Blessings for Slaves

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 15:11-19          2/21/2018

Moses commanded that when a slave was released after the maximum six years of service, the slave owner must send the slave out with material goods. He reminded the Israelites that this is how they were sent away from Egypt. Moses also made a special rite as provision for the person who wished to remain a slave because they loved their master.

Blessings for Slaves

Slavery within the Authentic Community had the quality of internship. It wasn’t possible to keep a slave permanently unless that was the slaves desire. The slave owner bought the slave because slave labor was recognized as extremely cheap. But a Hebrew could only be required to serve as a slave for a maximum of 6 years. And at the conclusion of the service, the slave received an endowment.

It all sounds a bit euphemistic. Like a justification for 18th and 19th century American slavery. But in the ancient near-east world, if a person had no resources, or they little ability to manage their resources, then it seems they very often ended up as slaves. The difference between the common practice of slavery and the Hebrew practice was the effect on the slave. For the Israelites, slavery meant that a person with no means or inadequate training in handling resources had six years to figure things out.

It is with this understanding that Jesus described the servants in the parable of the talents. Each given some relatively small charge. Each given the opportunity for industry. Each rewarded in accordance with their merit.

The story was meant for me. I am a servant. I am a slave.

The story was meant for you. The hope is that someday you will rule over cities.

“At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.” Heb 12:11