Leviticus 25:35-46
—“‘35 If one of your
brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help
him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Take no
usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with
you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at
a profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. 39 And if one of your
brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall
not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he
shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then
he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his
own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are
My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as
slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.
44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations
that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 Moreover
you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their
families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become
your property. 46 And you may take them as an inheritance for your children
after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent
slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule
over one another with rigor.’”
Here we see the difference between how the Israelites were to treat their fellow Israelites, versus how they could deal with those from other nations. The principle is rather simple—you treat your fellow Israelites better than you treat those pagans who mock and despise God and who worship foreign gods. If one of your fellow countrymen becomes poor, you and your neighbors do what you can to help him. If he needs to borrow money, lend him money—only do not charge interest. If he borrows 100 shekels, he pays back 100 shekels, not 150. If he needs food, you lend him food—only, again, do not charge interest. If you lend him an omer of flour, he gives you back an omer of flour—not an omer and a half.
Then look at the warning
that God attaches to these commands. Leviticus 25:36, 43—“36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear
your God, that your brother may live with you…43 You shall not rule
over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.” This
is a repeat of a warning He gave back in Exodus 22:21—“You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him,
for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” These people had been
strangers and foreigners in the land of Egypt. They were not invited, but a
long time ago a young man named Joseph went down to Egypt after being sold to
Midianites. Eventually, a famine took over the land where his father and
brothers lived, and guess where they had to go to find food? Yeah, Egypt. And
God granted them favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they ate well and
their descendants lived happily in that land for some time. Exodus 1:7—The children of Israel were fruitful and increased
abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled
with them. Good times all around for these happy Hebrews. BUT.
Exodus 1:8-11—8 Now there arose a new king
over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, "Look,
the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 come,
let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event
of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out
of the land." 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them
with their burdens. They were strangers in the land of Egypt, and the
Egyptians afflicted them. Now, what did God do to Egypt after they afflicted
Israel for 400 some-odd years? He sent plagues and death. And it is for that
reason that God gives the Israelites the warnings He does in Leviticus 25:36
and 25:40. He is warning them that if they mistreat strangers—and even
more, if they mistreat their fellow countrymen—that He just might send plagues
and death among them. Because, let’s remember, these
people were the people of God. So that fellow Israelite was one of God’s
people. And do you think it’s a good idea to afflict God’s people? No it is
not, and God even says so in Leviticus 25:42—“For
they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of
Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.”
This theme—the people of
God taking care of the people of God—is seen again in the New Testament as
well. Galatians 6:10—As we have opportunity,
let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
The people of God are always put under a microscope by the people of Satan. The
lost, the pagans, the haters of God are always looking for some flaw to exploit
so they can point their finger at us and say, “Aha! See! These who claim to
be so pure and holy, and look at how they treat their own!” This scrutiny
has only increased since the advent of our Lord Christ. He came preaching “Love
one another.” John 13:34-35—“34 A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that
you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another.” Paul wrote the same thing to the
saints in Rome, in Romans 13:8—Owe no one
anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the
law. In the second chapter of his letter, James wrote to those of the
Dispersion to not judge one another based on what a man had or did not have. He
sums up his whole argument in James 2:8-9—8
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall
love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show
partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
And yet, it wasn’t too
long after the birth of the church that schisms and factions and sniping and
feuding arose in the church—nay, even while Paul was penning the word of Holy
Writ these things became manifest. Galatians 5:14-15—14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in
this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15 But if you bite
and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! Philippians
4:2—I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to
be of the same mind in the Lord. 1st Corinthians 1:10-12—10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no
divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my
brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I
am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of
Christ." Corinth and Galatia and Philippi were cities filled with
pagans, heathens, Romans, and all other groups who knew not God. And the people
in these cities were judging these Christians not on how they acted toward the
worshippers of false (little-g) gods, but on how they treated their fellow
worshippers of the true (BIG-G) God. And if those of The Way would bite and
devour one another; if they would erect false divisions among them based on how
eloquent the speaker they followed; if they sought their own interest at the
expense of others—then what good was it to follow this dead Jewish rabbi (as He
was known by those who did not know Him)? When they could just as easily be
accepted by those who, like they themselves, practiced all sorts of idolatry in
the pagan temples? “I thought you Christians were supposed to ‘love one
another’. Is this what your Master meant? Is this how you show your ‘love’ for
one another? Thanks—but no thanks!” If we are the people of God, then we
should be caring for the people of God. That is the foundation of this command
to not hire one of your fellow Hebrews as a slave, but as a hired servant.
Now, the question then
becomes, “What’s the difference?” Well, the word translated ‘slave’ is עֶבֶד
(‘ebed), which means literally, ‘a slave’. This is one who would become
the property of another, as seen in verses 44-46. (Even though slaves were your
considered as property, and you could pass them down to your children as an
inheritance, you still had to treat them properly, see again Exodus 22:21).
The word translated ‘hired servant’ in Leviticus 25:40 is שָׂכִיר
(sakiyr), and it means ‘a hireling’. In short, this would mean a
day-laborer. And the other, most important distinction between a slave (עֶבֶד
(‘ebed)) and a hireling (שָׂכִיר (sakiyr)) was this: at the end of their sixth year of
service (or at the Year of Jubilee, whichever came first), the hireling (שָׂכִיר
(sakiyr)) went free. (Unless, of course, he had pledged himself to his
master as seen in Exodus 21:4-6). The slave (עֶבֶד
(‘ebed)) did not. They could serve as that person’s slave for seven
Sabbath years and a Jubilee—and there was not one word in the Law about their
owner being under any obligation to let them go free at any time—period.
Leviticus 25:47-55—47 “Now
if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren
who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner
close to you, or to a member of the stranger's family, 48 after he is sold he
may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; 49 or his uncle or
his uncle's son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his
family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself. 50 Thus he shall
reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to
the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of
Jubilee; it shall be according to the time of a hired servant for him. 51 If
there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the
price of his redemption from the money with which he was bought. 52 And if
there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon
with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his
redemption. 53 He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not
rule with rigor over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed in these
years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee --- he and his children
with him. 55 For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My
servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
Let’s picture this
for a minute. Suppose you were an Ethiopian slave in Egypt and you and your
family came out of Egypt on the night of the first Passover. The day comes when
you find that you and your family are very poor. You put yourself out on the
market, and one day find yourself being bought by a rich Israelite. You serve
that Israelite for a few years, and one day you see one of his other
servants—an Israelite by birth—going free. He has finished his sixth year of
service, and under the Law, that Israelite servant goes free. You sit there
watching him clear out his stuff, walking out through the gates, and off into
the sunset. You, meanwhile, don’t go anywhere. You can't—you are this person’s
slave. You belong to him for life. Sounds rough, doesn't it? It does…until you
consider the benefits that come from being joined to the nation of Israel. And
when a slave was bought, with money, from a foreign nation, that slave was to
be circumcised. This goes all the way back to the commands God gave to Abraham
in Genesis 17:10-13—“10 This is My covenant
which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every
male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in
the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me
and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male
child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money
from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and
he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall
be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.”
Now, the foreign slave
who was now circumcised could join himself to the people of Israel—or not. If
you did not, then you were of the people Paul talked about in Ephesians
2:11-12—11 Therefore remember that you, once
Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the
Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—12 that at that time you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. You,
the Ethiopian slave who came out of Egypt, and who was now circumcised,
being the slave of the Israelite, if you do not join yourself to the people of
God, you were still just one more lost pagan who was destined for Hell when you
died. But listen to this promise that God gave through the prophet, in Isaiah
56:1-7—1 Thus says the LORD: "Keep
justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come, and My
righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man who does this, and the son
of man who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps his
hand from doing any evil. 3 Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined
himself to the LORD Speak, saying, ‘The LORD has utterly separated me from His
people’; nor let the eunuch say, ‘Here I am, a dry tree.’ 4 For thus says the
LORD: ‘To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and
hold fast My covenant, 5 even to them I will give in My house and within My
walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give
them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. 6 ‘Also the sons of the
foreigner who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the name
of the LORD, to be His servants—everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
and holds fast My covenant—7 even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and
make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house
of prayer for all nations." The slave or the eunuch who was joined
to Israel while that nation still lived under the old covenant—if that slave
kept the Sabbath (the sign of the old covenant) and brought the offerings
commanded under the Law, they would be accepted by God. And just as the keeping
of the Sabbath and the bringing of the offerings of the Israelite covered his
sins until Christ came to take them away forever, so too would the keeping of
the Sabbath and the bringing of the offerings of the foreign slave cover his
sins until Christ came to take them away.
For all the rankling that
the skeptic will make along the lines of “Why doesn't the Bible say anything
about slavery? The Jews in the Old Testament had slaves and God seemed to be OK
with that!” These are people who are willfully ignorant (or, as one fellow
I know likes to say, they're ‘stupid on purpose’). God gives clear, specific
instructions on how the people were supposed to treat their slaves. They were
treat them fairly, to provide for them, and there were consequences for not
doing so. This was to be a picture of our Master to come, who would tell us
that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30). He
does not rule over us with rigor, and when He came, it was the fulfilling of
the Year of Jubilee—he set free those who were captives of sin, and brought us
into His house and made us His people.
Thank You Lord, that though we were slaves of sin, You have purchased us, not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Your Son, that we may never go back into slavery to Satan. We have been bought, we have been washed, we have been cleansed by our new Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. Whether we are Jew or Gentile, free or slave, male or female, if we have been bought by Christ and His blood, we need never fear being a slave of sin and Satan any longer!
