Exodus chapter 21

These are practical examples of how God's Laws work in practice. What you have

Here are specific examples of situations and the action to be taken. Whilst some of them may seem unjust today , such as being allowed to beat your own slave and as long as they live, there is no retribution, they were presumably applicable to the time they were written. But even though we (or at least most of us) do not have slaves and the like, the general principles can still be applied to our lives. It is a case of taking things to God in prayer, of seeking His wisdom, His judgement to ensure that matters are dealt with fairly and justly.

The nation of Israel was given these laws (the Ten Commandments to set them apart form other nations, so they had a code of conduct that would mean something. If we today kept the Ten Commandments, just how much better a place would the world be? We as Christians need to take a stand, to let our light shine before men and to walk and talk in the manner god would have us walk and talk. We are not behave like other men, trying to get what we can out of life, seeking to satisfy our desires all the time, get more money, a bigger house, newer car, promotion, more pay and so on. In stead, we are to concentrate on the things of God, and to let Him fulfil all our daily wants and needs.

The eye for the eye rule was designed to make the punishment fit the crime, so that it was not excessive in comparison to the original wrong doing. It is easy to be too zealous when punishing someone - you only have to look at the situation on India right now as Hindu fanatics wreak their vengeance on the Christians for alleged killings. There, thousands of Christians have fled their homes, children's homes are being surrounded by angry mobs and threatened, many have been killed. Yet where is the justice in this? What crime have the majority of those suffering committed?