Human dignity

Exodus 21

God’s ultimate reason for His laws to the people was for them to obey and be a special people to Him (Exodus 19:5-6). Thus, in this chapter, God expands His laws on how to love your neighbour as yourself. He gave them laws on servant acquisition, violence to humans and animal control. These all instill human and animal dignity which reflects the nature of God as orderly and the One who made everything. The way we treat God’s creation shows how we revere Him. We must honour God by being obedient to His word.

Three laws God gave Israel in Exodus 21 are:

#1. How to engage people with respect. (Exodus 21:1-11)

If we are going to treat humans with respect, the first thing we must ensure is how we engage people. Here, the Bible makes reference to slavery. This is a godly way of taking on other people who are not in the capacity to fend for themselves or survive the economics of the times. But since God made everyone in His own image and likeness, He had to give laws on how to engage people. It borders on how to engage individuals, family and how freedom is to be treated. If slavery in our modern past had been done in this manner, we would not have had any sour taste of the memory from that. Slaves are human beings who must be treated with respect because the Lord is the maker of us all. In the New Testament, the Bible says that in Christ, there is neither male nor female, slave nor free. We are all one in Christ.

#2. How to treat people with respect. (Exodus 21:12-27)

Violence against man is something God does not condone. In this section of the chapter, God gave Israel laws on how to treat violence of man against man. God gave laws on how to deal with intentional and unintentional violence against man. It brings civility to the community of faith. People must know that the way they treat other people reflects the way they revere God. The Apostle John writing in his first epistle said that if we claim to love God and hate our brother, we don’t have the truth of God in us. A better way to judge a man who claims to love God is the way they treat other people created in the image and likeness of God. Hence, fear of God means treating people with respect.

#3. How to control animals to treat humans with respect. (Exodus 21:28-36)

The last thing we note about this chapter is that God gave them laws on animal control. How do people who own animals rare them so that they do not endanger people of the community? Animals have a mind of their own. They are not human beings to reason how best to treat people with respect and so owners are held liable for any violence of animals against. God gave laws on judgment for animals and human owners who do not restrain them to live well. God created them but He knows man can tame them to live well.

God gave His people laws to ensure human and animal civility in the community of faith. When people fail to heed God’s laws, it endangers society and other people.

Take Action: Know and understand God’s laws to His people.