Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. "But if the servant declares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,' then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life. "If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money." Exodus 21:2-11
As those of you who have been faithful readers of this blog know, I haven’t found too much difficulty writing about any passage from the scriptures since I began last July (Hard to believe it’s been more than six months of writing every day). Well, everything must come to an end and today I had a tough time.
For God turns from the generalized standards of the Ten Commandments and His reinforcing words on idol worshipping to deliver a series of other commandments that would specifically address matters of Israelite living. He starts with the matter of slavery and this is where I found myself facing roadblocks in writing. But then I started to look at some commentaries and do a little research which placed me a bit more at ease and allowed me to see an awesome truth that I didn’t see on my first cursory read through.
Before I get into the passage for today, there is something important we should keep in mind as we study God’s word, day in and day out. For we can read a passage once and gain a certain understanding, then read it again and get a completely different understanding. Sometimes the two understandings are connected…sometimes they are distinct truths. Either way, he important take away is that God is always revealing new truth through His word and the Holy Spirit who illuminates that Word and delivers us to the place of understanding.
Back to the verses for today. We have to begin by knowing the cultural norms of the Israelites as they traveled from Egypt toward Canaan. You’ll recall that over 600,000 people were on this journey led by Moses. Some left Egypt better off than others. For the ones who were less fortunate, they sometimes had to revert to becoming slaves to gain income or pay off debt. We even read where some sold their daughters into slavery in order to gain income. In either case, we see in God’s command that slavery wasn’t a license to mistreat another. Clearly His commands were in place to ensure slaves were treated well and not caused to live in the environment forever without first choosing to do so. In fact, slaves were to be set free after six years of service and given enough to make sure they could survive on their own afterwards. Further guidance on this matter would come to Israel after the construction of the tabernacle in Leviticus and just before they crossed over the Jordan into Canaan in Deuteronomy but this initial guidance laid the groundwork for what was to come.
There is one area in this passage that I would like to focus in on because I feel it reveals an awesome truth and connection to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. For we read that a slave could decide to not go free and stay connected to their master. If they made this choice, we read where their ear would be pierced with an awl into the door post of the master’s residence as a symbolic mark of the slave’s connection to the master and his house. And although this hurt to even think about it, the ear wound would serve as a sign of perpetual dedication, devotion and commitment…a sign that a servant made the choice to give up freedom to stay with the master.
As a note of further information, this idea of piercing with an awl to identify connection with a master led to the word "earmarked" which we define today as "designating something for a specific use or owner."
Fast forward over 1500 years later. A young Messiah named Jesus had lived his entire life as a servant to man, always willing to put other before Himself. Throughout His life, He never failed to heal, teach, guide, correct and, of course, love others. Truly we love because He first loved us and spared us from our sins from giving His life on the cross of the Calvary. And Jesus can be connected to the very earmarking that the slaves of Israel would have to encounter if they chose servitude over freedom.
For Jesus was enslaved to serve mankind. His purpose was to serve all the way to the cross and when He could have opted to not go through the agony of crucifixion and go free, He instead chose to be nailed to the wooden cross, "earmarking" Himself as the Savior for all mankind. We can’t comprehend the depth of this kind of love…a love that would cause one to lay his life down for his friends (John 15:13). The depth of this love, better known as agape love, and sacrifice simply can’t be fathomed by us if we truly take time to reflect on it. None of us are deserving of one ounce of the Father’s favor and yet He loves us so much that He gave His only Son so we might live. In return, we should choose to trade freedom for the opportunity to be enslaved to the Lord’s service until the day He calls us home. We should show by the way we live that we have been "earmarked" for Jesus, willing servants to His will, word and way. I’m convinced that if we do this, we will not only be living in obedience to God and His Son but also in an ever present state of gratitude and thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for us.
Question: Where do you stand in your life? Are you enslaved to the Holy Divine Master, Jesus Christ? If so, you’re already experiencing the joy that comes in daily fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus. If not, will you decide right now to turn your life over to Jesus and make Him the Master of your life? Your very salvation and the salvation of those Jesus could be using you to save is at stake. Don’t delay. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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