In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Welcome back to Purify the Heart. This is Pastor Zachary Courie. In Exodus 20, the Lord gave the Decalogue, the Holy Ten Commandments. Today, in Exodus 21, the Lord applies the Ten Commandments to particular cases.
Exodus 21
21 “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 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. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 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.
7 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 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. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
12 “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. 13 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. 14 But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
16 “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
17 “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
18 “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, 19 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.
20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
22 “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. 23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 “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. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
28 “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. 29 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. 30 If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. 31 If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. 32 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.
33 “When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
35 “When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. 36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his. (Exodus 21:1–36, ESV)
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
When we come to the laws in Exodus 21, we see something remarkable: God gives specific judgments for specific situations. These case laws provide objective certainty that Moses and the elders appointed to judge Israel’s disputes are not relying on their own opinions but on the will of God. This is crucial because human justice is often flawed. Even when godly men seek to judge rightly, there are regrets and errors. But here, the Lord Himself speaks, ensuring that His people have a foundation for justice that reflects His righteousness.
Some of these laws may seem strange to us, even unsettling. We might wonder why God would permit certain practices or why He prescribes particular punishments. But this is where we must remember the purpose of Purify the Heart. Our opinions must be shaped by God’s Word, not the other way around. What He says is true. What He judges is just. Even though these laws were given to Israel and do not directly apply to us, the principles behind them—the application of the Ten Commandments to real-life situations—are still worth meditating on.
Take, for example, the laws concerning slavery. When we hear the word slavery, we often think of the brutal and dehumanizing practice that plagued much of world history, especially the transatlantic slave trade. But the system in ancient Israel was different. It wasn’t rooted in racial oppression or lifelong bondage. Instead, it functioned more like indentured servitude—a way for a person to work off debts or secure provision in times of need. And God regulated it in such a way that human dignity was preserved.
This is not to say that slavery, in any form, is ideal. The very fact that laws were given to regulate it suggests that it existed because of human sin and weakness. (To put it in another way, just because the Lord permitted slavery doesn’t mean that He promoted it.) But here is where the greater story of redemption comes in: Christ came to set captives free—not merely from earthly bondage, but from the slavery of sin itself. Jesus did not merely give laws to regulate injustice; He bore injustice in His own body on the cross. He was treated as a slave, humbling Himself to the point of death, that we might become sons of God (Philippians 2:7).
Even if we have never owned a servant or an ox, we still need to be purified by God’s Word. Meditating on these laws helps us conform our thoughts and judgments to the Lord’s. More than that, Christ has forgiven us of our own injustices and given us His Spirit so that we would act justly. He is our true Judge, and His justice is never tainted by human error. As we reflect on how God’s law applies righteousness to everyday life, we are shaped into people who love what is good and hate what is evil—just as Christ does.
Let us pray. O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Thanks for joining me to Purify the Heart! Tomorrow, in Exodus 22, we continue with more specific laws from God. Until then, grace be with you. Amen.
