Bond Slaves/ Servants For the King of Kings
A. Introduction Last week when we were sending our Worship Team away for their retreat, God gave us a picture of His arrow joining the ears of many mugs!! We interpreted this as God joining our ears to hear Him more clearly & accurately. At the retreat, this came up. We finished by looking at Deut 15 and asking God to anoint our ears so we can play by ear!!
B. Today a look at Deut 15:12-17 Bond Slaves for the King of Kings The instructions for making a regular slave into a bond slave are laid out twice in the Torah: Exodus 21, and Deuteronomy 15.
Exodus 21:1-6 (NKJV) 21 Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them: 2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the servant plainly says, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free, 6 then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
出埃及记 21:1-6 (CNVT) 21 你要在眾民面前訂立的典章是這樣的 2 如果你買希伯來人作奴僕, 他要服事你六年 ; 到第七年他可以自由出去, 不必補償甚麼 3 他若是單身來, 就可以單身出去 ; 他若是有婦之夫, 他的妻子就可以和他同去 4 他的主人若是給他妻子, 妻子又給他生了兒女, 那麼妻子和兒女都要歸給主人, 他自己要單獨出去 5 如果那奴僕明明說 : 我愛我的主人和我的妻子兒女, 不願意自由出去 6 他的主人就要把他帶到審判官 ( 審判官 原文作 神 ) 那裡, 又要把他帶到門前, 或是門柱旁 ; 他的主人要用錐子刺穿他的耳朵, 他就要永遠服事他的主人
Right after the dramatic Exodus from slavery in Egypt, God tells them that the first thing you should know about slaves is that they should go free after 6 years of service... After that, the slave might choose to stay out of love for the master but that should be a matter of free choice. Deuteronomy 15 reiterates the principle:
Deuteronomy 15:12-17 (NKJV) 12 If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 And if it happens that he says to you, I will not go away from you, because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.
申命记 (CNVT) 12 你的兄弟, 無論是希伯來男人, 或是希伯來女人, 如果賣身給你, 要服事你六年 ; 到第七年, 就要讓他離開你得自由 13 你使他自由離開的時候, 不可讓他空手而去 ; 14 要從你的羊群 禾場 榨酒池中, 多多地供給他 ; 耶和華你的神怎樣賜福給你, 你也要怎樣分給他 15 你要記得你在埃及地作過奴僕, 耶和華你的神救贖了你 ; 因此我今日吩咐你這件事 16 如果他對你說 : 我不願離開你 他說這話是因為他愛你和你的家, 又因為他喜歡和你相處, 17 那麼, 你就要拿錐子, 把他的耳朵在門上刺透, 他就永遠作你的奴僕 ; 對待你的婢女, 你也要這樣行
It s a kind of seal-- that one is permanently fixed to this house and this master. It became traditional to put in a gold earring after the awl was removed. And that slave could never go free again. He could never be sold, either. He became more than just a slave; he became a servant who was permanently attached -- bonded -- to his master, a bondservant.
It s a kind of seal-- that one is permanently fixed to this house And this master. It became traditional to put in a gold earring after the awl was removed. And that slave could never go free again. He could never be sold, either.
Such bondservants were usually trusted with more of their master's affairs than a normal slave would be. Although still servants, they often were considered part of the family.
1. Why piercing? The process was this: The slave, who for the reason of love wished to serve his master voluntarily, would be taken to a doorframe. Then a martzayah something that is used to bore a hole (the word is only used in these two descriptions in the Bible) would pierce or bore a hole through the skin of the earlobe, marking the flesh permanently.
Paul says in Galatians, I carry the scars of Jesus on my own body. (Gal 6:17) The word for scar here is στίγμα stígma. Strong s Definition: from a primary στίζω stízō (to stick, i.e. prick); a mark incised or punched (for recognition of ownership), i.e. (figuratively) scar of service: mark. A mark pricked in or branded upon the body.
To ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or the stamp of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to.
Paul is talking about scars, marks, stigmas in his own body that mark him out as a bondslave to Yeshua. But Yeshua also has permanent scars. His scars also came about from having his fleshed pierced on wood, as a result of love, and willing submission to serve. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. Yeshua is the ultimate servant, whose glorious scars all other scars can only be a shadow of. (Jn 20:19-20)
2. Why a door? 5778 is a year to enter the door/doors!! The New Testament word for door appears 39 times. Yeshua says twice, I am the door in John 10: Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep, and again, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. A door is a passageway; a portal. It presents an opportunity to move from one environment to another.
When we think of doorframes in the Bible, our mind is whisked back to the Exodus story itself a pivotal moment in Israel s history. Blood on the doorframe is one of the most iconic images of this transfer from slavery into following a new Master in freedom. The blood of the Messiah from his pierced flesh on the cross, The blood of the Passover lamb on the lintels, and The blood of the slave who for love agrees to serve his master willingly.
Crossing over the threshold, through the door, must be voluntary. Yeshua presents us with that opportunity. He IS that portal he IS the door to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is no accident that the servant is brought to a door for this ritual.
3. Why ears? We find that earlobes also feature in two other significant places in the Torah consecration of priests
Lev 8 : 1, 23 Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests 23 you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. 利未记 8:23 (CNVT) 23 摩西宰殺了羊, 取了一些羊血, 抹在亞倫的右耳垂上和右手的大拇指上, 以及右腳的大拇趾上
Lev 14 : 14-20: About Cleansing of Lepers The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. And the rest of the oil that is in the priest s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
So we have priests made holy to the Lord - their ears, thumbs and big toes being made holy with blood from the sacrifice, And then leprosy, a picture of sin in the Bible, cleansed and atoned for by blood applied to the same places, followed by anointing oil applied on top. Our hands signify our deeds, Our feet represent our walk, and Our ears signify obediently hearing and obeying our Lord.
It is a double picture of a life thoroughly cleansed and consecrated to God. Sin is atoned for, and the body is ready for service.
C. Bond Servants/Slaves in the New Testament The Apostle Paul regularly himself a bondservant of Yeshua, using the Greek word doulos (δοῦλος) which means a slave, bondservant, one of servile condition, redeemed from sin and consecrated as priests. So did other apostles..
The apostle Peter called himself a bondservant of Jesus Christ in II Peter 1:1. So did Paul in Romans 1:1 and Titus 1:1, James in James 1:1, Jude in Jude verse 1, John in Revelation 1:1.
All these mighty men of God are starting off their letters with this declaration of bond servanthood. It meant they had voluntarily given up their freedom to walk away from their Master. They said, "I love you, Lord, and I don't want to leave You." It meant that God had marked them as His servants for life. Peter and the others couldn't gain freedom from their Master, and they couldn't be sent away.
A look at some more places in the Bible where that word doulos, bondservant, is used.
Matthew 20:25-28 (NKJV) 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. In this passage, the first word "servant" in the NKJV, or "minister" in the King James, is the Greek word diakonos = "deacon. But the second word "slave" is our word doulos, "bondservant." The word diakonos doesn't carry the same sense of permanence that doulos does.
马太福音 20:25-28 (CNVT) 25 耶穌把他們叫過來, 說 : 你們知道各國都有元首統治他們, 也有官長管轄他們 26 但你們中間卻不要這樣 ; 誰想在你們中間成為大的, 就要作你們的僕役 ; 27 誰想在你們中間為首的, 就要作你們的奴僕 28 正如人子來, 不是要受人的服事, 而是要服事人, 並且要捨命, 作許多人的贖價
Jesus used both words, in part to let us know that, if we want to be great in the kingdom of God, we can't just humble ourselves and be servants now and then. It's a lifelong thing. Servant Leadership is for life!!
Matthew 25:14-30 - the parable of the talents. Wherever you see the word "servant" there, that's a bondservant. The master entrusted a great deal of money to those bondservants. He never would have done that with the hired hands. This shows the level of trust that a master has for a bondservant.
Luke 17:7-10 (NKJV) 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, Come at once and sit down to eat? 8 But will he not rather say to him, Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do. A bondservant is still a servant. He is still expected to perfectly obey his master. He has as much privilege as his master chooses to give him, and not one bit more. Being a bondservant is not a way to get any kind of exalted position.
路加福音 17:7-10 (CNVT) 7 你們中間誰有僕人去耕地或是放羊, 從田裡回來, 你就對他說 : 快過來坐下吃飯 ; 8 而不對他說 : 給我預備晚餐, 束起腰來服事我, 等我吃喝完了, 你才吃喝 呢? 9 僕人作了所吩咐的事, 主人還謝謝他嗎? 10 你們也是這樣, 作完一切吩咐你們的事, 應該說 : 我們是無用的僕人, 我們只作了應分作的
Romans 12:11 (NKJV) 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 罗马书 12:11 (CNVT) 11 殷勤不可懶惰, 心靈要火熱, 常常服事主 ; Serving the Lord (that's the verb form of our word doulos) is just as important as being fervent in spirit.
Philippians 2:5-7 (NKJV) 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 腓立比书 2:5-7 (CNVT) 5 你們應當有這樣的思想, 這也是基督耶穌的思想 ( 全節或譯 : 你們當以基督耶穌的心為心 ) 6 他本來有神的形象, 卻不堅持自己與神平等的地位, 7 反而倒空自己, 取了奴僕的形象, 成為人的樣式 ;
Yes, Jesus Himself became a doulos, a bondservant. What's the opposite of "servant"? Jesus, our ultimate Master, said He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many
D. Challenge & Application As we enter 5778 the year of the Door/Gate, it is right we dedicate ourselves to be Bond Servants of the King of Kings, Picture Him Piercing our ear to the Door that leads into the Future!! A picture He is anointing our ears to hear Him more clearly & accurately as we covenant to be Bond Servants to Him for life!! Believe He will anoint our ears so we will hear the sound & voice of Heaven so much clearer than before.