Exodus 21:1 “These are the laws you are to set before them:
Commentary posits that this section of scripture marked a “great moral movement” in slavery among the Hebrew people, but all I can do when I read this is cringe. I am absolutely certain that “good, Christian” slaveholders (an oxymoron to be certain) used these verses to “protect their property” in American history, and it makes me sick to my stomach.
Exodus 21:2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything.
I sincerely believe that “God’s word is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edge sword…” (Heb 4:12). I believe that where I am in my life influences what I see when I read and study His word. I also believe it is incredibly easy to use the Bible to support our own interpretations and agendas if we aren’t careful, and that, quite honestly, scares me.
Exodus 21:3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him.
Precious Savior, I do not want to bend Your word to fit my will, my interpretation, but I think that where I am in life helps me to see things in scripture that I am unable to see at other times. Help me to read and study Your word honestly and earnestly. Help me to draw closer to You, to love others as You love. Help me, Jesus. Amen.
Exodus 21:4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
Have a blessed day.