RESPONSIBILITY AND INTENT. EXODUS 21 Every action we take in life has consequences. The day-to-day lives of individuals usually impact others in some way. It is crucial for us to consider the potential outcomes before we act. Someone once said, "Act in haste, repent at leisure." The principles governing relationships often involve common sense, but they also carry legal consequences. There is no passage in scripture that indicates God approves of slavery. In ancient times, it was accepted, and even in more recent history in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, people created their own rules to guide their behavior.
In verse one, “judgments” are commandments that offer insight into God’s response to a specific action a person takes. They are particular decisions made about a given action, similar to how an umpire makes calls in a ballgame. The general laws of the Ten Commandments serve as a code for living rather than reacting to a specific problem. God gave Moses these particular “judgments” from chapters twenty-one through twenty-three.
Most of these laws are written on the tablets of all human hearts, but they were first recorded in the code of Hammurabi and were given by God to Moses in specific terms. Consequences were provided for how to deal with those who break these laws. In our personal lives, we tend to overlook our own wrongs and faults but condemn others who do the same. The laws of God are impartial, and so are the consequences they impose. We see this in family life, where the father is responsible for fulfilling the obligations of headship. In an assembly of God’s people gathered in the name and person of our Lord Jesus Christ, elders are responsible for maintaining the unity of the fellowship by teaching and applying the word of God. Similarly, in nations, God has entrusted that same responsibility to those in authority whom He has “ordained by God.”