Readings:
Exodus 21, 22, 23
Comments:
So far we have mostly been reading a story with a few genealogies thrown in. Now we begin a trek through the “laws.” It is easy to get discouraged if the laws seem so far from the situations we encounter on a regular basis. However, these laws, remember, were given to a people who for the first time in hundreds of years are living “on their own.” They are no longer slaves in Egypt. How are they to now live together and govern themselves? They are to be governed by God’s laws. And we see a respect for truth. There is also a restraint of power. If a slave owner breaks a slave’s tooth, the slave is set free in compensation (21:27). Where else do we see restraint of power in regard to people’s relationships – with men and women, with the alien among us, with the those with money and those without money? Can we see among all these laws God’s concern for fairness, for justice?
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