Exodus 21:1 - Meaning and Application

Verse 1 gives the general heading for the laws in this chapter and the next two chapters. Some of them deal with worship, but most concern life between people. Because Israel was ruled directly by God, matters that other nations settled by human judgment were here ordered by God’s own commands. This made their government especially fitted to their good.

These laws are called judgments because they are shaped by perfect wisdom and fairness. Moses had already asked God about hard cases as they came up (Exodus 18:15). Now God gave him general laws, so he could decide later cases that were similar by the same rule. He begins with laws about servants, and these laws show mercy and restraint.

The Israelites had recently been servants themselves. Now that they were not only free, but also owners of servants, God warned them not to treat their servants harshly. They had suffered under the Egyptian overseers, so these laws made sure servants would be treated kindly and gently. If those who once had power over us hurt us, that does not excuse us from hurting others under our power. In fact, it makes our sin worse, because we know by experience how painful such treatment is.

The first law concerns Hebrew menservants, who had been sold either by themselves, by their parents because of poverty, or by the judges because of crimes. Even those sold by the judges, if they were Hebrews, were to serve no more than seven years. By then, God counted that they had been punished enough for their foolishness or offense. At the end of seven years, the servant could go free (Exodus 21:2, Exodus 21:3), or he could choose to stay with his master (Exodus 21:5, Exodus 21:6).

If his master had given him a wife and children, he had two choices. He could go out free and leave them behind, or he could stay in service because of his love for them. If he chose to remain, his ear was to be bored through at the doorpost, and he would serve until his master died, or until the year of jubilee, the special year of release.

By this law, God taught Hebrew servants to value freedom and to show a noble spirit. They belonged to the Lord, so they were not to think lightly of liberty. A mark of shame was placed on the one who refused freedom when he could have had it, even if his reasons seemed honorable. In the same way, Christians, having been bought with a price and called to freedom, must not become servants of men or of sinful desires (1 Corinthians 7:23). A free and royal spirit helps a believer stand strong (Psalm 51:12).

God also taught Hebrew masters not to be harsh with their poor servants. They should remember that their servants had once stood on the same level with them by birth, and that in a few years they might stand there again. In the same way, Christian masters should treat believing servants with respect (Philemon 1:16).

This law also helps us understand God’s right over the children of believing parents, and the place they have in his church. Through baptism, they are counted among his servants, because they are born in his house and belong to him (Ezekiel 16:20). David called himself God’s servant as the son of his handmaid, and so he looked to God for protection (Psalm 116:16; Psalm 86:16).

It also helps explain the commitment the great Redeemer made in carrying out our salvation. He said, “My ears you have opened” (Psalm 40:6), which seems to point back to this law. He loved his Father, his chosen people, and the children given to him, so he did not go out free from his task. Instead, he bound himself to serve forever (Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 42:4). We have far more reason to give ourselves to God in the same way. We should love our Master and his work, and be willing to have our ears marked for his doorpost, as those who do not want freedom from his service, but want to be more and more free in it and through it (Psalm 84:10).

The same care was shown for maidservants, young girls whom their parents, in extreme poverty, had sold while they were still very young to people who hoped to marry them when they grew up. If they were not taken as wives, they were not to be sold to strangers. Instead, their owners were to make up for the disappointment in some fitting way. If they were married, then they were to be given proper support and honor (Exodus 21:7-11). In this way, God protected the comfort and good name of the daughters of Israel, and he taught husbands to honor their wives, even if their family background was lowly, as weaker vessels who deserve respect (1 Peter 3:7).