The people of God drew up rules for their society. Some of the laws may appear very strange or harsh to us. However, if we compare them to the laws of other ancient people they are remarkably humane and some of the principles are still relevant today.
 
These laws were designed to limit evil. For example, there is a right to self-defence, but not to use excessive force in self-defence (22:2–3). There is also the prohibition against escalating violence and the provision of an equivalent penalty – ‘life for life, eye for eye…’ and so on (21:23–25).
 
The law was clearly designed for judges and not for private individuals (see Deuteronomy 19:18–21). It was a guide for judges and sentencing. It was never intended that individuals should exact such revenge. In fact, it was almost certainly never taken literally, except in the case of capital offences. The laws were seen as giving the maximum possible sentence. Penalties were generally replaced by financial fines and damages.
 
To an ancient reader, the emphasis on slaves’ rights would have been revolutionary. Masters had to release their slaves after a maximum of six years (Exodus 21:2) and there were strict controls to limit the mistreatment of slaves (vv.20, 26–27). There seems to have been a particular concern for the rights of female slaves, who would have been especially vulnerable in the ancient world. They are not to be treated the same as male slaves (v.7) but must either be married or allowed to be redeemed (vv.8–11).
 
At the same time, the laws of Ancient Israel sought to promote good. God said, ‘You are to be my holy people’ (22:31a). So there were laws to protect the ‘foreigners’ (v.21), as well as widows and orphans (v.22). In tomorrow’s passage we will see that there were also laws to ensure ‘justice’ for the poor (23:6). Individuals were taught not to seek revenge and not to bear grudges. Rather, they were taught, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Leviticus 19:18).
 
The law helped to build a community that had interdependence and mutual accountability as its basis. Each regulation, however strange, helped the people to learn how to belong together and care for each other. This is a lesson we all need to learn, particularly in the independent and isolated environment of twenty-first-century living. We do not follow rules and regulations just because we have to, but because they help us to treat each person as someone made in the image of God.
 
Lord, help me in my life to avoid evil and to do good. Help me to treat each person that I am in contact with today as someone made in the image of God – with love, dignity and respect.