Understanding History and Understanding the Word / part 2

This is a continuation of the article I began earlier today :/spirit/2015/07/understanding-history-and-understanding-the-word-2494992.html?currentSplittedPage=1

I want us to look at the times, the laws, and the NORMS of the times when the Commandments of YHWH were given to men and consider the reasons for them.  Lets look at one more link for information about slavery before we look to the Word and the nature of YHWH and His possible desires in giving us the Commandments as they were written.  I will later look to the Word and any changes that came about when Messiah came to  establish the KINGDOM OF YHWH ON EARTH.  Which was what He did and I will show you that from the proof of His Words.

From this site:  http://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins/sumerian-gods-modern-day-history-slavery-0044

we find this:  

We can first find records of slavery dating back to The Code of Hammurabi in Babylon in the 18th century BCE, though it can be traced to almost every ancient civilization. Records from the Mycenaean period (Bronze Age) in Greece attest to how integral slavery was at the time. In fact, it is estimated that the majority of Athenian citizens owned at least one slave.

In the ancient world, many of these slaves were acquired as spoils of war. For many of the foreign defeated,  a life could be spent—and ended—in sexual servitude to an individual, temple or even worse, a barracks, or to hard manual labor, such as working in mines, toiling in construction, or fighting to the death in arenas for the free public’s entertainment. These slaves could be traded and sold, typically had no rights and no future, and were, by definition, chattel slaves.

But some slaves have, as history has shown us, been allowed some menial rights. Babylonian slaves, for example, were allowed to own property. Ancient Egyptian citizens could inherit a form of slavery that was closely related to purpose and profession—a serfdom, so to speak, where the slave was born into a household that lived on and went with the land or property. One did not choose his profession so much as he was born into it, such as a carpenter, for the lord of the land. The level of servitude in such instances varied, and this life allowed more freedoms than other forms of slavery (though a man, woman, or child could still be traded or sold). In Sparta, a state of Greece known for its skilled warriors, most slaves were neighboring peoples conquered by the army. In one sense, these slaves continued life as normal; individuals lived in their own homes on their own land and continued many daily operations as they normally would—under Spartan masters.

Other slaves also retained some rights and privileges. For example, slaves who served in domestic positions and offices in Greece were often able to attain some status and favor, even though they were not free men. The owners could show favor on these servants, who were in positions to gain the trust and confidence of their masters.

Other forms of slavery included punishment for an unlawful act and selling oneself into slavery to pay off a debt, usually against the person’s will. It can also be said that European serfdom, remnants of which can be found today, was a form of slavery.

So slavery was part of the set up and the NORM for all the countries and peoples of the world at the time of the giving of the Commandments of YHWH to His people.  Lets look at how YHWH felt men who were caught up in the horrible life of a slave should be treated, according to HIS COMMANDMENTS and compare them to what we have read about how other law givers treated them.

Regarding Sabbath days:

Exo_20:10  and the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God; you shall not do any work, you, and your son, and your daughter, your male slave and your slave-girl, and your livestock, and your stranger who is in your gates. 

Certainly this was unprecidented at the time.  For the God and Creator of the Universe to care about men and women who were caught in slavehood to care about their keeping His day of rest.  Showing us that this day was for men, all men, not just those fortunate enought to live a life of freedom.

Exo_21:2  When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years And in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 

When a man or woman who was of citzenry of Israel and who became a slave due to being sold by someone , perhaps a father or mother, YHWH didn’t allow that person to remain a slave forever.  He tried to by law and command to rescue that person from the NORMAL PRACTICES of the day.  However know this.  Israel did not ever keep the laws the way YHWH gave them to them, not at all.  Even today I can tell you that I once served as a maid for a Passover feast for a family of Jewish people.  They, while putting on the traditions of the religion did not worry one whit about what the commandments actually said and while I was not a slave, I certainly did servile work for them on a day that everyone was commanded whether free or slave or hired or even a stranger ine land, which at the time I was, and they paid me to serve, and clean up after dinner for their sedar.  Judaism to day is not really keeping the laws or the commandments of YHWH, they are keeping the traditions of their religion, like the Baptists or Catholics do.  And none of these religions are actually worshiping or showing their God that they love Him in the way He asked them to do, or in the way His Son asked them to do.  These verse show us what real worship and love of our God is:

Deu_6:5  And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 
Deu_7:9  Because of this, know that Jehovah your God, He is God, the faithful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commands, to a thousand generations; 
Deu_10:12  And now, Israel, what has Jehovah your God asked of you, except to fear Jehovah your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul; 

And Messiah said:

Mat_22:37  And Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Deut. 6:5 
Mar_12:30  and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul” and with all your mind, “and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment. Deut. 6:4, 5 
Luk_10:27  And answering, he said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength,” and with all your mind, and “your neighbor as yourself.” Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18 

So lets look more at the commandments of YHWH and how they reflect His feellings of slavery.

Exo_21:7  And when a man sells his daughter for a slave-girl, she shall not go out as the male slaves go out. 

Exo_21:20  And if a man strikes his male slave or his slave-girl with a rod, and he dies under his hand, avenging he shall be avenged. 

Exo_21:26  And when a man strikes the eye of his male slave, or the eye of his slave-girl and destroys it, he shall send him away free for his eye. 

Exo_21:27  And if he causes the tooth of his male slave, or the tooth of his slave-girl, to fall out, he shall send him away free for his tooth. 

Exo_21:32  If the ox gores a male slave or a slave-girl, he shall give thirty silver shekels to his master, and the ox shall be stoned. 

Deu_23:15  You shall not hand over to his master a slave that has escaped from his master to you. 

Deu_24:7  If a man is found stealing a person of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and has dealt with him as a slave, and sold him, then that thief shall die. And you shall put away the evil from among you. 

I think that by these commandments Father shows us that His heart is not for slavery, neither does He think that a man is less than another man due to the price paid in silver or gold to that man.  I further think that this:

Deu_23:15  You shall not hand over to his master a slave that has escaped from his master to you. 

I think that commandment shows us clearly the heart of Father YHWH that to set a slave free is better than protecting some property and I would go further to say that Father never consider men to be property but loves each one based on merit of heart not position in life.  And that He hates slavery.  But included protection of slaves in His laws as at the time it was the NORM and He knew mens hearts and that slaves would exist in Israel and that He did all he could do to protect those slaves, rather than as has been said, promote slavery. 

One further point and then I will move on.  The young Texan has said that Father allowed men to take women that were conquered and to use them as sexual slaves.  That is untrue.   Father gave commands to treat a woman taken in war who was to be used sexually as a wife and further went on to protect her children and herself should the man “no longer find her in his favore”.

What Father did try to get HIs people to do is here in the commandments and I think it telling that this was one of the first commandments aftetr the ten given and close to the heart of YHWH and his feelings for those who were slaves whether bought or taken in war and read for yourself in the 21st chapter of Exodus how the first commandments after the 10 have to do with the treatment of slaves.  This was not done in any other laws of any other lands, not then nor even centuries later in the time of Antibellum America. for a slave to  have rights was unheard of by men.

Please I beg you to see the heart of YHWH and His love in these commandments, rather than to see evil in his protection of those slaves He knew that men would and did acquire use and abuse.

Next time we will look at the facts of life and death during this particular time of the giving of the commandments.  Ritual sacrifice.