Scripture to Read: Exodus 21:1–11, 26–27
There is much to cover this week as God gets more specific giving His ordinances (laws, commands), which all tie back to the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 21:2–11 and Exodus 21:26–27, God gives specific instructions concerning slaves/servants. We learn through the study of history that there were four basic ways a Hebrew might become a slave to another Hebrew. First, if a Hebrew was in extreme poverty, they would sell their liberty (Leviticus 25:39). Second, a father would sell his daughter as a servant into a home with the intention that she would eventually marry into that family (Exodus 21:7). Third, in the case of bankruptcy, a person would become a servant to the people they owed (2 Kings 4:1). Fourth, a thief who had nothing with which to pay back what they had stolen would become a servant (Exodus 22:3–4). We also read in Exodus 21:2, “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.” So, becoming a slave was always meant to be temporary and never intended to be for someone's entire life, but there were cases when a servant loved their master (Exodus 21:5–6) and wanted to serve them for life. So, the servant was willing to serve their master out of gratitude and love, not debt, shame, or defeat. Jesus calls all of us “friends” and not slaves/servants in John 15:15. We’ve been set free from the bondage of sin to serve our Master well.
Challenge & Application
· God has called all of us to serve (Ephesians 2:10). So, how are you currently serving the Lord?
· How would you help a new believer understand what it means to be a servant of Christ?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!