Exodus 21:23-25 - If any harm follows, then you shall
give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for
foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Moses gave the people rules to deal with their slaves….males
shall be free after 7 years…women will be free only if they were married when
they became slaves… children became the property of the master…and all should
be treated with dignity and taken in to the family as a full member. Moses adds several rules for all of us….pay
back the losses you cause in accidents…life for life...and stripe for stripe.
These few verses have caused controversy for years. I struggled with just what God wanted me to
learn from this chapter that considered slavery okay….for I consider the
practice of slavery sinful in itself. Human
life was meant to stand up for each other in love…not own each other like property.
Thank God this was one of the practices Jesus changed when he gave his life for
us. But the Israelites had grown up with this practice…and had been slaves
themselves. For some reason….God did not
stop this practice of slavery ‘cold turkey’…he gave them rules instead to start
to understand the term justice.
Justice simple means that everything we do…every choice that
we make on this Earth…has a consequence. Sometimes God protects us….and allows
the natural consequences of our choices to play out…..and sometimes he
intervenes….showing us mercy and grace for some reason…that covers the sin…and
allows us to be blessed in spite of our bad choice. Justice simply calls for us
to right the wrongs we caused….repay eye for eye…stripe for strip…the damage we
have caused with our bad choice.
Jesus refers back to this rule in Matthew 5….where he speaks
to the crowd so firmly about how love for our fellow man should drive us to
give all that we have to insure their salvation. In verses 38-39 he said, “You
have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But
I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the
right cheek, turn to him the other also.” He was telling them that justice….fairness
was not always an action that repays the wrong…but sometimes called for us to
forgive….and die on a cross …even if we did not do anything wrong.
I don’t believe that Jesus was the only one who has the
power to forgive wrongs. I know in my
own life…when he has granted me the power to forgive someone that hurt me…it
has drawn me closer to him…and the memory of that moment….when he emptied my
heart of the hate and bitterness stored there…has become a cherished glimpse of
just how loving my model Jesus must have been in his 33 years of life.
Oh how thankful I am that you followed your father’s rules Jesus.
That you silently let them lead you away..and nail you to that cross….and hung
there till you died for me. Oh how the
verses of Exodus become clear in my heart as I realize that you were following
your father’s rules given to Moses on that holy mountain. Thank you God for saving me…and allowing me
to share in your great plan. Let me noe give my life for you…to let you use it
the way you have planned …to help spread the great message of freedom for all.
Give me strength to turn the other cheek…and learn to listen to your voice…for
how to handle every situation. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment