RPG Adults
BOND AND HIRED SERVANTS!
TUESDAY, JUNE 25
Leviticus 25
Psalm 103:8-18
“Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids,
which thou shalt have, shall be of
the heathen that are round about you…”
BOND AND HIRED SERVANTS!
The word “servants” (Lev 25:42) could mean “slaves.” The word “slave” carries with it a very negative stigma. It is often seen as a taboo word not to be uttered. This negative connotation is due largely to the slave trade of history, and how it has been portrayed by Hollywood as a cruel and most brutal treatment of our fellowmen. Therefore, whenever the word “slave” is used, it is frowned upon. This negative understanding has crept into the mind of believers when they study the Bible. They fail to realise and understand that the LORD is always merciful and good, as this passage of the Bible reveals. We need to stop allowing wrongful worldly images and influences to distort and colour our understanding of the Bible.
There was a difference between a bond servant and a hired one. If an Israelite became a servant or slave, he should never be a bond servant to an Israelite master. He should only be a hired servant as he was part of God’s people, a brother, just like the Israelite master. He made mistakes in his life, ended up in debt and became a servant to repay his debt. A non-Israelite, however, could be treated as a bond servant. This was not prejudice or cruelty on God’s part. This was God’s love and blessing. Know that every inch of the Land of Promise was owned by the twelve tribes. Therefore, when a Gentile became a believer of the LORD and left his country and wanted to be part of God’s visible witness on earth, he had to live in Israel and adopt her culture and holy way of life because all things in Israel were ordained by God. This meant that the only “job” the Gentile could have was to be a servant or slave. If he became a “free man,” he would die of starvation or of the cold because he would have no place to live. He needed to live under the roof and care of God’s people as a bond servant, and be a holy testimony for Christ in Israel. The spiritual significance of the doctrine of “bond servants” was the care and physical well-being of Gentile believers who loved the LORD.
MEMORISATION: Leviticus 25:39-40
PRAYER: Help me, Father, to see the world with spiritual eyes according to Holy Scriptures and make me a blessing for Jesus’ sake. Amen.