Deuteronomy 15:12-23 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 15:12-23. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 15:12-15 (NIV)
12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free.
13 And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.
14 Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.
15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
On verses 12-15: Moses tells the Israelites to be gracious to a servant who leaves them after several years of service. He tells the Israelites to “supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress.” (v14) Applied to us today, when a person has served you well for a long time, instead of bitterly grieving their departure or indifferently letting them go, go out of your way to honour and bless that person. Celebrate the ways you are better off because of them and bless them liberally. Be gracious to them as God has been gracious to you. When we send people off this way, we will be blessed as well (see v18).
Also, just as Moses tells the Israelites to supply that departing servant liberally from their flock, threshing floor and winepress, I’m reminded that God supplied us liberally from His flock, His threshing floor and His winepress. From His flock, God gave you His best and purest lamb, the only one without defect, flaw or blemish: Jesus the lamb of God. From His threshing floor, God gave you Jesus the bread of life, the only one who satisfies our deepest hunger. From His winepress, God allowed His Son to be pressed and crushed, His blood poured out for the forgiveness of your sins. Whereas verse 18 suggests that the servant did something to earn such goodness from his master, we did nothing to deserve the grace God showed to us. In His love and despite our sin, God gave His best to us anyways.
Deuteronomy 15:16-18 (NIV)
16 But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you,
17 then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your maidservant.
18 Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because his service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.
On verses 16-18: What if the servant who finished their contract loved his or her boss’ family and wanted to continue the working relationship for life? There was provision for that too. It included a special legal ceremony where the employer would publicly (at the door of their home) pierce the employee’s ear (v17, see also Exodus 21:1-11). The piercing was a visual, public reminder to all in attendance that this employee loved his master. The piercing showed that the servant would rather keep serving his boss and be close to his own family than to go free.
When I think about this, I’m reminded of how Jesus Christ came as a humble servant and was publicly pierced for us. Jesus Christ served His Heavenly Father faithfully for many years on earth. If he wanted to, Jesus could have chosen to go free and not die on the cross the way He did (Matthew 26:53; John 10:18). But Jesus loved His master (His Heavenly Father), His bride (the church) and all her children, and did not want to be apart from them. So Jesus Christ allowed Himself to be pierced, so that we could be with Him forever.
Thus “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
Deuteronomy 15:19-23 (NIV)
19 Set apart for the LORD your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your oxen to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep.
20 Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose.
21 If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
22 You are to eat it in your own towns. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it, as if it were gazelle or deer.
23 But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
On verses 19-23: The firstborn male of every herd and flock was set apart for a special purpose: rather than being put to work, that firstborn male would be sacrificed in God’s presence (v19-20). That is, unless it was flawed in some way (v21). In this way, the firstborn was sacrificed so that those who came after the firstborn would be spared. Likewise, Jesus was a lamb without defect, the “firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus was sacrificed so that we who come after him could be spared.
Father, thank You for supplying me with the very best from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress when You sent Jesus Christ for me, even when I didn’t deserve it. Thank You Jesus for being the most faithful servant in Your Father’s house, the firstborn male who was sacrificed so that we could be spared. Thank You for Your amazing grace on my life. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
