“You shall not rule over him with harshness, but you shall fear your God” (v. 43). Not ruling over a sold brother with harshness signifies that we should not harshly treat a brother who is in debt to us spiritually.
In 25:44-46 we see that God’s people could purchase male and female slaves from the nations and from the sojourners and consider them as their possessions, but they were not to take slaves from among the Israelites. This signifies that we should not treat the brothers like the outsiders.
As long as a certain one is a saint, we must treat that one as a brother or as a sister. The words brother and sister are not religious titles. When we use these words, we should really mean what we say. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord are our spiritual relatives in the divine life. The unbelievers, however, cannot be considered our brothers and sisters, because they do not have the divine life, as we do. But because we and our brothers and sisters have the same life, the divine life, we are in reality of the same one divine family. Therefore, we should not treat them like the outsiders.
In verses 47 through 49 we see that an Israelite brother who sold himself to an alien or a sojourner was to be redeemed by his brother, by his uncle, or by any of his blood relatives, or by himself if he had acquired the sufficient means. This signifies that we should help a brother who is spiritually in debt to outsiders so that he may be released from his indebtedness, or so that he may become able to release himself by his own means.
Perhaps you are wondering how a brother could be spiritually in debt to an outsider. The best way to explain this may be to give a number of illustrations.
Suppose a certain brother is not humble in his contact with his neighbors. This brother may offend one of his neighbors by being too proud. As a result, the brother becomes spiritually indebted to his neighbor. If you become aware of the situation as you are visiting with the brother, you should help him to be adjusted in his relationship with his neighbor. This will save him from that indebtedness and help his spiritual life and his testimony. No doubt, this will also help his preaching of the gospel in his neighborhood.
Another brother may be very peculiar in his dress or in the way he keeps his hair. This causes those around him to feel uncomfortable. Since he is a dear brother, we need to fellowship with him, pray with him, digest some verses with him, and, without correcting him, help him to gradually adjust himself through the growth in life. If this brother receives the growth in life, this will adjust him. In other words, the growth in life will transform him, and he will realize that it is better for him not to be peculiar or strange in his dress or appearance.
A sister may become spiritually indebted to her mother-in-law, who is an unbeliever. If you become aware of this indebtedness and you realize that the sister needs help, it would not be right to avoid touching the situation. You need to pray for the sister and also pray about her situation. Then you may say to her, “Sister, you are saved, but your mother-in-law is not yet saved. She is still an unbeliever. She doesn’t know what sin is, and she doesn’t know the flesh. But you and I are believers. We know what the flesh is, and we know that we are charged not to walk by the flesh. Sister, I see that your attitude toward your mother-in-law is not good. I speak this to you frankly in love so that you may know that you may lose the Lord’s testimony in your family. You need to pray.” I believe that such a word will help the sister to be released from her indebtedness to her unbelieving mother-in-law.
In their actual daily situation, many believers have become indebted to outsiders. In our attitude, in the way we express ourselves, in the way we contact people, and in the way we deal with our neighbors, relatives, classmates, and colleagues, we may be indebted to outsiders. This may be an important reason why we do not spread the gospel. Sometimes we cannot preach the gospel to others because we are spiritually indebted to them.
Actually, not many brothers in the church life are spiritually rich. Rather, many have become spiritually poor. Those who are poor need help. Perhaps we also have become spiritually poor and thus need to receive help from other brothers.
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