Pierce My Ear (2)
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Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
v
A Jewish Practice
A Jewish Practice
Found In Three Passages
Found In Three Passages
We find the context for the idea of “piercing one’s ear” as the song discusses in three different passages in the Old Testament.
It’s first found in Exodus 21:5-6, later addition details are given in Leviticus 25:35-46; and then Moses reiterates this law with even additional information to the “new generation” of Israelites before they go into the promised land Deuteronomy 15:7-18.
Context For These Passages
Context For These Passages
The Israelites had been traveling away from Egypt now for some 53 days by the time they get to Mount Sinai.
Leading up to this point…
The had been chased by the Egyptians.
They had been fed manna from God.
They had been given water out of a rock that was struck my Moses.
They had been able to defeat the Amalekites without any true warriors.
They had been taken to the Mountain of Sinai and witnessed the fire, smoke, thunder, and quaking of the mountain because of God’s presence there.
They had witnessed Moses going up the mountain to talk with God.
This is where we are at in the book of Exodus.
Moses is getting the two tablets of the law “written by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18).
In Exodus 21 we have the law concerning Hebrew slavery for the Jews, specifically on the Sabbath year.
Before we dive into this we need to remove, from our minds, the image typically associated with slavery.
When we think of it today we picture in our minds slavery in the “harshest of terms.”
However, Jewish slavery was not like that, or at least was not meant to be seen like that.
Yes, there is the idea of being “owned” by another, but not as material means at the cost of humanity.
In fact, a Hebrew could only be a slave to another Hebrew if he had offered himself as such in the first place.
39 If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: 40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.
Why would anyone do such, because they were more like servants than slaves.
They would receive a wage, even though it would be half that of a hired hand.
18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.
They would also be treated with kindness in the fear of the Lord.
43 You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.
The truth is, this was a very kind and benevolent way of helping the poor and those in debt to another.
This leads us to the scriptures wherein a slave could choose to stay with his master forever.
5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
16 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, 17 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.
Summary
Summary
Thus, the title and lyrics of our song spiritual song this morning, Pierce My Ear.
Having a better understanding of the context of these passages on the concept of asking to have one’s ear pierced by their master, lets now look at…
Our Pierced Ear
Our Pierced Ear
Everyone’s Ear Is Pierced
Everyone’s Ear Is Pierced
Once we reach the age of accountability, we make the choice to become slaves of sin and then hopefully slaves to God.
But either way we are the slaves of someone.
24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Therefore, this means, when we obey the gospel and become a child of God we are asking God to…
Pierce Our Ear
Pierce Our Ear
When we obey the gospel we wholly give our lives over to God as His slave.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Once again this isn’t slavery as we typically think of it.
We are allowed to the choice to leave whenever we want.
15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
When we put our ear on God’s doorpost we do so for two reasons.
Hopefully the first reason we chose to be slaves of God was because of the great love He has shown us.
23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.
The second reason is because God has offered each of His willing slaves an inheritance far greater than any other can offer.
For those that stay faithful and dedicated to God there awaits for them…
A crown of victory.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
A habitation with God.
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
This great reality is why Paul would declare…
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Summary
Summary
As we consider that moment in time when we each made the commitment to follow our God in obedience to His will, let us remember the doorframe of righteousness we placed our ear upon and dedicated our lives to our God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Pierce My Ear
Pierce my ear, O Lord, my God. Take me to Your door this day. I will serve no other gods, Lord, I’m here to stay.
My prayer and hope is that each of us are willing to surrender our all to God by making him the highest priority in our life.
This means we make God more important in our lives than…
Our family, our friends, our favorite activities…
That we let nothing hinder us from honoring, glorifying, and magnifying our God.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
32 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
