So sorry for missing out on yesterday and not doing it >_<

Anywho, only 4 weeks of school left! Not including finals of course, but keep swimming 'til then~ [from Dory keke]

God bless!

-Love, GinniePark

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Memory Verse of the Week:

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." - Exodus 20:7

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Godly Servanthood - Exodus 21:1-11

Righteous Masters

1: "These are the laws you are to set before them:"

2: "If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh, 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."

 

Debt

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 [ual intimacy]."

11: "If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money."

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Reflection

Righteous Masters (21:1-6)

Slavery was an institution that was well-established and accepted in the ancient world. However, the Israelites practiced slavery in a very different way from the rest of the world. The very fact that a seperate set of laws were given for slaves in the Pentateuch proves that slaves were not seen as property but as human beings. Other cultures treated slaves as property, and their laws reflected that belief.

As human beings, Hebrew slaves were treated with dignity and respect. They could not be abused or killed without repercussion. They could not be sold to another master on a whim. If a female slave was ually abused, the abuser had to give her the full rights of a wife. Hebrew slaves even had to be released from servitutde after six years; the Israelites were to emulate God's pattern of creation in their lifestyle and culture. Hebrew masters were called to be righteous, just like God.

 

Debt (21:7-11)

One of the most common types of slavery in history is called debt . This is the situation where a person sells himself or herself, or sometimes a family member, to another person in order to pay off their debt or try to make money to pay a debt. Unfortunately, debt is still a widespread problem today, as many of the modern-day slaves around the world today became slaves through this .

God, in His love and mercy, set laws specifically against this type of evil. God provides ways for slaves to be set free if certain conditions are not met (v.8). God ensures that female slaves are accorded the proper honor of wives and family members if their honor is taken away from them by their masters (vv.9-11). Unlike debt , slavery in Hebrew actually gave destitute people a real way to make a decent living and life.

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Application

-God expects us to treat others the way He treats us. Just as God is a righteous Master and we are His servants, God expects us to treat those who work for us with dignity and respect.

-What poor people need is not a handout or charity, but a chance to build decent lives for themselves. Our job is to do whatever we can to give them that chance, and part of that is to free them from oppression and hopelessness.

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"When blessed with wealth, let them withdraw from the competition of banity and be modest, retiring from ostentation, and not be the slaves of fashion."

-William Wilberforce

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The Law Makes Christ Beautiful

At the beginning of a new year, many Christians resolve to read through the entire Bible. They begin at Genesis and make it through with little difficulty. Then comes Exodus. Although the first part is fairly easy to read through, the second half is typically more difficult, and they begin to lose steam. By the time they reach Leviticus through Deuteronomy, the "Law heavy" books begin to look more like tomes of torture than the Word of God.

But through an understanding of the Law, the whole story of Christ becomes much more beautiful. It is like the difference between watching a movie through an analog black and white TV and a modern digital LCD HDTV. Both of them can be utilized to understand the story being told, but the HDTV will always provide a much clearer picture.

Although Exodus 21:1-11 might not seem to bare much importance to us today, consider these laws about Hebrew servants in conjuction with Psalm 40 and Jesus Christ. Henry Law writes, "Read, then, the 40th Psalm. There faith ascends in heaven-high flight. It hears the eternal Son in close communion with the eternal Father. It catches these wondrous notes. 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire but my ears you have pierced.' Jesus announces the amazing fact. Father, My ears are pierced by your hand." Jesus Christ was sent as a servant. Because of His great love for us, He was willing to be bound as a servant forever! The more we understand the Law that Jesus Christ bound Himself to, the more beautiful His sacrifice becomes.

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A Letter to God

Father, make me righteous just as You are.

Help me to treat all people with dignity and respect, just as You treated me when You sent Your Son to save me while I was still Your enemy.

Help me to free those who are still in today. In Jesus' name. Amen.