Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 19:20-22

20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 

21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. 

22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.

Today’s verses deal with a controversial subject: fornication with a bondwoman. There doesn’t seem to be any distinction in the language as to whether this is referring only to a foreign Canaanite woman, or an Israelite daughter who is an indentured servant, or both. In any case, the matter here is clearly fornication, not rape, which is handled elsewhere. Also, I say fornication because it fits are modern vernacular where the woman is unmarried, but she is betrothed, and in Ancient Israel that would have elevated the crime to the level of adultery.

In regular cases, adultery was an immediate death sentence for both parties. Hence the woman taken in adultery brought as a test to Jesus to see if he would approve of stoning her. But as we see today, this was actually only the punishment for free persons. The law recognized servants as not having the same privileges, and therefore they were not subject to the same punishments. As we have seen in several cases, the law was designed with protections around the vulnerable. In one sense it was no respecter of persons, condemning all for the same sinful behaviors, creating no class who could just get away with wrongdoing. At the same time, it would change the range of applicable punishment, always retaining the greatest penalty for those with the greatest opportunity.

Verse 20 describes the woman’s punishment as “she shall be scourged,” but this is a highly debated translation. The Hebrew word used here, בִּקּרֶת (biqqoreth), means “examination, i.e. (by implication) punishment — scourged” (Strong’s Concordance). There is nothing that actually makes certain that the word was meant to be scourged here, instead of investigated, nor anything that links it to the woman only. This passage could just as easily read “they shall be scourged” or “they shall be investigated.” Indeed, almost every translation today does use one of those other interpretations.

What is clear is that separate from whatever punishment is described in verse 20, the man involved in the offense would have to make a trespass offering. After this, both parties could apparently be forgiven.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 24:13-15

13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.

14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.

15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.

A number of priests and elders had stood with Moses to receive the witness of God. Now, though, when Moses went to receive the tables of stone with God’s law etched upon them, only Joshua accompanied him. It is interesting that Joshua is described here as Moses’s “minister.” The original Hebrew uses the word שָׁרַת (sharath), which is generally translated as “minister” or “servant” throughout the Bible.

Joshua would, of course, become the next leader of Israel, and so this is an interesting literal manifestation of what Jesus said when he told his disciples, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant,” (Matthew 20:27). Joshua was literally functioning as a servant to Moses, and he really would become chief among all the Israelites.

Before Moses and Joshua ascended the mountain, Moses put the care of the congregation in the hands of Aaron and Hur. He said that any matters that needed to be addressed could be brought to those two priests. This, of course, would ultimately lead to their mischief with the golden calf in Chapter 32.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 22:2-3

2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

These verses explain the laws relating to a burglar. The phrase “breaking up” is more often translated as “breaking in,” meaning the thief is coming directly into one’s home to commit his foul deeds.

A burglar presents far more danger than a thief who picks a pocket or grabs something unattended on the streets. Breaking into a home in the dead of night significantly raises the likelihood of encountering the victim in his most vulnerable position, and so deadly force is more likely to transpire. Accordingly, the law states that a man who strikes a burglar such that he dies shall have no punishment upon him, so long as this did occur in the night. Verse 3 states that if the burglary occurs in the day, lethal force against the intruder is not permitted, presumably as the situation is far less uncertain and dangerous.

If, however, the daytime burglar is captured, there will still be a punishment upon him. As with the prior laws of theft, he must return what he stole twofold. Of course, the man may not be able to pay that fine. He may be able to return what he stole, but not the same value again a second time. In such an instance, we are told that “he shall be sold.” Presumably this means that he will be sold as a servant, but the payment that would normally go to him or his family for his service will instead be given to his intended victim. If he is an Israelite, or converts to the Israelite faith, presumably he will be freed after six years as per the previously stated laws.

I would imagine one side-effect of the Mosaic legal system is that there was much less need for prisons than in our current system. Murderers were put to death, and thieves were only fined, or else served their time as servants in other households.

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Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 21:26-27

26 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.

27 And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.

We have some more verses of the law meant to protect a servant under his master’s care. If a master were found to have abused a servant so that the servant lost an eye or a tooth, then the servant would go free, while still retaining all of the money that was initially paid for his service. The abusive master would simply lose out on any of the six years that remained in the servant’s term.

We have already mentioned how the servanthood described here in Exodus was fundamentally different from—and morally superior to—our more modern conception of slavery. We have also discussed how this sort of paid servitude may have been necessary, given the economic state of the newly-freed Israelites, providing both an opportunity to the poor and a surety to the higher class.

But to be sure, the servants of Israel were still in a vulnerable position, and that reality is well-recognized within the law. Note that we have not seen any laws that would protect or compensate the master should he have an unproductive servant, but we have already seen multiple laws that would protect the servant should he have a cruel master. There is a common narrative in our culture that the Old Testament God was cruel and championed the oppression of the weak, but such claims are disingenuous, ignoring how His laws were deliberately tilted in the favor of the most vulnerable. The care of His heart is made manifest in the guardrails of His law.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 21:4-6

4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.

5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

In the last verses we heard that a servant would go free after six years of labor, however if he took a wife of his master’s slaves, and had children with her, the wife and children would remain with the master after the servant went free. Of course, the wife would also be freed after her six years of service had transpired if she was a Hebrew, so it would seem that this rule was only applicable when the spouse was a foreigner. In such a case, the man’s union to the woman would have been permitted, but not sanctified. The marriage would not have been a covenant before the Lord to such a degree that the husband and wife were to “cleave to one another, and be one flesh.”

As mentioned in the last post, though, the privileges of Israelite nationality was openly-exclusive. The Lord had already related how any foreigner might become a part of the chosen people, so presumably the foreign wife could take on the Hebrew covenants and be counted among the Lord’s people, and then be eligible for freedom from her servitude and remain with her husband.

Or, if she would not, the husband would also have the opportunity to make himself as a foreigner, testifying before the judges that he would rather remain in servitude than go free, and the master would perform a ritual where he fastened the man to his door, making the man a permanent fixture of his household.

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Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 12:43-47

43 And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:

44 But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.

45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.

46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.

47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

God instructed how the Passover feast was to be conducted in relation to those who were not natively part of Israel. This would include both foreigners and servants, and servants were further divided between owned servants and hired servants. Only the owned servant were eligible to participate in the Passover, and only if the servant had been circumcised, thus making him an official part of the Israelite household. He would then live under the umbrella of the lord of the house and would observe the same rituals that his master did.

Hired servants and other foreigners would still be free men under their own jurisdiction. As such, they were not to be included in the feast, and were, in fact, forbidden from participating.

Meanwhile, of the native Israelites God instructed that “all the congregation shall keep it.” There were to be no exceptions, regardless of age, gender, position, or status. Each family was responsible to host the meal in their own house (or in the house of a neighbor if both families were small), but not to pass food from one abode to another.

In all of this I see the Passover as being symbolic of receiving the testimony of the gospel. The foreigner and the hired servants represent the outside unbelievers, who the true disciple may otherwise associate with, but which are still distinct and do not hold the same convictions and responsibilities. The owned servant is the new convert, temporarily borrowing from the testimony of other believers, relying upon the nurturing of the experienced faithful. The native Israelites are the disciples who have fully come into their own testimony, no longer relying on the faith of another to be imparted to them. The Israelite household is the sphere of faithfulness that the true disciple maintains, capable of nurturing and sheltering all who dwell within its borders. We are all meant to progress from the foreigner, to the servant, to the native as we receive our first testimony, increase it from the strength of others, and finally come to a fulness of our own.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 47:21-25

21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.

22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.

23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.

24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.

25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.

We examined yesterday how when the people had given their money and flocks in return for grain, all that remained was for them to offer was their lands and servitude. Thus, all the free people of Pharaoh had surrendered themselves back to him. Pharaoh had made his conquest by grain rather than by the sword, just as God makes His conquest over our hearts by grace instead of force.

Of course, becoming a servant in Pharaoh’s household would also mean coming under his support and protection. They would no longer have to exchange anything for their daily bread except to do his bidding.

Joseph accepts their servitude, but he also proves to be a very gracious master. They will work the same fields that they have just given to him, and eighty percent of what they grow they will be able to keep for themselves. Only a fifth part will be required back to Pharaoh, a double tithe. At this point they might not be producing much on those fields, but the famine is about to end, and the yield will return to normal.

And this is much the same pattern for when we finally surrender the last of our own will to God. It takes a great of deal trust to allow Him to do whatever He will with us, theoretically that would empower Him to take all that is most precious to us and require us to do things that we hated. But what we find instead is that those fears were totally unfounded. Most often the things we consecrate to God He returns back to us. The only thing he takes are the vices and the hurts that we wished to be rid of anyway. We are still able to do our work and pleasure, only now it is to His name and glory. And the success we obtain from our efforts now vastly increases, the dearth replaced with sufficiency and abundance.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 40:1-4

1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. 

2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. 

3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. 

4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.

I never noticed before that the two men Pharaoh consigned to prison were not just “a butler” or “a baker,” they were “the chief of the butlers” and “the chief of the bakers.” These men were not mere servants, they were officers, overseers of a band of workers, responsible for entire sectors of the royal household. It might even be that it was not these two men who offended the Pharaoh, but some of their subordinates, and they were being held responsible for not managing them better.

These men’s higher station might also explain why in verse four it says Joseph “served them.” It would seem that even in prison they retained a more exalted state than the rest of the prisoners. In the last chapter it sounded as though Joseph was an overseer of the other prisoners, but when the captain of the guard needed someone trustworthy to be a servant, Joseph was the one to fill that role as well.

This, of course, reminds me of the example of the Savior, who taught his disciples the idea of a servant-leader. Though he was the undisputed head of his followers, Jesus also washed their feet. This combination of roles requires one to have great capability and power, but also great humility and care. As we will see in the following verses, Joseph did indeed show great care to these men, concerning himself with their trouble and helping them with it as best he could.

The fact that Joseph was in a position of service to these men might also explain why the butler failed to remember him after he was restored to Pharaoh’s house. Perhaps in the pride of his lofty station he failed to give the proper space in his mind for the plea of his lowly servant Joseph.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 39:5-6

5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

6 And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.

I don’t know much about the structure of servants in an ancient Egyptian household, but I think it seems incredible that a youth of seventeen years, brought in as a slave from a foreign land, would climb to overseer in Potiphar’s house. We do not know how exactly what length of time transpired before Potiphar trusted Joseph completely, but I imagine the process was expedited by the fact that Joseph’s works prospered beyond normal human capability, due to the intervention of the Lord.

In any case, eventually Potiphar depended so fully on Joseph that he did not even know what his own belongings were. He put it all under Joseph’s hand and trusted that the young man would not cheat him. All that remained for Potiphar was to reap the blessings of it, the bread that was served to his table.

But there is a difference between being the man that the Lord blesses and being the man who profits from the blessed one. Potiphar is in the same situation as Laban, who similarly reaped the reward of having a man of God, Jacob, under his employ. But also like Laban, Potiphar will not keep his good-luck-charm forever. He will have God’s blessing upon his household only as long as Joseph is present. Joseph, on the other hand, will keep the providence of the Lord wherever he goes.

Posted on by Abe Austin · 2 Comments

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 24:63-65, 67

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

This story is a metaphor for the work of bringing souls to Christ. Consider the final exchange between Rebekah and the servant.

“What man is this?”

“It is my master.”

First Rebekah was converted to the idea of joining herself to Isaac by the servant. Then she was shown the road to reach him, and when they arrived the servant introduced her. Finally, the servant exited the story, leaving Rebekah to his master’s care. Is that not the same as bringing souls to Christ? We preach of him, we lead those that are willing to his presence, we introduce them to the master, and we leave them in his care.

And for his part, Isaac is comforted by Rebekah’s presence. He loves her and he will be devoted to her, just as our Savior loves and is devoted to us.