Slave to the Law
Exodus 21: 2-11
This section spells out laws regarding Hebrew slaves. This is odd to me. God doesn't comdemn slavery here- He lays down ground rules, but doesn't say that it's something wrong- or even to be avoided. It might be that at this point, all men aren't created equal- since the Hebrews are the whole chosen race and all- but that doesn't make sense because in these instances, the slaves are Hebrew.
How do you come to grips with God being okay with slavery? Does it suggest that we are to endure more in this life than the next? That's ceratinly true- but then wouldn't God have a similar stance on murder, rape, abuse, and similar things that contrast with the next life?
I don't know how these slaves were treated- the existence of rules may suggest that the way slaves existed in that culture is a bit better than our country treated slaves- but even so, you can lump slaves into the category of the treatment of women. Is the idea to contrast this condition with Christ's gift even more. You mean even slaves can be saved?
Or does it suggest that maybe God works within the culture to move His people to Godliness? He doesn't have them start over-He doesn't rework their culture- He says- OK, if you're going to have slaves- you at least have to treat them this way, similar to how He later says- fine- you can have a king, even though I don't like it- but here's how it'll work.
I don't know- it's still hard for me to make it ok- I can't rationalize it away- and maybe that's the real lesson. God is more complex than we're capable of figuring out- I can't put Him into my box, I can't make Him fit my moral code. I do wish, though, that there were a few more clues to figure Him out.
So- enough of my yapping- here are the rules:
If you buy a Hebrew servant- he works for you for six years- and then he is free- he doesn't owe you any money- he's free. If he brings a wife with him- she is free to go when he does. But if he marries another of his master's slaves, she remains a slave- and all their children are the property of the master.
I'm guessing that means if a slave comes with his wife- any children they have remain the possession of the child's parents.
If the servant doesn't want to go free- they take him to a judge- he gets his ear pierced and he remains a slave for the rest of his life. Don't assume this is like going to "ear art" at your local mall- this process involved an awl and a doorpost.
If a man sells his daughter as a slave- she doesn't go free like the men do. If the owner doesn't like her- he has to release her, he can't resell her to foreigners. If he gives her to his son- she gets the rights of a daughter. If he marries someone else- he must still provide food, clothing and marital rights (sex?) for her. If he doesn't provide these things, she is free to go.
These seem to safeguard the servant to some level- but they're actually pretty balanced between the owners and the servants. So...I'm a little puzzled as to what I'm supposed to take from it.
Help?
1 comment:
Heya, Chip.
Let's see if I can be any help to you here.
As far as Hebrew slaves go, the question is "how did someone come to be a slave"? The answer, I think, is that they had an unpayable debt. Slavery was a way of selling "yourself" rather than your possessions, in payment of your debt. So this was indeed a more just system than we had in the American South.
In the pre-Christian, civilized world before industrialization, it seems that slavery was universal. You used people for the tasks for which we used machines. But in the case of the Israelites, you could never take the system too seriously. A person might be your slave by his station, but you knew that he was still human. You knew that you have a God who is known as the one who sets slaves free. You know that, no matter how much you are owed, 7 years is the absolute limitation.
Even granted all this, we are bound to be shocked and appalled by the ways of the ancient world, and perhaps scandalized that God doesn't correct them at every turn. But perhaps we need to take a lesson here - that God has other priorities than guiding people to democracy. He is ultimately going to overcome the slavery of death itself. This is a larger vision than getting modern ethics up and running as soon as possible, and thus he has different priorities.
Also, while rightly condemning slavery, we need to realize that the value we place on individual autonomy in our culture is done to excess. We err as well - and yet God doesn't thunder from heaven to fix every little detail of our culture either. It needs to be worked out over time.
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