The book of the Covenant
Chapters 21 – 23 of Exodus makes up what is called the ‘book of the Covenant’. You could rightly say that they are laws in addition to the Ten Commandments, and many of them are the Commandments applied in various incidences in life. (Note: I will ‘cherry pick’ them, as some are more customized for the culture at that time).
God tells Moses directly what they are:
“Now these are the ordinances (laws) which you shall set before the Israelites”: Ex. 21:1 AMP
The first group of laws deal with slavery. The Israelite form of slavery was not prison-based. It was grounded upon indentured servitude – allowing the indentured servant the ability to work off an infraction, or, more commonly, to compensate for indebtedness and to lift one out of poverty.
“If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing.” Ex. 21:2 AMP
Regardless of what brought them to be an indentured servant, their penance was paid in full in 6 years or less, and then they were set free.
If he was single when he became your slave, he shall leave single. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife must be freed with him. Ex. 21:3 NLT
The indentured period of the slave’s wife could not exceed that of her husband.
“If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave and they had sons or daughters, then only the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master. But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’ If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.” Ex. 21:4 – 6. NLT
Many times, the ‘master’ would provide a wife to a single male slave to breed more slaves. Thus, the given wife and children were his property. However, when the slave’s time of indenture was complete, rather than leaving, he could become a slave for life and stay with his family.
The next set of laws deal with causing physical harm to another human being:
“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies must be put to death. However, if he did not lie in wait [for him], but God allowed him to fall into his hand, then I will establish for you a place to which he may escape [for protection until duly tried]. But if a man acts intentionally against another and kills him by [design through] treachery, you are to take him from My altar [to which he may have fled for protection], so that he may be put to death.” Ex. 21:12 – 14. AMP
God is making the distinction between murder, with death by human execution being the penalty, and unintentional manslaughter, whose penalty would be determined by a court.
“Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.” Ex. 21:15 NLT
This is a clear violation of the Fifth Commandment.
“Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.” Ex. 21:16 NLT
“Whoever curses his father or his mother or treats them contemptuously must be put to death.” Ex. 21:17 AMP
Again, violating the Fifth Commandment.
“Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve. But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.” Ex. 21:22 – 25. NLT
The section reading ‘life for life’, etc., is referred as the ‘Law of Retaliation’ (Lex Talionis). Other than ‘life for life’, none of the remainder of that sentence was ever taken literally. It was a principle that limited vengeance and stipulated the punishment cannot exceed the crime, preserving true justice.
The next set of laws deal with social responsibility:
“You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” Ex. 22:21 NLT
“You must not exploit a widow or an orphan.” Ex. 22:22 NLT
“If you lend money to any of my people who are in need, do not charge interest as a money lender would.” Ex. 22:25 NLT
“You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness.
“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit. Ex. 23:1 – 3. CSB
Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty. Ex. 23:7 CSB
You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous. Ex. 23:8 CSB
The next set of laws concern themselves with worship:
“Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor.
First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib, for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering.” Ex. 23:14, 15. NLT
This of course, represents Passover, celebrated at the planting of the crops.
“Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring me the first crops of your harvest.” Ex. 23:16a NLT
This holiday is called Shavout (also ‘Pentecost), celebrated seven weeks after Passover. It also celebrates God’s gift of the Torah to the Jews.
“Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields.
At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord.” Ex. 23:16b, 17. NLT
The festival of the second harvest (Succot – meaning ‘booths’ / ‘tabernacles’ that were portable structures for housing during the Israelites’ desert wanderings).
Lastly, Jehovah speaks of a promise of His presence to guide and guard His children:
“See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion.” Ex. 23:20, 21. NLT
This ‘angel’ has been purported by scholars to represent God Himself, or in the Christian view, the Angel of the LORD, the incarnate Christ.
“But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely. You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.” Ex. 23:22-24. NLT
In this Scripture, Jehovah is promising the Hebrews that He will be their vanguard for their successful invasion of Canaan, the future land of Israel. However, they are not to take up any of the heathen practices of those they conquer.
“I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run.I will send terror ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you.I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land.And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River. I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.” Ex. 23:27 – 31. NLT
It will be an ongoing conquest. And again, He warns His people against adopting any heathen practice:
“Make no treaties with them or their gods. They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.” Ex. 23:32, 33. NLT
Stay tuned for the building of the Tabernacle…