Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 21:1-11.
““Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. 3 If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, 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 belong to her master, 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 as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do. 8 If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his unfairness to her. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. 11 If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.” Exodus 21:1-11.
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We just finished the Ten Commandments which are more general. We now move to Ordinances which are specific applications of justice and mercy.
Laws (including ordinances) are needed in every age. These specific ordinances in today’s Scripture seem strange to us, not knowing the customs of that time, and these ordinances are impractical to us, with very different practices in our time. But, we should appreciate the specific application of justice and mercy in the construction of laws (including ordinances).
In every age, wise legislators on the national and state level and wise administrators in the local level should strive to incorporate justice and mercy into their specific laws and policies. They should not be carried away by special powerful interests or by mob demand. They should ask with every law or policy that they are considering: “How can we best establish justice and mercy?”
We look to our Heavenly Father and what He does.
“He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.” Deuteronomy 10:18
“He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.” Psalm 33:5
“The strength of the King loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.” Psalm 99:4
And so, we too should hate evil, love good, and establish justice.
“Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the Lord God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” Amos 5:15
“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 