EXODUS 21
“Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave 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 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.7 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has designated he for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money. – Exodus 21:1-11
EXODUS 21 GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS ON MASTERS AND SLAVES
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
God made laws for his people to follow regarding masters and slaves
The slaves bought by the master will serve him six years
The slaves shall be free on the seventh years unless he wants to stay
If he stays, his master brings it to God and he becomes his slave forever.
During those times, it was customary to buy slaves. This account is not just about slavery but it is mostly about how God set boundaries and stipulations that need to be followed so that there is fair treatment and justice between masters and slaves. If you think that this has no bearing on our current days when we no longer have slaves and masters, we can think of it in the workplace where we have employers and employees. God shows us his mercy and justice in this account. He wants to bring faithfulness and service to slaves but he also wants to bring them justice with fair treatment from their masters. Just as we are in the workforce, we need to stay faithful and honest to our employers.
REFLECTION
- What was God’s point in giving them instructions regarding slaves and masters?
