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Exodus 21:1-11 ESV
1 “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 her 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.
I. The Role of the Book of the Covenant in Applying the Gospel
A. Exodus 21-23 is the Book of the Covenant & shows us how to not just glorify God at church, but also in the common things of everyday life as well. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
II. The Role of These Rules in Israel & The Church (1)
A. The rules of the Book of the Covenant are still authoritative because they are from God, not man.
B. Rules are not as authoritative as commands, because while from God, they apply in their literal sense only to ancient Israel.
C. 4 types of Old Testament Law:
1. God’s Moral Absolutes
2. Israel’s Military Law
3. Israel’s Religious Law
4. Israel’s National Law
III. The Role of Slavery In Ancient Israel Contrasted With Its Role In The Antebellum South (2-4, 16)
A. One was forced. The other was voluntary.
B. One was about the benefit of the master. The other was about the mutual benefit of all parties.
C. One was permanent. The other was temporary.
D. One caused the Civil War. The other was just civil.
E. One separated families. The other protected the sanctity of the family.
F. One was race based. The other was not.
IV. The Role of These Rules in Protecting & Preventing The Exploitation of Women (7-11)
A. The marriage of maidens is being described in this text as more than selling women into slavery. (7-8)
B. To ensure the welfare of these women, God enacts rules to protect against their exploitation. (8-11)
NEXT STEP
1. As the Gospel transforms us, it should transform the world around us.
2. Jesus was pierced for us on the cross & now demands we bear His marks on our body showing we have fully submitted to Him.