Overview of: ExodusToday's Reading:
Ex. 21:1 – 22:31
"Social Laws"
Focus Verses: Exodus 21:5-6
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.
Insight:
The people of Israel were on their way toward becoming the nation of Israel. In Egypt, they were defined by slavery--a captive community governed by their captors. Now they were defined by the deliverance and promise of God--a free community governed by the God who set them free. The laws God instructed Moses to give the people were not just about faith and religion and theology; they were social laws given to govern the practical affairs of living in community.
One very interesting law related to cases where bond-servants (slaves) did not wish to be freed because they were so happy with their master. Such servants came before the leaders of Israel to have their ears pierced in a solemn ceremony, thereby declaring their decision to remain slaves to the master they loved.
Response and Action:
The image of a bond-servant, who has given up his freedom in order to remain under the authority and provision of the master he loves, is a good metaphor for what it means to be a Christian. I have surrendered my life to my master, Jesus Christ, because "I love him and do not want to be free." My baptism was a solemn declaration that I have chosen the authority and blessing of Christ over the freedom of self-reliance. I believe that life with Jesus as my master is better than any other life I could imagine or desire.
O God, thank you for your son, Jesus, who although he existed in the very form of God emptied himself and became a servant. Help me to follow in his footsteps, to live as a servant, and to have in me the same mind and heart for your will and your ways. Thank you for the rich and satisfying life you give to those who serve you. Thank you for the joy of serving you which surpasses any "freedom" I could possibly imagine apart from you. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
New Testament for Today: Philippians 2:5-7
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
In Context: Philippians 2
Proverb for Today: Prov. 31:9
"Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."
Resources:
Surrending to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality
by David G. Benner
