Here are two verses that are hard for us to identify with
if we live in the western hemisphere today. They talk of slavery and ‘striking
one’s slave’. For us slavery was indeed abolished, or at least made illegal,
many, many years ago. This is a text
therefore where we have to consider two aspects of meaning. First, there is the
historical contextual connotation and then the modern-day implication. There is
a need for such an approach often in Scripture. The difficulty is in discerning
where exactly one has to do that and where not.
Being human, we will not always be right and thus our interpretations
sometimes turn into significant theological differences that not only cause
great disagreement among believers but also tarnish the name of Christ.
As a layperson I have often followed four steps in
determining if I am dealing with one of these passages. First, it is talking about something that
does not exist today in its simplest form? In this case, it is talking about
slavery, which has, for all intent and purposes, being abolished. Secondly, if it is talking about something
thing that does not exist today as described, is there something that has taken
its place, that is, has evolved as a modern day version of what it is talking
about? If so, we then apply the teaching
to that. Third, if nothing can readily
be identified as a modern-day version of the original as written in the text,
then is there an application that can be applied that is in keeping with the
rest of Scripture? And finally, if the answer is ‘yes’ to this last question –
what is it?
So, we turn now to the historical context of these two
verses. Clearly, the Israelites had
servants or slaves. And God had specific
rules as to how they were to be treated.
Mistreatment by slave owners was to be punished, but with the
understanding that the servant was indeed owned to a point by his/her
master. It is in this context that God
reiterated the punishment for taking another person’s life in the context of
slavery as well. That is, God’s esteem
for life itself transcended one’s right to do with a slave as he/she wished.
That itself is an important concept for us to keep in
mind. I have often maintained that the
world would get along just fine if each of us agreed to and adopted a
“hierarchy of principles”. The chances
of that happening are zero for the world, but it is something that I have found
useful in my own life and how I view what the world does or does not do.
But what exactly is the modern-day purpose for these two
verses? Well, we can easily move to the
arena of today’s “employer-employee” relationship. And while there are laws in many
jurisdictions, there are still places where workers are taken advantage of and
misused or mal-treated. These verses
would say to us, “be careful that you are not depriving your workers or servants
of the very joy of life and the opportunity for improvement” by what you are
paying them, your awareness of their family needs, etc.
Whereas the assumed punishment for historical slave
masters killing their slaves is death, in our modern application of this verse,
we can only hope for the labor laws to bring judgment upon an employer who
mistreats employees. And this goes on
all the time. As Christians we are to
assist those that are in essence slaves in their places of work however we can
– be it through improving legislation, representing them, being sensitive to
what may be happening that we know is not right, and being brave enough to
speak up against it. Child labor comes
to mind, as does poor working conditions, unacceptably low wages, and not
enough time off to rest physically, be healed, or be with one’s loved ones. Many employees turn to unions, if they can,
to help them because we have not done the job.
[Note: I am not for a moment suggesting that we all
support all labor unions. On the
contrary, I find most labor unions to be self-serving and holding their own
members’ as hostages to their goals. What
I am suggesting is that we not close a blind eye to workplace evils.]
Returning to the historical context, we see that if his/her
master hits the slave and the slave survives, there is no vengeance or
punishment imposed on the master. The
rationale being that sometimes a master has to take strong physical corrective
action if a slave is not doing his/her job properly or disobeying. And if the master had to make a payment, to
whom would he/she pay it, as he/she is the owner of the slave? He/she would end up paying him-/herself.
In a society and time where slavery had been the practice,
God is pushing the envelope of change in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the more appropriate
and loving/caring master-servant relationship is commanded of employers. (For more on this, read Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Culture
Analysis by William J.
Webb, Intervarsity Press, 2001.)
Why did God say if the slave survives “a day or two”, then
no vengeance is to be taken? Why such a
short range? What if the slave died
three days, or a week, or a month, after being hit? Does the master get off without punishment?
These are tough questions for which I have no easy
answers. The closest explanations I can
find are the following: First, we can
assume that the master did not strike the slave with the intention of killing
him or her for that would have meant a great loss of a slave he/she had paid
good money for. Second, if the slave did
die after a day or two, the master would indeed have suffered a financial loss
that would be significant. Both are
plausible, especially when considered together.
We do not always have the
answers to the questions that arise in Scripture. But if we dig hard enough and ask for
understanding, God gives it to us either through others parts of the Bible or
through our own thinking that is not contrary to the rest of His Holy Word.
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looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken
is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]
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