[On many farms today,] chemical fertilizers and pesticides, intensive feeding, antibiotic digestive enhancers, growth hormones, rigorous breeding, genetic modification--every scientific trick known to man has been deployed to cut costs, boost yields and make livestock and crops grow more quickly. Two centuries ago, the average pig took five years to reach 130 pounds; today it hits 220 pounds after just six months and is slaughtered before it loses its baby teeth. North American salmon are genetically modified to grow four to six times faster than the average. The small landowner gives way to the factory farm, which churns out food that is fast, cheap, abundant and standardized.

Carl Honore, In Praise of Slowness, p. 55

"There is a wisdom that comes into a culture when many of its people have a direct connection to the land and to life, to the living cycles. I see many of the political agendas today as being a total failure to understand life, seasons, accountability, and the connections of life and people to our community. There's just no connection, and so there's no reason, there's no common sense. You can blame as many people on the right as on the left."

Joel Salatin, qtd. in Rod Dreher, Crunchy Cons

Recently I have been reading through the book of Exodus in the Literary Study Bible, and I've been enjoying it. I'm now in the section known as the Book of the Covenant, where God gives Israel laws for community life. A note on this passage says the following:

"The Book of the Covenant is more like a guide to cases than a strict legal code. ... [It was] never intended to cover every conceivable case but rather to establish legal precedents that wise leaders could use to adjudicate other situations as they arose. Although these laws were given to Israel as a nation under God and thus are no longer binding in all their detail, they are based on moral principles that teach us the character of God and can still help to guide society today."

Some thoughts as I was reading:

1. One section of the Book of the Covenant that can be troubling for modern readers is the guidelines for slaves and their masters. But "here it is important to know that because servitude was usually voluntary and intended to be temporary (people often worked as slaves to pay off their debts or to make restitution), the institution of slavery in Israel was different in some important ways from the degrading and dehumanizing practice of permanent, involuntary slavery that was later practiced in Africa and the West. ... The laws in this section are intended to protect the rights of slaves and their families."

In other words, this section actually promotes love for one's neighbor. It demonstrates that human beings are creatures with inherent dignity and respect. It's notable that Exod. 21:16 prescribes the death penalty for anyone who kidnaps a slave or anyone who owns a kidnapped slave. 

The Bible assumes the inherent dignity of every human being.

2. I was also struck by this section's emphasis on respect for the land. The Bible shows that the land itself is important and ought to be respected and not overworked. Every seventh year, the land itself was to be given rest. How different from the way Americans treat land. The subculture I have grown up with sees environmentalism as a dirty word, but they have no problem with industrial farming. From what I read here in Exodus, I believe that industrial farming is a great evil, and that God despises it.

3. Although the regulations here are not permanent, this section does assume a real, permanent Moral Order that we must follow if we desire to have a good life. Everything has its place--respect for the land, respect for other people, sexuality, marriage and family life, the worship of God, the rhythm of work and celebration (interestingly, feasts are required). To have a good life, everything must be in harmony--human beings must be in harmony with themselves, with God, with each other, with the land, with strangers, with all things. This passage also shows that our affections must be in tune with this Moral Order, that we might follow it not only externally, but internally. The Moral Order must guide our affections.