One of the things we know is that the basic principles of science
that God established at creation do not change over time. As a result, I can confidently place things
on shelf, knowing that gravity will keep them there unless something moves
them. A basketball player can shoot at
the goal, knowing gravity will cause the ball to act in a certain way. The same rules that govern what the basketball
does also govern what a space ship does.
All of science is based on the principle that the rules do not change. If it is not true, there can be no
science. When we ignore those
principles, things do not work out as we expect them to. The better we understand those principles, the
easier it is to accomplish the things we want.
During the dark ages, there was a determined effort to set
aside those rules in an attempt to turn other materials into gold. Alchemists
spent vast amounts of money and resources in the effort, eventually proving
that the ancient scientist had been right all along. Modern chemistry and physics developed as a
result of their failures.
In a similar way, God established certain principles for
human interactions. Efforts to ignore them
cause serious conflicts and problems at every level. God gave Israel a set of laws relating to
those principles, in an effort to help them avoid many of the problems that
result from ignoring them. Unfortunately, like the alchemists during the
Dark Ages, many people today think we can change or ignore those
principles. In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus
said, “Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall
break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be
called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Those same principles will remain in effect as long as this
world exists. Efforts to change or
ignore them bring us into direct conflict with other people and with God. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross freed those
who believe from the penalty for breaking the law, but the law is still in
effect. In an emergency, a police
officer is free to exceed the speed limit but in doing so he may put his life
and those of others around him in danger, because the purpose of the law is to
protect people. In the same way, while
we are not bound by the Old Testament Law, we need to be very careful because
failure to obey may put us or others at risk.
Exodus 21-23 list some of the
laws as to how the Israelites were to treat each other.
Because of differences in our culture and language,
sometimes it can be a little confusing as to what is meant, but the principles
stay the same. For example, slavery is
not legal in America, so it is easy to think the principles relating to it do
not apply to our society. Let’s examine
these laws for a moment.
Exodus 21:2-3 says, “If
thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he
shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by
himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.” It is very clear they did not own the
servant or slave. They had only
purchased his services for a period of time, and the maximum time was for six
years. At the end of the time he was
free to leave. If the agreement included
both the man and his wife. both were free at the end of the time. While slavery is illegal in America, we still
have apprenticeship programs, businesses still contract for people to work for
a period of time, and the military still has people enlist for specified
periods. At the end of the term, the employer
has no claim against things he had before he went to work for them. At the same time, he has no claim against his
employer for things they have provided while he worked for them, even though
they were personal things. Exodus 21:4
states, “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.”
When the term was finished, the employee was free to
negotiate a new agreement with his employer if he liked the job, as we see in Exodus
21:5-6. “And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and
my children; I will not go out free: 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.” He can stay in the same job forever if
that’s what they decide, but it has to be the employee’s decision.
Many employers have taken advantage of their power to get
sexual favors from those under them. There
were some special guidelines for how women were to be treated according to
Exodus 21:7-11. And if a man sell his daughter
to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. If she please not her master, who hath
betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a
strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with
her. And if he have betrothed her unto
his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. If he take him another wife; her food, her
raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. And if he do not these three unto her, then
shall she go out free without money.
In taking a woman on as a slave, the employer assumed the
responsibility for providing her a husband.
If he didn’t want to marry her, he had to give her the opportunity to
marry someone else, who would pay her debt, but he could not sell her. If she
married his son, she was to be treated as equal with his own daughters, and she
could not be kept secretly, but was to be acknowledged a truly his wife with
all the rights and privileges such a position offered. If he was not willing to meet those requirements,
the woman was free to leave, owing him nothing.
These laws and others dealt with many of the abuses modern
labor laws are designed to prevent.
Though our laws are different, human nature is not. People still need protection from the same kinds
of abuses.
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