Slaves to a Lord

Deut. 15:12-17

12 If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 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.

• What feelings does this passage provoke?
  
• How would a Hebrew person be "up for sale"?
• What sort of worries would a slave of a good master have?
  
• Why would anyone be willing to be a slave for life?
  
• After Christ redeemed you, what sort of worries should you have?
  
• How frequently do you want your freedom from Christ? Why?
• How glad are you that you are a slave for life to Christ?

Harold's Musings:
There is just something un-American about this passage. Didn't we fight a war to end slavery? The Jewish people could apparently get so deep into "credit card" debt that they could not pay their way out. Someone would pay their debt for them, and in return the debtor would work for their redeemer for a fixed period of time. There was no bankruptcy court. Not repaying the debt was stealing, so someone had to pay. How often do you remember the debts that Jesus paid for you? How often do you look at other "debtors" and want what they "have"? How often do you keep on charging just to meet your desires, even after He redeemed you? Ouch! Why did you ask that, Harold?