abused) “revenge” law of the land and basically says: if, and only if there is long-lasting harm, then you may seek damages up to (but not exceeding) the damages you received. There is no room for revenge in God’s eyes, and we are not to seek more restitution than is due. Also, we need to be reminded at this point the judges were to enforce the laws, not the people, so the judges would be involved in deciding the correct level and enforcement of restitution. If my neighbor punched me and knocked out a tooth, I’m not allowed to just hit him back – I take it to the judge who would then decide the appropriate response, who may or may not deem the neighbor loses one of their teeth. God doesn’t leave room for vigilante justice either (sorry Batman and Zorro, you are out of a job).
There are several more laws I didn’t touch on, but from a high level, it’s safe to say that God desires all of His people to honor and respect each other, and settle disputes in an “adult” and equitable manner. God doesn’t want things like revenge and bitterness to take root among the people, because those only lead to more harm. Ultimately, God wants this for the people: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Eph 4:31-32)
By bringing in these rules for resolving conflicts in a definitive way (it was to be resolved and then dropped, never to be brought up again – ie. no “retrials” or grudges) God’s plan was to foster forgiveness, mercy and grace among the people, not create a bunch of squabbling legalistic people (Pharisees and Sadducees come to mind?).
Father God, we praise You for the heart behind Your boundaries, rules and guidelines. We understand that Your heart is to foster love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and forgetfulness (of wrongs) among the people. Praise be to You, the one who longs to give joy and peace instead of resentment and conflict. Praise be to You, the one who promotes reconciliation and healing over bitterness and strife. May You please continue teaching us Your ways O Lord, that we may release our grip on the wrongs done to us, and choose to reconcile any wrongs we have done to others – both extending and seeking forgiveness and love amongst our neighbors. May we learn to love people the way You do, and show them the utmost respect as image-bearers of our Creator. We love You Lord, and long to learn to love Your children as well (and we confess it’s sometimes hard to love them). Jesus, please help us to do this.
~ Conqueror in Training