"Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. 5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever." : Exodus 21:1-6

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." : John 1:17

We have become so used to thinking of Grace as a purely New Testament concept, that we don't even realize how it colors our perspective on the whole Bible and indeed the Law itself.

Christ's death on the cross sealed a new Covenant in His precious blood, extending Gods covenant relationship beyond the boundaries of Israel, to a "called out" ( ecclesia - or church ) people from all nations and tongues, and it is what we celebrate this Passion week, and in services this evening. Do not however, for one moment think that He and His Grace were absent in all the centuries preceding His incarnation! The John 1:17 text above talks about through -whom- law, grace and truth came, but it does not put a limitation on the -when- ! Christ, and His Grace and Truth were present with us before the world was created, and the Law goes in perfect harmony with them. Let us explain.....

Christ was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world( 1 Peter 1:20, Rev 13:8 ) and the promised crusher of the serpents head to Adam & Eve ( Gen 3:15 ).His Grace extended mercy to the human race in the type of Noah's Ark. His sovereign grace called out idolatrous Abraham from the land of Ur of the Chaldeans, and entered into a one-sided covenant to bless all the earth through his offspring. His was the voice that stayed Abrahams hand, and substituted the ram of sacrifice in Isaacs place. He appeared to deceiving Jacob as the Ladder bridging Heaven and Earth, as the means by which His ministers go forth to serve. ( Gen 28:12, John 1:51 ) His grace was demonstrated in the type of Joseph who was hated by own brothers but extended mercy and kindness to them, and was the agent of their salvation. He was the Passover Lamb by whose blood the Angel of death was kept from the doors of the Israelites, and their firstborn. His grace and mercy sovereignly redeemed them from the land of bondage and brought them through a valley of death between towering walls of water, through their acts of disobedience in the wilderness, across the Jordan to the promised land. His Name was with Moses on the mountain when the Law was delivered, and He was Moses' companion and the person to whom the Law and the children of Israel were entrusted. ( We are speaking of Joshua here, but if you didn't already know, Jesus is the Greek form of our Saviors Name, which is Yahoshua or Yeshuah, which means "God saves" - aka Joshua ). His Person and work are embodied in the ceremonial offerings of the Law - the burnt offerings, the peace offerings, the day of Atonement, the first fruits, the jubilee release and forgiving of debts every 7 years. He is our Sabbath rest, His Grace and Truth are what have been sustaining humanity since we were created, He is present in His Law and His Law is what will endure beyond this earth!

He is the first in everything, and in this weeks text, He is present in the VERY FIRST words of the civil law of the Mosaic covenant that the people of Israel signed in blood at Sinai.

The text talks about a Hebrew servant, but the Hebrew word ebed used here is the same word used by God to describe His SERVANT and Service to Him in messianic prophecy. This passage foreshadows the redemptive work of Christ! Purely at face value, the law is a significant departure from the then prevailing practices of indentured servitude where a servant served his/her master for life with no parole. Here we see a statute of limitations in effect, and also a very just distinction of property rights. The servant is to keep what is rightfully his, and not have any claims on what his master has provided for him. There is also a beautiful shade of righteousness where a master who truly loves his employees can in turn be rewarded with their lifelong loyalty and joyous service. What an example we have here!

But there is so much more! We have here a most beautiful and blessed shadow of Christ's person and work: Psalm 40:6 compared with Exodus 21:6 proves this conclusively. In that great Messianic Psalm the Lord Jesus, speaking in the spirit of prophecy, said, "Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast Thou digged." The passage before us pertains to the servant or slave. It brings out, in type, the Perfect Servant. Messianic prophecy frequently viewed Him in this character: "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold" (Isa. 42:1). "Behold, I will bring forth My Servant, the Branch" (Zech. 3:8). "Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high" (Isa. 52:13). "By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many for He shall bear their iniquities" (Isa. 53:11).

In Philippians 2 we are exhorted, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (v. 5). This is enforced as follows: "Who, being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likeness of man: And being found in fashion as a man He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The duty of a servant is to serve the will of the master, and this is what He did ! " "Lo, I come, to do Thy will, O God" (Heb. 10:9), was His utterance when He took the Servant form. "Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business" (Luke 2:49) are His first recorded words after He came here. "I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (John 6:38) summed up the whole of His perfect life while He tabernacled among men. As the perfect Servant. He was dependent upon the pleasure of His Master. He "pleased not Himself" (Rom. 15:3). "I am among you as He that serveth" (Luke 22:27) were His words to the apostles.
"And in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing". After the Hebrew servant had served for six years, his master had no further claim upon him. When the seventh year arrived (which tells of service completed) he was at liberty to go out, and serve no more. This was also true of the lord Jesus. The time came in His life when, as Man, He had fulfilled every jot and tittle of human responsibility, and when the Law had, therefore no further claim upon Him.
The lord Jesus had no wife when He entered upon "His service." for Israel had been divorced (Isa. 50:1). Now although He was entitled by the Law to "go out free," the same Law required that He should go out alone—"by himself." Most blessed is this. It was love which impelled him to forego the freedom to which He was fully entitled by the Law—a threefold love: for His Master, his wife, and his children.

His Love for His Master was always evident... we need not go into detail here.

The Lord Jesus is to have a Bride. Both the "wife" and the "children" are the fruit of His death. The two are distinguished in John 11: "But being high priest that year, he (Caiaphas) prophesied that Jesus should die for (1) that nation; and not for that nation only, but that (2) also He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad" (vv. 51–52). Looking forward to the time when Christ shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, the Holy Spirit says to Israel, "Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine Husband: the Lord of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment, have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord, thy Redeemer" (Isa. 54:4–8). Christ's love was not limited to Israel, even though here,as ever, it is the Jew first. No; not only was He to die for "that Nation" but also He should "gather together in one (family) the children of God that were scattered abroad." These "children" were to be the fruit of His dying travail. Blessed is it to hear Him say, "Behold I and the children which God hath given Me" (Heb. 2:13).
Significant too is this:And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever" (v. 6). When his master took his servant and bored his ear, as long as he lived that servant carried about in his body the mark of his servitude. So, too, the Lord Jesus wears forever in His body the marks of the Cross! After He had risen from the dead, He said to doubting Thomas. "Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side" (John 20:27). So, too, in Revelation 5 the Lamb is seen, "as it had been slain" (v. 6). But "he shall serve him forever." Will this be true of the Lord Jesus? It certainly will. The service of the Lord Jesus did not terminate when He left this earth. There is a remarkable passage in Luke 12 which brings this out: "Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you that He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them" (v. 37). Even in the Kingdom He will still serve us. Right now His service is one of intercession for us and we know He also said, " The greatest one among you shall be your servant" ( Matt 23:11 )

This weekend we Christians celebrate the boring of Christ's ear to the doorpost, as our Jewish brothers celebrate the anointing of that same threshold with His blood. There is no greater testament to the Truth of harmony between Grace and Law then the cross where they all meet. Where the Law was satisfied, and Grace stretched out her arms of Love. Where the righteousness of Gods justice and the penalty for sin were appeased by his sovereign provision of atonement for His people. The Law is good and true!

"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful." Rom 7:12

The Law is not against Grace. The Law is good, and just and Holy... WE have a developed an aversion to it because it reveals Sin in us. If only we inclined our hearts to study it our walk in the wilderness would be so much easier!
" Hear O Israel, Your God is ONE! " The Law, Grace and Truth all originate from the eternal and unchanging Father, Son and the Spirit. Let us not make distinctions where there are none.
We wish you all a joyous Easter, and with our Jewish brothers echo their hearts desire - " Next year in Jerusalem!! " - Happy Passover!
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Certain portions excerpted from " Gleanings in Exodus ", by Arthur W Pink