Pulelulu ‘Akosi 11, 2021
‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you’
‘E ‘ikai te u ‘alu atu meiate koe, koe‘uhi ‘oku ne ‘ofa kiate koe
Teutalonome 15 (Deuteronomy 15)
(v. 16-17) But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same.
(v. 16-17) Ka ‘oka ‘iloange te ne pehē kiate koe, ‘E ‘ikai te u ‘alu atu meiate koe, koe‘uhi ‘oku ne ‘ofa kiate koe mo ho fale, he ‘oku ne tu‘umālie ‘ene nofo mo koe; pea te ke to‘o ‘a e vili, ‘o vili fakau‘u hono telinga ki he matapā, pea te ne hoko ko ho‘o tamaio‘eiki ‘o ta‘engata. Pea te ke fai pehē foki ki ho‘o kaunanga.
G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible
Here we have provision made for the relief of the poor and the less fortunate at regularly stated intervals. The great ideal is revealed in the words, "There shall be no poor with thee." This, however, was possible only as Moses taught, "If only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God. . . ."
In this connection they were charged to make provision for the release of the debtor every seventh year. In all social life will come times of adversity but if this benevolent provision be observed there will never be any absolutely hopeless poverty.
Whereas Moses had said that on the fulfillment of certain conditions there would be no poor, he followed with, "If there be with thee a poor man . . "; and, later, he affirmed, "The poor shall never cease out of the land."
Therefore, such must be cared for and the fact of this provision of a year of release must not be made an excuse for failing to give immediate help to those who are in need. Solemnly he charged them to obey the command which called for the consecration of the first fruits of herds and flocks to the Lord.
David Guzik :: Study Guide for Deuteronomy 15
Jesus is the great fulfillment of this willing slave. Jesus said prophetically in Psalm 40:6: My ears You have opened, it speaks of this "opening" of the ear in the bond-slave ceremony. He was the willing bond-slave of God the Father.
Isaiah 50:5-7 shows that Jesus' character as the willing slave was most perfectly shown in His sufferings at the cross: The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.
The Christian is also to be a willing slave of God. The common New Testament word doulos describes this kind of slave. Hiebert says of doulos, "a slave, a bondservant, one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another … Among the Greeks, with their strong sense of personal freedom, the term carried a degrading connotation."
The Lord continues to blow my mind. His grace was and is still so evident in all throughout the Bible. This is the old testament & the Lord has not died on the cross yet , hence why the Lord had so many rules in place because he is a holy God and he did not tolerate sin & the punishment for sin is death.
ReplyDeleteBut throughout the passage today it did not stop the Lord from {STILL} providing a way for everyone with a second chance to live & grow spiritually.
Verses 12 - 18 is what stood out to me the most . God looked after his own and did not leave anyone feeling neglected. This included the lowly slaves. On the seventh year they too were to be set free. The Lord went even further and charged their masters with the task of making sure they were not just set free but also compensated for that way they are not set out just to be destitute. The Lord also made sure to tell their masters not to be distressed when they leave because their 7 years of servitude are worth double than when they are leaving.
My favorite part of this was when the Lord gave the slaves the option to stay because the slave loved his or her master and because they were good to them and they loved serving them in this case there was a commemoration ceremony of this that was made but this time the slave is to pledge their service to their master forever.
I don't know about anyone else but if I was the slave I would dip out after 7 years and it would not matter if my master was good to me or not (LOL). Then it was brought to my attention this morning that in order for a slave to pledge their life away to their master they had true selfless unbinding devotion & unconditional love for their master and all of their masters household. This brought me back to our previous passages in Deut. where the Lord emphasizes serving the Lord with a joyful heart and spirit. My lifetime prayer is that the Lord helps me & softens my heart always so that I become this type of slave for the Lord. Completely devoted , selflessly serving because I enjoy making our Heavenly Father happy.
its a very interesting concept, the “7th year debt release” and its honestly a crazy good concept because it shows true colors. i think any humans first thought would be “dang luvu never paid me back lemme go make sure i get my money bfore the debt release comes” or “ the 7th year is coming i should just be mindful to not give anybody anything” like its human nature to make sure your own self is good before anyone else. but Deuteronomy told us that just because the debt release is coming doesnt mean you should be greedy because you know nothing will physically come in return, although God will bless u in other forms. and i think that logic still applies to us everyday now. we shouldnt be not giving because we know nothing will come back from it. instead we should always lend a hand to someone in need. we never know how far one act of kindness can go. and the idea still stand but for me in everyday life , i take it as “ just give to give , dont give to receive anything, no praise , no nothing in return” sure if i get something ill be grateful but it shouldnt be the intention in which my action is done with.
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