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“These are the laws you are to set before them:

Hebrew Servants

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. 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. 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.

5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.

7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.

‘The material which comprises this section represents only some of the statutes which formed part of ancient Israel’s law. In all likelihood many of the laws included here have been selected because they corresponded closely with God’s actions in rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.’ T.D.Alexander: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.109.

We are entering into territory, in Exodus, which is not always easy to read or understand. But here are some pointers to help us with this particular passage:

• There is much that relates particularly to the people of Israel at that time, and their context and culture;
• Nothing resembling Caribbean-type slavery is envisaged here. The Christians who fought against the slave trade rightly saw it as a great evil, and did not see any Biblical support for it. It is probably something more akin to indentured apprenticeships and service in an extended family that is in mind here. Compulsory, life-long slavery is forbidden;
• The safeguards are put in place because people, made in the image of God, matter. As we saw in looking at the Ten Commandments, loving God and loving people are indissolubly linked. ‘God always safeguards the rights of those who cannot defend themselves, such as servants, women and children…In the corresponding passage in Deuteronomy 15:12-18, the master of the servant being freed is commanded to treat the servant generously and not send him away empty-handed; the master is to remember that the Israelites were once slaves in Egypt, and that therefore he should treat his servant as he would have wanted to be treated himself (Deuteronomy 15:14-15; Matthew 7:12).’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.246.)

The principle to take away is, I believe, that people matter. We cannot divorce how we treat fellow human-beings from our worship of God. It’s a principle we will see again.

“In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

“These are the laws you are to set before them:

Hebrew Servants

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. 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. 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.

5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.

7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.

Some may remember a song which, I think, came out of the ‘Dales’ movement:

‘Pierce my ear, O Lord my God,

Take me to your throne this day.

I will serve no other god,

Lord I’m here to stay.

For you have paid the price for me,

With your blood you’ve ransomed me.

I will serve you eternally,

A free man I’ll never be.’

It will readily understood that this imagery is drawn from verses 5,6 of this chapter. Hebrew servants were not to be treated as permanent ‘slaves’. They were to be freed after 6 years (2).

But, a servant, out of sheer love, could make a voluntary commitment to become a “servant for life” (6). We Christians, also, have the honour of being servants of Jesus Christ for life (Ps.84:10: Rom.1:1). We love Him. We know it is the utmost privilege to be His slaves. Our commitment is to always love and serve Him, by His grace

This strange (and even painful- sounding) ear-piercing activity, may have had to do with the ear being the organ of hearing, and therefore of obedience. ‘The pierced ear was on the master’s part a claim to obedience; on the servant’s part it was a commitment to obey.’ Alec Motyer: ‘The Message of Exodus’, p.239.

It seems to me that this is the most obvious devotional thought to share from this passage. But I will try to make one or two further comments tomorrow.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

24 “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’

This is the beginning of the Book of the Covenant. It is a long speech given by the Lord to Moses, which the man of God heard alone, and later recorded.It is essentially an exposition of the Ten Commandments, in which the basic laws God has already given, are interpreted and applied to specific life-situations. It continues until the end of chapter 23. God’s people are ever to be a people whose total life is governed and directed by God’s Word: an obedient people in other words.

But…’Here, as always in the Bible, the word of grace (the altar, God meeting his people) preceded the word of law (the ‘judgments’ of 21:1-23:19). Alec Motyer: ‘The Message of Exodus’, p.239. This religion ‘…centres on the altar, the place of the shed blood (20:24; cf.Heb.13:10-13). The place of atonement has to be the focal point, the heart of religious reality.’ (Pages 242,243).

You will note that we are back to the beginning again, with the ban on idolatry (see 20:3-6).

Dressing stones with a tool was probably associated with making a stone idol (25). (Note, too, the call for propriety in worship: 26; see Exodus 28:43,44).

God makes it clear that human-beings are to have “no other gods before” Him (3), or “alongside” Him (23). The temptation for us is probably not that we will bow down to stone statues. I don’t think such an eventuality is likely. But we can define a ‘god’ as anything (even anyone) coming between us and our supreme love and loyalty to the Lord. If there is a contest between the two, who/what wins?

It seems to me that the Carmel battle is fought in our hearts every day – probably several times each day – and much hangs on the outcome.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to spot the potential ‘Baals’ in my situation, and refuse to bow down to them.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

24 “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honoured, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’

I often think about these words from a hymn, regularly sung in church when I was a child:

‘There is a way for man to rise, to that sublime abode:

An offering and a sacrifice, a Holy Spirit’s energies,

An advocate with God.’

The previous verse has posed the question:

(‘O how shall I, whose dwelling here

is dark, whose mind is dim,

before the face of God appear

and on my human spirit bear

The uncreated beam?’)

As we saw yesterday, although God is a God to be feared – an awesome God – there is a meeting place between God and people, and this is at the ‘altar’. The altar prefigures the Cross, where ultimately God made it possible for Him to come to us in blessing (24).

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

‘Let us not be among those who avoid the near presence of God, but of those who are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Let us exercise our right to draw near to the throne of grace and stand in the very presence of our Father-God, because we have a great High Priest who is passed through the heavens.’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.45.

(Here is a great sermon from Alistair Begg, on keeping the cross central in preaching: https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/jesus-christ-and-him-crucified-basics/)

Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

‘He who fears God has nothing else to fear.’ C.H.Spurgeon.

Early on in my ministry, I read a book entitled ‘Worship the Lord’ by Jock Anderson. I seem to remember one chapter being entitled, ‘Awe and intimacy.’ Biblical worship involves both elements. Perhaps, in this New Covenant era, we tend to veer more towards the intimacy. This is a most precious reality made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice for us, and it is to be prized. But we mustn’t let the pendulum swing further than it should in that direction. The God of the Bible is to be ‘feared’, in the sense that we are to revere Him and be in awe of Him. If He were to display His presence and power at the next church service we attend, we might respond a little more like the Israelites did at the foot of Mount Sinai. Of course, the salvation Jesus bought for us makes all the difference in the world, but an awe-filled reverence should combine with a joyful, grateful closeness.

‘The greatness of God rouses fear within us, but His goodness encourages us not to be afraid of Him. To fear and not be afraid – that is the paradox of faith.’ A.W.Tozer

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Reading this earlier today, I couldn’t help but contrast them with other words in the New Testament:

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.(Hebrews 10:19-25).

How wonderful this is, and what a difference Jesus makes!

Come near to God and he will come near to you.(James:4:8a).

God wants us to be close to Him, desires that we have a relationship with Him. He wants us to know Him. We don’t even begin to understand what a privilege this is. This quote from J. Oswald Sanders is worthy of our serious reflection:

“We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be. True, there are times when we would like to know a deeper intimacy, but when it comes to the point, we are not prepared to pay the price involved.”

A short, simple Steve Green song packs a punch with its brief message: ‘You want to, now will you?’

What’s stopping you?

“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”

With this tenth commandment we come full circle (see verses 3,4). Paul, in both Eph.5:3-5 and Col.3:5,6 equates covetousness with idolatry.

Many years ago, I saw an advert in a newspaper for a new model of ‘Ford Granada’ (so that dates it). The way the ad described it, I just had to have that car! Now I couldn’t afford it. In fact I couldn’t  imagine ever being able to have it, and I certainly didn’t buy it. Thankfully, I was quickly able to take a step back and analyse what the advertisement was doing to my insides. I didn’t need that car – or any other for that matter. But day by day we are bombarded by many subtle (and not so subtle) messages, designed to make us want what we do not need. So much of what is pumped our way by the media, in various forms, causes us to envy and covet – if we do not stand guard over our hearts.

The world will again and again show us ‘Bathsheba’, and if we do not train ourselves to look away we will be sunk!

How we need to heed the words of Jesus:

“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

“The tenth commandment is where the Decalogue ends, but it is, in fact, the point at which every breach in the law begins – when by our ‘own evil desire’ we are ‘dragged away and enticed’ (Jas 1:14). King David violated the sixth and seventh commandments (2 Sam.12:9), but his sin began with the lust prohibited by the tenth (2 Sam.11:2): possibly he could not have helped seeing Bathsheba, but he could have helped looking! King Ahab (more than ably assisted by his wife Jezebel) sinned comprehensively against the sixth, eighth and ninth commandments (1 Kings 21:1-16), but the root of the evil was in his covetousness (vv.1-4). ‘Improper desire’, says Murphy, ‘is the root of all evil. It can seldom be reached by human legislation, but it is open to the Searcher of hearts. The intent is that which, in the last resort, determines the moral character of the act. This last “word” is, therefore, the interpreting clause of the whole Decalogue (Rom vii.7).’ “ Alec Motyer: ‘The Message of Exodus’, p.230.

“The tenth commandment, therefore, shows how hard it is to keep any of the commandments. One can easily say: “I have never stolen.” But can one also say: “I have never lusted after a woman; I have never coveted another person’s possessions”? The fact is, none of us can keep these commandments perfectly (Psalm 14:2-3; Romans 3:10-12). We need a new heart, and that is what Jesus came to give us. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19).

…the tenth commandment is a great gift from God, because it acts like a warning light; it signals us to turn from a sinful act before we actually commit it (Romans 7:7). Then, with the Holy Spirit’s help, we can overcome the temptation and avoid the sin. The law itself does not give us the strength to obey it; only the Holy Spirit working in our hearts can do that (Romans 8:3-4).” Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.245.

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.

No doubt the primary meaning has reference to answering under oath in a court of law. However…

‘Telling the truth in court is, of course, sacrosanct, but it would be hard to prove – or even imagine – that the more general associations of tale-bearing, innuendo and direct ‘character assassination’ are not equally prohibited. In imitation of the ‘God who does not lie’ (Tit.1:2), his redeemed should be people of the truthful word.’ Alec Motyer: ‘The Message of Exodus’, p.230.

We would no doubt agree that we should not tell lies about others. At least, I hope we would. But what about those stories we are prone to tell ourselves about what other people are thinking and doing? Maybe some personalities are more prone to this than others. I’m sure that at least some who read this will know what it is to invent stories and believe them. We suffer at our own hands.

Of course, it may well be that certain things we perceive are true. There may be an element of clear-sighted discernment involved. (Maybe even prophetic revelation). But it strikes me that we should not tell lies about others – not even to ourselves! May God help us.

As someone said, to despise truth is to despise the God of truth.

PRAYER: Lord, keep me honest. You know my weakness even better than I do. Don’t allow me even to lie to myself

“You shall not steal.

As I recall, it was only a video recorder and a little bit of jewellery that was taken. We had only been out of the house for about thirty minutes, but the shock was palpable, and it lingered. To think that someone had broken into our home and taken away that which was our’s and not their’s!

Sadly, it happens all the time – probably taking place somewhere every day of the year – and is another mark of a society/culture/world out of step with its Maker.

‘The Decalogue does not go in for a ‘league table’ of sins-as is evident by the way in which it puts an offence against property alongside offences against life, marriage and truth. Currid notes ‘the lack of specifics’ following the prohibition of theft; the command ‘simply transcends any conditions or circumstances’, whether it is a matter of carrying off goods or kidnapping people and whether the thing stolen is valuable or trivial. In a word, Scripture respects private property and demands integrity over the whole range of personal, economic and commercial relationships.’ Alec Motyer: ‘The message of Exodus’, p.229.

That said, Tom Hale notes:

‘God owns everything in the universe; when we steal, we steal ultimately from Him. Furthermore, when we steal we hurt our neighbour; but God commands us to love our neighbour (Leviticus 19:18; Mark 12:31).

The person guilty of stealing was required to compensate the injured party in accordance with the value of the stolen property. The death penalty was never demanded for theft, because God puts much higher value on human life and on marriage than He does on property.

Stealing can take more subtle forms: to deprive a person of his or her rights is stealing; to withhold just wages is stealing; to neglect paying a debt is stealing; to defraud a neighbour in any way is stealing (James 5:4).’ ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.244.

I think, for example, of the form of theft involved in plagiarism, when we pass someone else’s work off as our own. Is this not also a form of stealing? All theft is wrong

Believers should be known for their honesty. This moves us seamlessly into the next command.