A Slave For Christ Part 2
(Inspired by the book: “A Better Freedom” by Michael Card)
Scripture: Mal. 1:6; Exo. 20:2; 21:2-6; Lev. 25:39-42; Matt. 6:24
Introduction:
In my message last week I introduced you to a slave named Paul in an attempt to get us to think about what our lives would be like if we were slaves back during America’s history. During those times the choice to become a slave was not a choice at all. You were stolen from your home land and put into bondage. If you were a freedman and did not have your proof on you at all times, you were subjected to being captured and placed into slavery. As I shared with you on last Sunday, the whole idea of slavery leaves a very bad taste in our mouth. This morning we are going to examine slavery from another perspective, that of the Old Testament. Next week we will continue with slavery in the New Testament and begin our examination of some of the Scriptures and individual references to slaves in that time period.
I. Slavery In The Old Testament
In the Israelite law, whether the bondage was for a specified period of time or in perpetuity depended upon nationality, the form of servitude and the gender of the individual. A person could lose their freedom in society in a number of different ways. When household slaves gave birth, their children began life with the status of slave which was the same as slavery in America (Gen. 17:23). During this time slaves could also be purchased in the open slave market or individuals could sell themselves into slavery (I will talk more about this later.) Another way a person could enter into slavery was if they failed to repay a debt (Exodus 21:7; Deut. 15:12). The man or his family could be held by the creditor until the debt was paid. Exodus 22:3 speaks of a person entering into enslavement for breaking into someone’s home. Another point about slavery in the Old Testament was that kidnapping someone for the purposes of enslaving them was worthy of a death sentence because it threatened the very integrity of the community. The exception to this was prisoners of war who were used as slaves for the state and religious temples throughout the ancient Near East (1 Samuel 17:9). (Mesha king of Moab bragged that he carried out his building projects with the aid of Israelite captives. The enslavement of war captives also took place between Israel and Judah (2 Chronicles 28). So as you can see, someone entering into slavery did not happen just because someone was captured or decided to sell themselves into slavery, there were several ways it could happen.
Slaves in Israel had a legal status of property, meaning that they had a market value; could be bought and sold; and were considered the master’s “money”. Because they were deemed as property, as in America, they could be passed on as an inheritance (Lev. 25:46). They could also be physically beaten short of death and in Exodus chapter twenty-one there was a difference between the penalty assessed for an ox-goring death of a free citizen versus that of a slave. There were also other laws that were applied differently based on whether the person was a slave or a free citizen. Slaves were, however, afforded some legal protection in Israel. The Covenant Code stipulated three basic measures: beating a slave to death would necessitate an unspecified punishment (Exo. 21:20); if a master permanently injured a slave, freeing the slave was required (Exo. 21:26); and the third was the master was required to provide the Sabbath as a day of rest for his slaves (Exo. 23:12) I will discuss more about this shortly. Besides these general regulations, the law afforded Hebrew slaves further protection such as they could only be held for six years (Exo. 21:2); when they were freed the master would have to provide them with animals, grain and wine upon their departure (Deut 15:13). If they succeeded in running away, they could not be returned to a foreign owner although in some cultures (Babylonia in particular) a person helping a slave escape would be given a death penalty. I share this so that you understand that there was a difference between how the Israelites treated their slaves for the most part compared to their contemporaries in other cultures.
Let’s shift for a moment and examine something that God said to the priests in the book of Malachi. Turn to the first chapter and look at verse six. Malachi 1:6 says “A son honors his father and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?” In this verse we get a glimpse of how our Heavenly Father sees us as it relates to our relationship with Him. He is both our Father and our Master. This can only be true when we accept the fact that Christ purchased us from our former master (Satan) with His own blood. When we accept Christ, we willingly enter into a life of slavery. In the Old Testament there are many examples of someone choosing to enter into a life of slavery, but we need to understand that slaves in the Old Testament (Israelite society) were not necessarily treated like they were here in America.
We have spent a lot of time talking about the Children of Israel and their experience in slavery which came close to what life was like for slaves in America. As you may recall, they were not always in slavery while they lived in Egypt. They were placed into slavery after a new king came into power and was threatened by them based on their sheer numbers. The new king, who had no knowledge of God or Joseph, decided that the Israelites should be placed in bondage so that they would not rise up against Egypt and fight with Egypt’s enemies. Exodus 20:2 records the following: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Once God delivered them from Egypt, He saw fit to begin giving them guidelines from which to live by which included guidelines for how to treat their slaves. I will not go into all of the six-hundred plus laws that were put in place, but I do want to refresh your memory with one segment of God’s law which were found in the Ten Commandments (also known as the Decalogue). In verses eight through ten of Exodus chapter twenty God says the following: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or female servant of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.” From the very beginning God put laws into place to protect the slaves. Had He not done this, the slave owners possibly would have honored the Sabbath, but they would have made their servants work. God was putting a standard into place as it relates to how people were to be treated regardless of their position in life. In this God was reminding them that they too had once been slaves and they were to treat their slaves better than how they were treated. We should understand that God has always cared for and made provisions for those in slavery. Keep this in mind as we continue through this series. Now look at Leviticus 25:42 and let’s get a very clear understanding of what God’s view was and how it correlates with the role Jesus took on when He came to earth as a slave.
II. God’s View of His Slaves
We will begin with verse thirty-nine in Leviticus 25. “If a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. He shall be with you as a hired man, as if he were a sojourner; he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee. He shall then go out from you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, that he may return to the property of his forefathers. For they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they are not to be sold in a slave trade. You are not to rule over him with severity, but are to revere your God.” (Leviticus 25:39-42) Did you see it? God gave a commandment that if any of the Israelites fell on hard times and sold themselves to their neighbor, the neighbor could not treat them as a slave nor could they ever sell them in a slave market. Why you ask? Because every Israelite brought up out of Egypt was owned by God. They were His slaves and therefore they could not be sold to another master. As a matter of fact, because God was their master, the neighbor who purchased them could not even treat them like a slave. They had to be treated like someone hired to work for them. The slave could not have too masters and God was not going to sell “His” slaves to anyone else. Once He owned them, they remained His. Do you see how this relates to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24? Jesus said “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Truly no one can serve two masters and God made provisions for the times when an Israelite ran into hard times and had to be sold to a neighbor that the relationship was not one of them being sold into slavery, but being hired out. They were already enslaved to God.
Now turn back to the book of Exodus and we will read from the twenty-first chapter. Let’s start at verse two. “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears sons and daughters; the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man’ the his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.” (Exodus 21:2-6)
The first thing I want you to consider is the fact that the Hebrew slave who sold themselves into slavery to another Hebrew would be free after serving six years. When the six years were up, they were free to go without owing the master anything. However there were times when the slave chose not to leave because of his love for his master and everything he had received from his master. During these situations he could choose to stay with his master permanently. When a slave requested to remain a slave for his master, there was a special ceremony and provision that took place to make the person a permanent slave. It involved piercing the person’s ear. The owner took the slave before God (and other witnesses) and would pierce his ear and from that day forward the person would remain a slave of his master. Once again when you read through the Old Testament and other historical documents, you will find that the Jewish people treated their slaves better for the most part which is a contrast to what we know of American slavery. The Israelites’ treatment of their slaves was based on their relationship with God and willingly following His guidelines. Had all slaves been treated this way slavery (to some extent) might not leave such a bad taste in our mouth and we might not struggle so hard becoming slaves of Christ.
When you read through the Old Testament, there are several well known men who considered themselves “slaves” of God. God always defined Job and “My servant” or as “My slave.” David often titled himself as a “servant of the Lord” or in other words, as a slave. When you read the Psalms you will find many references to slaves and God’s relationship with them. For example:
David writes in Psalm 35:27: “Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; and let them say continually, ‘The Lord be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servants (slaves).”
David wrote in Psalm 86:2,4: “Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant (slave) who trusts in You…..Make glad the soul of Your servant (slave) for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.”
David also wrote this is Psalm 119:17: “Deal bountifully with Your servant (slave), that I may live and keep Your word.”
I chose these three references with you as a contrast to how we as Christians currently see ourselves. We do not see ourselves as slaves. We see ourselves as God’s favorites and thus the ones who should receive all of the blessings in this world. We hate the idea of being a slave because the very definition means that we are no longer on the receiving end (being served) but are on the giving end (doing the serving). We like the word “servant” because it sounds very spiritual and humble, but within us although we consider ourselves servants, we do not consider ourselves as slaves. Does this make sense?
The Old Testament contains the books and stories of several prophets. When we read the books of the prophets (or read about them individually) we find that they too considered themselves slaves and had a slaves’ mentality. For many years whenever I read the Bible and saw the word “servant” my mind went to that religious place of someone who chooses to serve others willingly as part of their worship to God. It seldom went to the place of a slave. Someone who serves God (by choice) with a mindset that they have to do what they’re told without having a choice. I envisioned my working for God as my choice and I should pat myself on the back because I am choosing to make sacrifices to serve God. “Oh what a wonderful, humble servant I am as I gladly make sacrifices for my God.” Now would this hold true if my mentality says that I am a slave and everything that I do I do it because I am a slave – I no longer have the right to do as I please. While I know this in the back of my mind, it does not seem to “religious” to bring it to the forefront when “servant” sounds so much better. When we come to the point of accepting that the Bible is about slaves – people who chose slavery to God (and Christ) versus Satan we will begin to see that the lives we’re living are not our own at all. That the decisions we’re making should not always be about what we want and what we think is good for us. It begins to sink into our consciousness that we must be about God and what His directions are for us.
Next week I will continue with an examination of slavery in the New Testament times.
