Exodus 21

Chapter 21

From now until partway through Numbers, we enter one of the most enthralling sections of the Bible: a recitation of rules, regulations, and records rivaling the romanticism of Rostand. Although much of the material here is interesting only from a historical and cultural perspective--and I'm certainly no historian--I'll do what I can to glean at least some zest out of these proceedings.

The very idea of servitude is reprehensible today, but this is how the Israelites and those around them lived. Most strikingly, no servant could be kept for more than six years--and not only that, the newly-freed servant didn't have to pay his or her former master one single shekel. Unfortunately, male servants were not allowed to bring their wife and kids along with them once they went free. Verse 4 does specify, "If his master gives him a wife," which implies that the servant didn't choose whom he married. Then again, even "free" people throughout history have been participants in arranged marriages.

Also, in verse 6, we learn just how a servant can procure a free ear piercing from his or her master.

The next section has an awful lot of rules about putting people to death for various felonies, with verse 24 containing the infamous "eye for an eye" edict. The NIV Study Bible posits that the spirit of this law emphasizes proportional justice rather than increasing escalation, but it still feels rather harsh--especially "burn for burn" in verse 25. Tooth for tooth, on the other hand, doesn't seem so bad, unless you're imbecile enough to knock out 32 people's teeth.

God devotes five whole verses (28-32) to bulls. I can't help conjuring an image of Israelites waving capes around in an attempt to get poor Ferdinand to chase after them. And although it sucks to have an ox or donkey fall into an open pit (verse 33)--especially for the hapless, absent-minded animal itself--the very existence of this rather random law implies that this was not a rare occurrence. I guess God was tired of watching animals plunge into holes that the Israelites had dug and then forgot about.

"You shall not make yourself an image…" (20:4-6)

I certainly don't worship idols, and I suspect that few who have their wits about them still do today, but do I worship figurative idols? I drive at least 30 miles a day, six days a week, which gives me plenty of time to contemplate various worries and flights of fancy. Sometimes, I admit that I think to myself, "Oh, if only my life were like this. If only I were more confident, charismatic, charming, perspicacious, witty, motivated, selfless, trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent." It can be tempting to idolize this ideal life I imagine for myself when in fact my life can never be better if I just follow God. "Better" won't necessarily mean "successful" or "trouble-free," which may partially explain why I don't heed Him more. I know that's a selfish reason, though, which offers further evidence of my need to further deepen my relationship with God.

(I suppose you could also say that I should be wary of idolizing writers, directors, composers, and actors whose work captivates me, but I wrote a bit about that in my previous post already. In fact, I'm half-surprised myself that I didn't just copy and paste yesterday's entry wholesale and change "gods" to "idols.")