Church, last week in Exodus 20:22-26 we heard God instruct His people on gods and altars. What was God after in such instruction? He was after their worship of Him, and told them to approach Him simply and purely, unlike the nations around them. Worship is the first thing God addresses in this section we’ve now entered called ‘the Book of the Covenant.’
And the very next thing He talks about is…slaves.
Let that sink in. Worship first, then the way you treat the servants who work under your roof. This order isn’t an accident. God’s never been interested in a worship that stays in the sanctuary. Love God, then love your neighbor, who in this context just so happens to be one underneath your authority and care.
But let’s be honest. After the glorious narrative we’ve read so far in Exodus about Israel being enslaved in Egypt and freed by the great work of God, about the giving and receiving of the Law, we now come to buying slaves, boring ears with an awl, and a man selling his daughter to another? If this text doesn’t make you a little uncomfortable, you probably not read it yet.
So we’ll do two things this morning. We’ll read it carefully, in its own context, clarify the great difference between this kind of slavery and the slavery in our own history, and I think we’ll see what God is doing here. All in all, Church, this is not a text to be embarrassed about but a text that shines in a unique way, not only pointing out the kindness of God to these slaves, but pointing far ahead to the kindness of God in the gospel.
First, allow me to orient us to the text.
The ‘Book of the Covenant’ has just begun. The Ten Commandments were spoken by God with absolute authority. What we’re now seeing is those commandments applied to specific situations. You can even hear this in the words used, “When you buy…”, “When a man sells…”, “If he takes another wife…”
Now in 21:1-11, for many , the word “slave” is a problem. Our minds naturally go to the horrors of chattel slavery in our own nation’s history, and those horrors are real. Nobody should minimize them. But if we bring that picture into Exodus 21, we’ll misread and misinterpret the text.
The Hebrew word for slave used here is the word ebed, and you should know its meaning is broad. It can mean slave, servant, bondservant, even employee. How did a person become an ebed in Israel if they were an Israelite? It was a voluntary choice.[1] Maybe they had a string of bad luck. Maybe a series of bad choices had made them homeless. Maybe they were in great debt that they simply couldn’t pay off. Maybe they were a desperate parent seeking to place their child in a more stable home. That’s how an Israelite became an ebed, it was always a voluntary choice.
With that in mind, perhaps slave isn’t the right word to use, at least not as we normally understand the word. The ebed was more of a hired servant, who lived in the master’s home, where they would work hard in exchange for having their basic needs met. The kind of situation in v1-11 is like our own military practice. When you enlist, you really do sign your rights over, agreeing to serve for X number of years, during which the military will pay you a wage and take care of your basic necessities. At the end of that time, you can choose to re-enlist, or to opt out.
Another question this text often raises is: do passages like this in the OT hold up the practice of slavery? Why doesn’t God abolish slavery altogether? Well, those are good questions that deserve good answers. I would say this. In these passages God isn’t commanding slavery, He’s constraining it. I think it’s similar to the way Jesus handles divorce. Jesus said in Matt. 19:8 that Moses allowed a certificate of divorce, “…because of your hardness of heart…but from the beginning it was not so.” So with divorce and with slavery God’s Law enters into the broken world and puts walls around a practice, for our good. With slavery, God knows in a fallen world that some form of slavery will happen, so here He gives laws that transform the practice of it by regulating the relationship between master and slave to outlaw abuse and protect those who serve.[2]
But, I don’t want to paint too rosy a picture here. This is still a fallen world with fallen people. These laws were abused in many unjust ways. But, to see such abuse and respond by throwing this passage, the whole OT, and God Himself into the same crowd as the slave traders in our nation’s history is to go too far.[3] Look ahead to v16, “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” v16 condemns the kind of slavery in our own nation’s history, certainly. That’s not the kind of slavery in view in 21:1-11. The commentator Victor Hamilton said it well, “While the Bible allows slavery, it has modified it and made it into a much more humane institution than that practiced by Israel’s neighbors.”[4]
But let’s now see this for ourselves in the text.
Laws for Men (v1-6)
“Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 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. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 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.”
Right away we see the situational nature of the text. “When you buy a…slave” in v2. And we see who the text is meant for in v2 as well “When you buy a Hebrew slave…” So these are only laws regulating the slavery of Hebrews, of Israelites, not foreigners.
We also see a sabbath pattern applied here. Six years they shall serve, then freedom. Just like the fourth commandment, six days of work, then rest. Here the sabbath principle is applied to slavery, and so it would be correct to view this arrangement as a six-year enlistment. You serve your years, and then you go free.
Deuteronomy 15 is often cited alongside this passage, because there we find more discussion of how the slave goes free. There we read, “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.”
So Israel’s own experience of enslavement, and God’s rescue of them out of such misery ought to massively impact how Israel treats their own slaves. Meaning, God’s mercy to them when they were in bondage, changes how they treat those in their service. God brought them out of Egypt full, so they should send their own slaves out full as well. It would be a cruel master indeed, who was shown such mercy himself and yet refused to show it to others.
More layers are added to this in v3-4. v3 is straightforward, how the slave came in is how the slave goes out. v4 is where it gets complicated. If the master gave him a wife while he served, she and the children stay, while he must leave alone. Does that sound hard to you? It might, but I think there’s a logic to it. If the master gives the slave a wife, she and any kids they have belong to the master. If they didn’t, and they could go free the master would hardly keep any servants around and his own estate would fall flat. But this also wasn’t a bad deal for the man either. Once he had his own freedom he had options. He could work, save his own money, and redeem them. Or, he could do what verse 5 describes. See that?
He could say, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free.” Think about v5. A man who was abused doesn’t say the words, “I love my master.” The slave who was abused leaves and never looks back. So ask, Church, why would a man say the words of v5? This must be a man who loves his master. Why? Because of how kind the master has been to Him. This man was taken in, was fed, cared for, given a home, and a family. In short, this master has given this man everything, so naturally he concludes at the end of his term, ‘Why would I leave? I’ve got all I need and desire here.’
If the word of v5 do indeed happen, God honors it and gives instructions for it in v6. The master is to bring him “to God”, most likely meaning the tabernacle and later the temple, and then is to go to the door of the temple. There he must put the awl through his slave’s ear. Why the ear? Probably because it is with the ear that the slave hears and obeys his master. This awl through the ear would make a hole, which the master would likely fill with an earring or other item signifying his own household, marking out the slave as belonging to that master forever.
These then, are the laws for male Israelite slaves. The passage continues in v7-11 speaking of laws for female Israelite slaves.
Laws for Women (v7-11)
“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 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. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.”
At first this law seems unfair, and it raises some questions. Questions like, ‘Why the difference in slavery laws between men and women?’, and ‘Why did God allow His people to sell their daughters into slavery?’, and ‘Why didn't God allow female slaves to go free in the same way male slaves could?’ At first glance these verses do seem to give the impression that God treated men better than women. So, it’s not surprising to see many use passages like this to state that God is a sexist bigot.
But in order to understand what’s happening here we need to understand the culture of the time.[5] The man who sold his daughter into slavery was not trying to get rid of her, he was not trying to abuse her or harm her, he was actually trying to improve her prospects in life. However strange it may sound to us this kind of procedure is not identical with but very similar to an arranged marriage, which is very common in many parts of the world for most of history. This is what’s going on here. In a time where the world had no safety net for women, this was an arrangement that would ensure her provision.
The arrangement is marital, we see evidence of that in these verses. In v7 there is evidence that she was to be married to the master. In v8-9 she could be redeemed by another, or given to the son of the master in marriage. In v10 she is provided for. And in v11 it’s clear that if she’s not provided for, she can go out free once again.
In all of this God gives three protections for women in this situation. First, in v8 if the master is no longer pleased with her, he can’t simply discard her, he cannot sell her to foreigners “since he has broken faith with her.” Don’t run by that phrase. The master who treats her as disposable has broken faith. He bears blame leading to her to be redeemed by another.
Second, if the master gives her to his son (v9) “He shall deal with her as with a daughter.” In this way her status is raised by the arrangement, not lowered.
And third, if the master takes another wife (v10), “He shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.” Food. Clothing. Presence. Intimacy. This would make the new addition to the household a new wife, not just another body in the house. So, as master and husband, he must provide, protect, and care for her.
If this man fails any of the three (v11), “she shall go out for nothing.” No redemption price. The covenant was violated by the one with power, so the one without power walks free.
Church, this is utterly different than the world around Israel. It was the norm of that day for the powerful to do as they pleased with women in their service, but not with Israel. Here God makes it clear that the one who holds all the cards is still accountable, and cannot simply do as he pleases with the women under their authority.
Of course every situation can be abused, and sadly, many did abuse this situation back then. And as this was abused back then, people still abuse these very same things today, using passages like this to mock the God of the Bible and call Him cruel without understanding the context in which these laws were written. And just last week a prominent prosperity pastor twisted this passage, by teaching it still applies to us today, to convince his church that God had graciously given him a second wife. Church, hucksters and bullies abound in this world. In truth, every earthly master and earthly authority in this world will fall short. This master failed and “broke faith.” Church, Christ never will! He has never broken faith with His bride, but will always provide, protect, and care for her. And of course He will be this good, for He is His bride’s redeemer!
Conclusion:
In this passage we’ve seen much. Laws for male and females slaves, and God’s care for them all. These laws would’ve made Israel different and much kinder and protective of slaves than the nations around them.
But you know what stood out to me the most here? v5-6. Why would a slave ever say the words we read in v5 about his master? What kind of master must this slave have in order to make this slave love his bonds so much that he would desire to never be free of his master?
That’s the question to ask here, and the answer is lovely beyond compare. What kind of master must he be? He must be a master who protects, a master who provides, a master who is kind. When the slave sees and experiences life under this master’s authority, he loves it! And does not desire to leave it!
Church, we have such a master in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the Master who provides. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger” (John 6:35).
He is the Master who protects. “No one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
He is the Master who is kind. “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:29).
But Church, what makes Him greater than all is that He did something no master has ever done. He became the slave.
Philippians 2 says He “…made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant.” Think about that in light of the Exodus. We were enslaved to sin and a harsh master in the Devil, and the Lord Jesus came to break those bonds and forge new bonds with Himself. And He did this by being pierced, not just with an awl, but pierced on the cross for us.
I began by saying that this is not a text in the Bible to be embarrassed about but a text that shines in a unique way, not only pointing out the kindness of God to these slaves, but pointing far ahead to the kindness of God in the gospel. Do you see that now?
The Heidelberg Catechism question 1 puts this on great display. It asks, “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” Answer: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me
of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready
from now on to live for him.”
Church, that’s one of the sweetest sentences in the English language.
Do you know that to be true? I pray you do.
[1] Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory – Preaching the Word Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015) 659.
[2] Ryken, 659.
[3] Victor P. Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2023) 371.
[4] Hamilton, 371.
[5] Ryken, 662.
