If a man is discovered kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from you. Duet. 24:7

One of the prevalent themes in Philippians is the concept of slavery. In America slavery has a very negative manner in which people were put into slavery and how the slaves were treated as subhuman. The Bible is often criticized for its take on slavery, and many believe the Bible isn’t to be trusted on issues because of its stance on issues like this. But as we see in today’s reading in Deuteronomy 24:7 slaves were never intended to be kidnapped or sold. Instead they were to be indentured, or placed into slavery because of their own poor choices. But it was always with the person understanding why they were being placed into slavery. In fact, in 23:15-16 we are told ““Do not return a slave to his master when he has escaped from his master to you. Let him live among you wherever he wants within your gates. Do not mistreat him.” We are not supposed to mistreat those who have been given over as slaves.

So what does this do with today? Paul, when he writes “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God,  did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself  by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men” is letting all of us know that although we humble ourselves we aren’t to be mistreated by the master (which is God, not man). God hears the cried of slaves today as he heard the cries in the past. His desire is for us to be his slaves and by choice!

The LORD was devoted to you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands. 10 But He directly pays back and destroys those who hate Him. He will not hesitate to directly pay back the one who hates Him. 11 So keep the command—the statutes and ordinances—that I am giving you to follow today. (Deuteronomy 7:7-11)

In today’s reading we see God making the case for why his people should live in obedience to Him. There are a few points to consider as we take a look at the Deuteronomy text. First, God is devoted to us and has chosen us. This should be something that makes us celebrate God in all His goodness. He chose us in order to make us his people. It reminds me of Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” which let’s us know that we are a chosen people.

Secondly, God chose us not for what we have done, but for what he can do through us. The great numbers of the Israelites was not the  reason for God’s choice. It was also not because of their moral or ethical behavior. It was due to the fact that God could be glorified through them.  The reason He instructs them to “keep the commands” is so that their behavior will be known as Godly, or that of people who glorify Go with their lives. When we follow God in obedience it shows our appreciation to Him.

Lastly, God is loyal. Even though we might step away, He will not. He is in constant pursuit of us, even when we aren’t of Him. Let that be a reminder to us that daily repentance is necessary. In order to fully appreciate who God is, we must submit ourselves to Him daily. Let us pray today that our actions demonstrate our appreciation of God’s choosing us.