Exodus laws

[jd01]

How are we to regard the commandments in Exodus 20 to 23?

 

[deetwang]

I think since we are no longer under the law, but under grace, we should honor the commandments Jesus gave in
Matthew 22:37-40''Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

The law helps teach us about God's character, it's important to study the law, for Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. It's good to know that if we follow the two Jesus gave, that's all we "need".

But the law is still important, as Paul said in Galatians 3:24 "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith"

 

[childofdust]

How are we to regard the commandments in Exodus 20 to 23?

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As what they are—the things god commanded the Jewish people (and gentiles who convert) to follow on pain of death and destruction. What else?

 

[jd01]

So they do not apply to Christians?

 

[deetwang]

Well God doesn't change..
Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" This means He will keep His word to Israel, and not let them be utterly destroyed like all the other ancient civilizations (Babylonians, Assyrians, etc).

But I think it also means that since He doesn't change, His laws also don't change. Just because as Christians we are under the law of grace now and not under the law of Moses, does not mean we should ignore or disregard those laws. We are not "bound" to obey them, we have freedom in Christ! But we still should obey the ten commandments out of love for God, rather than because we "have to" to be saved!

 

[jd01]

But I think it also means that since He doesn't change, His laws also don't change. Just because as Christians we are under the law of grace now and not under the law of Moses, does not mean we should ignore or disregard those laws. We are not "bound" to obey them, we have freedom in Christ! But we still should obey the ten commandments out of love for God, rather than because we "have to" to be saved!

So what should we do regarding the Commandments regarding slaves?

 

[deetwang]

There is no commandment to have slaves that I'm aware of. Rather, there is instructions for if you are unfortunate enough to be a slave, and also instructions for "masters" who have servants (sometimes called slaves).

Colossians 3:22-25 " Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons".

Whether you are black or white, male or famale, slave or free makes no difference in God's eyes. He is without partiality. Whatever our position, race etc, we are accountable to do all things as unto the Lord, for we are all under God's authority.

Throughout history there have been those who worked without being paid, sometimes called "slaves". When Solomon built the temple he used unpaid Hebrews to do the work. The Israelites were kept in bondage in Egypt, and did all the hard labor there. You also must consider that many people were made to "work off debts" or purchase things with labor. For example, Jacob agreed to work for Laban, Rachel's father, in exchange for taking Laban's daughter to be his wife. When Laban sneakily switched and gave Jacob Leah, the older daughter, Laban got him to work an additional seven years! So he worked 14 years for Laban and married both of Laban's daughters.


Slavery is a deep issue. Hard to try to explain how God would think it was "right", but if you really study it you see that labor was often exchanged for goods, cattle, sheep, even wives. We know God hates people who oppress other people, so would be against slavery as it has become in modern times.

 

[jd01]

Well Exodus 21:7 seems to indicate that it is acceptable for a father to sell his daughter.

 

[jd01]

I assume then that according to the Bible it must be ok and slavery is fine.

 

[deetwang]

No, slavery is not "fine". It is just a fact that it's always been done from the beginning of recorded history right up to today. I think the scriptures towards those in charge of people who are "servants", be they indentured servants who are working off a debt, or the many "bondslaves" that were in the Bible...is that we are ALL UNDER GOD regardless of our standing with men.

Bond-servants, another word for "bond slave", which Paul says says of himself in Romans 1:1 "Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God" are people who WERE slaves, and even though they were freed chose of their own FREE WILL to remain in the service of their previous "owner" because they were treated well, ate well, and provided for well. They would have a hole bored through their ear, and place a ring there to signify that they were "bond servants" and staying in service of their own free will!

That should be our relationship to Christ, we willingly give up "the world", and even our own identity, seeking His will and showing His identity in our character, rather than our own.

There have always been slaves, many many slaves chose to stay at the plantations in the south after the Civil War, they had come to love their owners, and asked to stay for room and board, or a small salary.

There is human trafficking going on all over the world, women are bought and sold to be sex slaves, it's horrible and God is AGAINST it.

 

[Yahu]

So what should we do regarding the Commandments regarding slaves?

We don't have slaves now, we have employees. They apply the same. The law is about forbidding mistreatment of those under us in authority. Its not the letter of the law but the spirit behind the law that is still binding. Once you understand why something is sin, then it is easy to apply the law to our current society.

 

[deetwang]

There has always been oppression, God does not approve of it.
Ezekiel 22:29-31 "The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.."

Now we have Jesus "standing in the gap" for us, making a way to God for us through His sacrifice on the cross.

Do not think God supports slavery, He does not support any oppression of any people, including our oppression of workers in China, etc, who are working 15 hour days, no days off, for little pay to provide all our clothing and other goods in the US.

This is due to large US mulitnational corporations who outsource jobs away from America, causing unemployment here, using countries without labor or pollution laws, all to make money.
Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money"

1 Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows"

 

[jd01]

No, slavery is not "fine".

Well if you are a Christian who believes in the Bible you must believe that portion of Exodus is straight from God's mouth. Show me an Exodus passage where God condemns slavery.

 

[deetwang]

In the bible God condemns the practice of “man-stealing” which is what happened in Africa in the 19th century. Africans were rounded up by slave-hunters, who sold them to slave-traders, who brought them to the New World to work on plantations and farms. This practice is abhorrent to God. In fact, the penalty for such a crime in the Mosaic Law was death: “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death” Exodus 21:16.



The slavery of the past few centuries was often based exclusively on skin color. In the United States, many black people were considered slaves because of their nationality; many slave owners truly believed black people to be inferior human beings. The Bible most definitely does condemn race-based slavery. Consider the slavery the Hebrews experienced when they were in Egypt. The Hebrews were slaves, not by choice, but because they were Hebrews The plagues God poured out on Egypt demonstrate how God feels about racial slavery "And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery".Exodus 13:14

So, yes, the Bible does condemn some forms of slavery. At the same time, the Bible does seem to allow for other forms. The key issue is that the slavery the Bible allowed for in no way resembled the racial slavery that plagued our world in the past few centuries.

Another crucial point is that the purpose of the Bible is to point the way to salvation, not to reform society. The Bible often approaches issues from the inside out. If a person experiences the love, mercy, and grace of God by receiving His salvation, God will reform his soul, changing the way he thinks and acts. A person who has experienced God’s gift of salvation and freedom from the slavery of sin, as God reforms his soul, will realize that enslaving another human being is wrong. A person who has truly experienced God’s grace will in turn be gracious towards others. That would be the Bible’s prescription for ending slavery.

 

[jd01]

In the bible God condemns the practice of “man-stealing” which is what happened in Africa in the 19th century. Africans were rounded up by slave-hunters, who sold them to slave-traders, who brought them to the New World to work on plantations and farms. This practice is abhorrent to God. In fact, the penalty for such a crime in the Mosaic Law was death: “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death” Exodus 21:16.

Actually that is an admonition against kidnaping, not slavery.

"And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery".Exodus 13:14

Again I think this is more about bringing a chosen people out of a specific bondage than a universal statement against slavery.

So, yes, the Bible does condemn some forms of slavery. At the same time, the Bible does seem to allow for other forms. The key issue is that the slavery the Bible allowed for in no way resembled the racial slavery that plagued our world in the past few centuries.

Ok, so the Bible allowed/allows slavery.

 

[Clare73]

So they do not apply to Christians?

The Exodus laws are part of the Mosaic (Old) Covenant, which is now obsolete (Heb 8:13).

The Ten Commandments are written on our hearts, and fulfilled in love (Ro 13:8-10).
They no longer carry the curse for imperfect obedience that was part of the now obsolete Mosaic (Old) Covenant laws.

 

[jd01]

The Exodus laws are part of the Mosaic (Old) Covenant, which is now obsolete (Heb 8:13).

The Ten Commandments are written on our hearts, and fulfilled in love (Ro 13:8-10).
They no longer carry the curse for imperfect obedience that was part of the now obsolete Mosaic (Old) Covenant laws.

So all of the old laws are not applicable and should be ignored, that is not followed.

 

[Clare73]

So all of the old laws are not applicable and should be ignored, that is not followed.

Yes, all the Levitical laws were set aside (Heb 7:18-19) and abolished (Eph 2:15) when the Mosaic (Old) Covenant was made obsolete (Heb 8:13).

We are now under the law of Christ (1Co 9:21; Gal 6:2) which is love (Gal 5:14; Jas 2:8) and fulfills (accomplishes) the whole law (Ro 13:8-10), with no curse attached for imperfect obedience. For

if I love God, I will not take his name in vain, nor worship idols;
if I love my parents, I will not dishonor them; and
if I love my neighbors, I will not steal from them, nor murder them, nor commit adultery with their spouses,
nor lust after their possessions.

Love fulfills (accomplishes) the whole law.

 

[jd01]

Awesome. Skip Exodus.

 

[deetwang]

Here is what the Lord Jesus Christ said :

Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

I don't think you should ignore the law, nor skip the law. Study the law so you understand God better. Keep the ten commandments to the best of your ability, bearing in mind what Jesus said:

Matthew 22:37-40 "Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”