LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?
THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Today's readings are from the specific stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 22-24). Supposedly this section (Deuteronomy 12-26) loosely follows the outline of the Ten Commandments, but there is disagreement and I haven't been able to look further. For a free and easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.
An interesting mix. When I read the book of Deuteronomy, I am keeping in mind that what I am reading are God's laws. They are given by him, and they reflect his own character. They are a window into his own heart. In the process, I see tensions held together in unity, in God's law, that normally don't coexist elsewhere. On one hand there is a serious concern with preventing harmful social contagion, upholding institutions, and making sharp distinctions between right vs. wrong, holy vs. unholy, clean vs. unclean. These concerns are supported with harsh punishments. On the other hand, there is simultaneously an incredible awareness and value regarding the dignity of those that ancient societies didn't value, specifically the woman and the slave in these chapters. Gary Millar writes that "uniquely in the Ancient Near East, the process in [Deuteronomy 22] 13-19 is designed to protect and exonerate the woman." (Laws which give unique rights to slaves will be mentioned below.) As individuals, we usually tend toward one extreme or the other: either we lift the value of the individual above that of society or institutions, or norms, and we think in simplistic binaries: "people over process," or "love over law," or something similar. Or, other more conservative types will go the other way, and often point out that when we uphold our institutions and rule of law, and protect the sanctity of the family, and control sources of social contagion, we are building a stronger, more functional, more healthy society in which individuals can actually flourish--and then they will describe efforts to care for and value the outsider as some kind of dangerous liberalism. This is not the case in God's law.
The rights of the slave. Today, how the Bible talks about slaves is one of the things that makes people question whether Christianity is good. Shouldn’t the Bible condemn slavery if it’s really from God? When hostile groups attack the Bible on the basis of it not condemning slavery, however, they intentionally leave out a lot of important details. There are some additional facts which are not well known, but which we find a couple of examples of in our reading today. Not only was ancient slavery much different than modern slavery, but Biblical law even undermines the ancient variety. (1) The condition of slavery is consistently portrayed as oppressive, as in Israel’s slavery under Egypt; (2) Most of those who received the NT letters were, themselves, currently slaves; (3) The ideal was presented as the end of slavery—Job notes that in death, “the slave is free from his master” (Job 3:19). (4) If anyone abducted a man to sell him, the one found in possession of him would be put to death, Ex. 21:16, Deut. 24:27; (5) Paul instructs slaves to gain their freedom if they can, 1 Cor. 7:21; (6) The Bible actually forbids returning escaped slaves to their former masters, Deut. 23:15-16. (7) Regarding abuse—The Bible mandates that if anyone was physically harmed by their master, they would automatically be set free, Ex. 21:27; (8) If a man struck a slave and the slave died, the Bible says plainly “he shall be avenged,” Ex. 21:20; (9) In the case of female slaves, the Bible seems to assume the possibility of sexual activity, and so automatically gives the female slave the rights of a wife—and mandates that she not be sold, only divorced and set free.All of this would also make it less likely for a family to sell a daughter into slavery in the first place—not only that, but she has marital rights which if they are not fulfilled would allow her to divorce her master/husband (Ex. 21:7-11). In these ways, Biblical law limits slavery to something that would eventually, and ideally, become more like modern employment today, where a slave is able to voluntarily and suddenly break ties with their master at will, get compensated for mistreatment and injury on the job, and the master would be put to death if he ever killed a slave. In these ways, the Bible's laws regarding slavery undermine and modernize the institution from within.
RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?
How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In my worship, I find myself responding to these laws by, on one hand, realizing that we serve a holy God whose wrath against sin and social contagion is real. And at the same time, I feel invited into his presence, because in his warmth and grace he looks upon even the least of people and feels compassion for them. He understands the messiness of life. In my actions, I can't come away from reading these laws without feeling convicted that if God prescribes kindness and dignity for the "least of these," I should be giving a bigger part of my life to caring for those whom God cares for. In my attitude I want to invite within myself the concerns that coexist within the heart of God. At different times in my life, I have tended towards being more concerned about right and wrong and institutions than I am about people; at other times I feel a pull on the heart strings and I can go the other way. God's law shows me that it's not impossible to deeply care about both at the same time.
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