Tweet
An unbeliever threw this passage in my face to prove that our God is a meanie who tells His children to sell their daughters. At first I was quite annoyed because: here we go again, someone twisting our Father's word in the worst possible way to not only fortify their unbelief, but sabotage our faith and prevent others from a fair consideration of our Father's abundant grace. Little did I suspect I was about to receive a humbling lesson. I should have known better. The Holy Spirit had a lot to say about this passage.
Exo 21:7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
Exo 21:8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
Exo 21:9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
Exo 21:10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
Exo 21:11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
The first thing I noticed was that this is not a commandment or encouragement to engage in slavery. But it seems widely understood by learned men that it was an apparently accepted practice among the peoples. Yet God didn't say "No, don't do that!" We should wonder why. We should seriously inquire! Because in today's age, servitude is considered slavery, synonymous with exploitation and a cardinal sin of secular society. Unbelievers are very critical of scripture, and this topic is a pet peeve. Believers should try to understand why slavery was practiced and accepted then without controversy, and why we don't accept it now (assuming that is how you feel--I don't presume to dictate to anyone--but we might look at how this reveals Christ, and understand more deeply the theme of bondage and freedom).
So, back in the day, if a father could not support the family then he might sell his daughter into a term of maid service. We should take care not to judge harshly. When people go through tough times, for whatever cause, they will do what they think is necessary to endure. Sometimes there are no easy choices. God teaches us here, and in many places, that difficulties grant no license for lawlessness.
The nations seemed to have had no problem with selling their daughters into prostitution, slavery (perhaps even to foreigners), sending them out to fend for themselves, and too often ritual sacrifice. If a father doesn't provide for his children, then clearly it opens the door to all manner of compromise and defilement. Paul says in 1Ti 5:8, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." That notion is perhaps what Jesus intended in Mat 5:32, "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery."
So in Exo 21:7-11 we see commandments to both the father and the master to care for the maid, and do right. It even provides for the case where the master might renege on the deal he made. In an age when men were making their own rules according to their own desires, this is truly a mercy. (And should we expect anything less of our Father in heaven, whose mercy endures forever?)
Therefore, we can understand Exo 21:7-11 additionally as a protection against fornication. We know women were at high risk of being raped from the book of Ruth, when Boaz instructed Ruth how to walk safely in his fields, and from many other places in scripture. We know God is particularly offended by fornication, and that natural fornication and spiritual fornication go hand in hand. In Numbers, Balaam taught Moab to seduce God's people with sex, and in the end they bowed down to Baal Peor--a common formula. We know especially God's stance on spiritual fornication. Wherever sexual sin is rampant, so is idolatry.
On another level, we can see that Exo 21:7-11 is a picture of mankind in bondage, and the restraint that honoring God's law imposes upon evil. The Israelites were under bondage of the law when they obeyed, or a conqueror when they rebelled; and the nations were in bondage to unjust and cruel gods, ultimately Satan. The converse is that, through God's just governance and ordained grace, those in bondage shall be freed. The Israelites in bond-service could be redeemed by the grace of a family member who is able to make payment, and were freed by grace in the Jubilee year. The nations were freed when Jesus Christ shed His blood for us, our debts are forgiven, and God showered His grace upon all who receive Him.
Indeed, even the world enjoys a remarkable peace for a season, while God's spirit flows and the people observe His laws, beginning with Pax Romana as an obvious miracle of His grace and enduring into these times. We have had some very dark times, for certain. But God hasn't left us, staying true to His promise: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Never in history has the world seen seasons of peace as this age has enjoyed.
When I had finished, I saw that the Lord's wisdom is deep and rich, and His goodness and mercy can be found even in places we think belong to the darkness. In putting me in the path of this critical person seeking to destroy the faith of children, God blessed me with revelation, and an opportunity to bear witness to unbelievers of His wisdom and mercy in the book that people hate, and modern men feel a need to apologize for. We are so very blessed that His goodness and grace do not fail at man's doubting and accusations.
Glory to Jesus.
Exo 21:7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
Exo 21:8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
Exo 21:9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
Exo 21:10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
Exo 21:11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
The first thing I noticed was that this is not a commandment or encouragement to engage in slavery. But it seems widely understood by learned men that it was an apparently accepted practice among the peoples. Yet God didn't say "No, don't do that!" We should wonder why. We should seriously inquire! Because in today's age, servitude is considered slavery, synonymous with exploitation and a cardinal sin of secular society. Unbelievers are very critical of scripture, and this topic is a pet peeve. Believers should try to understand why slavery was practiced and accepted then without controversy, and why we don't accept it now (assuming that is how you feel--I don't presume to dictate to anyone--but we might look at how this reveals Christ, and understand more deeply the theme of bondage and freedom).
So, back in the day, if a father could not support the family then he might sell his daughter into a term of maid service. We should take care not to judge harshly. When people go through tough times, for whatever cause, they will do what they think is necessary to endure. Sometimes there are no easy choices. God teaches us here, and in many places, that difficulties grant no license for lawlessness.
The nations seemed to have had no problem with selling their daughters into prostitution, slavery (perhaps even to foreigners), sending them out to fend for themselves, and too often ritual sacrifice. If a father doesn't provide for his children, then clearly it opens the door to all manner of compromise and defilement. Paul says in 1Ti 5:8, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." That notion is perhaps what Jesus intended in Mat 5:32, "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery."
So in Exo 21:7-11 we see commandments to both the father and the master to care for the maid, and do right. It even provides for the case where the master might renege on the deal he made. In an age when men were making their own rules according to their own desires, this is truly a mercy. (And should we expect anything less of our Father in heaven, whose mercy endures forever?)
Therefore, we can understand Exo 21:7-11 additionally as a protection against fornication. We know women were at high risk of being raped from the book of Ruth, when Boaz instructed Ruth how to walk safely in his fields, and from many other places in scripture. We know God is particularly offended by fornication, and that natural fornication and spiritual fornication go hand in hand. In Numbers, Balaam taught Moab to seduce God's people with sex, and in the end they bowed down to Baal Peor--a common formula. We know especially God's stance on spiritual fornication. Wherever sexual sin is rampant, so is idolatry.
On another level, we can see that Exo 21:7-11 is a picture of mankind in bondage, and the restraint that honoring God's law imposes upon evil. The Israelites were under bondage of the law when they obeyed, or a conqueror when they rebelled; and the nations were in bondage to unjust and cruel gods, ultimately Satan. The converse is that, through God's just governance and ordained grace, those in bondage shall be freed. The Israelites in bond-service could be redeemed by the grace of a family member who is able to make payment, and were freed by grace in the Jubilee year. The nations were freed when Jesus Christ shed His blood for us, our debts are forgiven, and God showered His grace upon all who receive Him.
Indeed, even the world enjoys a remarkable peace for a season, while God's spirit flows and the people observe His laws, beginning with Pax Romana as an obvious miracle of His grace and enduring into these times. We have had some very dark times, for certain. But God hasn't left us, staying true to His promise: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Never in history has the world seen seasons of peace as this age has enjoyed.
When I had finished, I saw that the Lord's wisdom is deep and rich, and His goodness and mercy can be found even in places we think belong to the darkness. In putting me in the path of this critical person seeking to destroy the faith of children, God blessed me with revelation, and an opportunity to bear witness to unbelievers of His wisdom and mercy in the book that people hate, and modern men feel a need to apologize for. We are so very blessed that His goodness and grace do not fail at man's doubting and accusations.
Glory to Jesus.
Comment