God’s Justice Is Kinder And More Compassionate Than We ExpectWhen people read the laws in Exodus, especially the ones that deal with slavery or harm or conflict, they often feel confused. Some even feel unsettled. But these laws were never random. They were never harsh for the sake of harshness. They were given to a people who had just come out of generations of brutal oppression. They had no courts. No legal structure. No shared understanding of justice. And what God gives them in E...
God’s Justice Is Kinder And More Compassionate Than We Expect
When people read the laws in Exodus, especially the ones that deal with slavery or harm or conflict, they often feel confused. Some even feel unsettled. But these laws were never random. They were never harsh for the sake of harshness. They were given to a people who had just come out of generations of brutal oppression. They had no courts. No legal structure. No shared understanding of justice. And what God gives them in Exodus 21 is no cold parliamentary legislation. It is a picture of a society shaped by His character. It is justice with compassion. Authority with limits. Power held in check by mercy. And if we listen closely, we discover that God’s heart is far kinder and more protective than we often think.
Exodus 21:1–32 (ESV)Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single. If he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free, then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. But if a man wilfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear, only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.
When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. If it gores a son or a daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
When we hear the word slave, we immediately think of the horrors of modern slavery or the transatlantic slave trade. But what God describes here is something very different. This is a system meant to protect the poor. To give stability to those who had lost everything. To keep the vulnerable alive in a world without social safety nets. And right at the heart of it is something that shocks us. God builds freedom into the system. Six years of work. Then release. No debt. No ongoing obligation. No strings attached. It is mercy written into law. If only the banks worked the same way…
And notice something else. When a slave chooses to stay, it is not because he is trapped. It is because he loves his master. The relationship God imagines here is not one of fear but of trust. A master who treats his servant well. A servant who willingly remains. That alone tells us something incredible about the kind of society God is trying to build.
The laws for vulnerable women show the same heart. God refuses to let a man discard a woman as if she were property. If she is taken into the household, she must be protected. Provided for and treated as family. And if she is not, she goes free. Again and again God steps in to defend the dignity of those who could be easily mistreated.
Then come the laws about violence. And they show us something simple and profound. Life matters. Life is sacred. Human dignity is not negotiable. If someone kidnaps another person, that is a capital crime. If someone murders, justice must be done. But these laws also make distinctions. Not all harm is the same. Intent matters. Circumstances matter. Mercy matters. God provides places of refuge. He gives room for discernment. Justice is firm, but it is not blind.
The same is true of the laws about slaves and injury. And this is remarkable for us because we don’t have slaves, but it was also remarkable for Israel back then, because everyone else had slaves. In the surrounding ancient cultures, a slave had no rights. But here God protects them. If a master seriously injures a slave, the slave goes free. God refuses to let power be abused. He holds the strong accountable. Again and again the theme emerges. God is building a community where the vulnerable are safe.
And finally, even animals are included. God holds owners responsible when their negligence harms others. He builds responsibility into everyday life. He refuses to let anyone shrug their shoulders and say, it is not my fault. This is God teaching His people to value every life, human or otherwise. To take seriously the impact of their decisions. To live with care.
So what do we do with all this. Maybe the first thing is to see God’s heart in it. He is not distant. He is not cold. He is not harsh. He is building a society shaped by compassion. By responsibility. By protection. This is the same God who hears the cries of the oppressed. The same God who rescues slaves. The same God who lifts up the weak.
And of course, this points us to Jesus. Jesus is the One who fulfils the heart of these laws. He protects the vulnerable. He treats every person with dignity. He refuses to crush the weak. He brings justice without cruelty and mercy without compromise. He is the true picture of God’s justice and compassion.
So maybe today your next step is to ask what it looks like to reflect God’s heart in your own life. Where has He given you influence or power or authority. And how might you use it in a way that protects and lifts up the people around you. God’s justice is not about punishment first. It is about love shaped by truth. Maybe the call today is simply to treat others with the same dignity and care that God has shown you.
PrayerFather, thank You for being a God who protects the vulnerable and upholds justice with mercy. Teach us to value every life the way You do. Shape our hearts so that our actions reflect Your kindness and Your righteousness. And help us look to Jesus, the One who perfectly fulfils Your law and shows us Your compassion. In His name we pray, Amen.
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