The Law that God gave to his people was not the only legal code in existence in ancient times. Apart from God’s law, perhaps the most famous example of ancient law that we know about is Hammurabi’s Code, which was the legal system of ancient Babylon.

In Hammurabi’s Code, we also see an ‘eye for an eye’ principle, except it was not universal. It only applied to people of the same social class. So if a slave injured a master, the slave would be put to death, but if a master injured a slave, he would only pay a fine. Only between two equals did ‘an eye for an eye’ apply.

The ‘eye for an eye’ principle might feel harsh to us today, and indeed, Jesus came with a new teaching of forgiveness and love. But for its time, it was a refreshing improvement because it stopped people taking extreme revenge. God basically said, the punishment must fit the crime.

Unlike Hammurabi’s Code, God’s law applied equally to all, so a wealthy person could not get away with a light punishment while a slave was punished severely for the same offence. God’s law was more reasonable and more fair than any other code of laws at the time, and a big improvement on what had gone on before.

In Galatians 3:28 we read that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” but centuries before that, God showed through his law that he does not show favour to the rich or the powerful. God has never been interested in a person’s status in the world, only the status of their heart.

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NEWBOLD COMMUNITY CHURCH