No one likes the idea of slavery and no one really wants to
discuss it, but the Bible tells us that the Jews would go into slavery and be
owned by others. Condemning the practice of owning slaves is culturally popular,
but biblically the root of slavery is always sin. We are all slaves to sin, and
we are all enslaved to the systems we live under. While there are careers of
servanthood, those who intentionally become a bond servant to another, there
are unwilling slaves as well. There are always nations, tribes, and elites that
want to take over or dominate other countries and enslave the people, which is
the evil side of humanity. We talked
about the civil war of the Jews a short time ago and we will reflect on that a
bit. When we ask how the Jews ended up being in the position of slaves, we find
that Moses gave us the unpopular answer. Because the Jews forgot the answer
they made the same mistakes over and over.
The reason the sons of Jacob were honored by Yahweh was
because of the committed relationship their descendants had with Yahweh.
Starting with Noah, Shem, and Eber, all the way to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Jacob’s children were honored but they did not live honorably. As we have
studied, Jacob was not what many people want us to believe he was. He was not a
crafty deceiver, stealing from his brother. Jacob spent 37 years in the house
of the Lord, serving Yahweh. He received the birthright from Esau at 20 years
old because Esau thought he was going to die. At 57 years old Jacob left the service
in the tents of the Lord and received the blessing from Isaac. Esau had already
married two heathen women by this time and because Rebekah (and Yahweh) were
not pleased with this, Jacob received the blessing. Jacob became a paid servant
to Laban and Jacob prospered. Later Jacob moved his family into Goshen at
Joseph’s suggestion as there was a terrible famine in Canaan. They stayed there
430 years. Yahweh told Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved in Egypt
400 years. Is it possible that their 400 years in Egypt was to humble them and draw
them to Yahweh?
Gen 15:13-14 And [God] said to Abram, Know positively that
your descendants will be strangers dwelling as temporary residents in a land
that is not theirs [Egypt], and they will be slaves there and will be afflicted
and oppressed for 400 years. [Fulfilled in Ex 12:40.] 14 But I will bring
judgment on that nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out
with great possessions. [Acts 7:6,7.] AMP
Gen 15:13G2532And G2046it was
said G4314to G*Abram,
G1097In knowing
G1097you
will know G3754that G3941[3a
sojourner G1510.8.32will
be G3588 G46901your
seed] G1473 G1722inG1093a land
G3756not G2398their own,
G2532and G1402they
will enslave G1473them, G2532and G2559will
afflict G1473them, G2532and G5013humble
G1473them G5071four
hundred G2094years
1402 δουλόω douloō doo-lo'-o From G1401;
to enslave (literally or figuratively) KJV Usage: bring into
(be under) bondage, X given, become (make) servant.
Just because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were honored, does
not mean Jacob’s sons were perfect. They certainly had an open door to
blessings if they wanted them but usually when one generation struggles,
suffers, and fights, the next generation takes it easy and loses the blessings
their mothers and fathers gained.
Abraham lived a hard life, Isaac was babied and was not exceptionally
tuned in to Yahweh, but Rebekah was. Jacob served Yahweh and then struggled for
many years, but Jacob’s sons were not necessarily following Yahweh. Yahweh is
always receptive to those who want a relationship with Him. We know how Jacob’s
sons behaved.
Moses brings the heirs of Jacob out of Egypt, close to
Canaan, after 430 years. Just before Moses’ death he prophesies that if they
turn their backs on Yahweh, they would become slaves, sent out in boats, sold
to their enemies and no one would buy them back for freedom. We have to
remember the laws that Moses gave concerning slaves. Slaves owned by the
Israelites were to be set free in the seventh year. Yet the Israelites would
not receive the same benefits if they were sent out and sold to other nations.
Deut 15:12 And if your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew
woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you
shall let him go free from you. AMP
Moses is very clear as to what will happen if they neglect
to serve Yahweh. In this understanding, being a servant to Yahweh is far more
desirable than being a servant to any other spiritual being or people group.
Notice that Moses tells them they would be scattered from one end of the earth
to the other.
Deut 28: 63 And it shall come to pass that as the Lord
rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice
over you to destroy you; and ye shall be quickly removed from the land, into
which ye go to inherit it. 64 And the Lord thy God shall scatter thee
among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other; and thou shalt there
serve other gods, wood and stone, which thou hast not known, nor thy
fathers. 65 Moreover among those nations he will not give thee quiet,
neither by any means shall the sole of thy foot have rest; and the Lord shall
give thee there another and a misgiving heart, and failing eyes, and a wasting
soul. 66 And thy life shall be in suspense before thine eyes; and
thou shalt be afraid by day and by night, and thou shalt have no assurance of
thy life. 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were evening!
and in the evening thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thine
heart with which thou shalt fear, and for the sights of thine eyes which thou
shalt see. 68 And the Lord shall bring thee back to Egypt in ships,
by the way of which I said, Thou shalt not see it again; and ye shall be sold
there to your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and none shall buy you. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Deuteronomy/index.htm
Let’s look at all these words closely. They would be sent
out in ships, sold to those who hated them, for servants and no countrymen
would buy them back.
Deut 28:68G2532And G654[2will
return G14733you G29621 the lord]
G1519untoG*Egypt G1722inG4143boats,
G2532and G1722in G3588the G3598way G3739which G2036I
said, G3756You
shall not proceed G4369 G2089again G1492to
behold G1473it. G2532And G4097you
shall be sold G1563there G3588to G2190your
enemies G1473 G1519for G3816manservants
G2532and G3814maidservants,
G2532and G3756none G1510.8.3shall
be G3588 G2932acquiring
you
4097 LSJ
Gloss: πιπράσκω to sell
Dodson: πιπράσκω I sell I sell; pass: I am a slave to, am
devoted to.
πιπράσκω, πράω pipraskō praō pip-ras'-ko, prah'-o The first is a reduplicated and prolonged form of the second (which occurs only as an alternate in certain tenses); contracted from περάω peraō (to traverse; from the base of G4008); to traffic(by travelling), that is, dispose of as merchandise or into slavery (literally or figuratively) KJV Usage: sell.
2190 LSJ
Gloss: ἐχθρός hated, hateful
Dodson: ἐχθρός hated, hostile, an enemy hated, hostile;
subst: an enemy.
ἐχθρός echthros ekh-thros' From a primary word ἔχθω echthō (to hate);hateful (passively odious, or actively hostile); usually as a noun, an adversary (especially Satan) KJV Usage: enemy, foe.
3816 LSJ
Gloss: παῖς a child
Dodson: παῖς a boy or girl child (a) a male child, boy, (b)
a male slave, servant; thus: a servant of God, especially as a title of the
Messiah, (c) a female child, girl.
Strong's: παῖς a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or
(by analogy), a girl, and (genitive case) a child; specially, a slave or
servant (especially a minister to a king; and by eminence to God) Derivation:
perhaps from G3817; KJV
Usage: child, maid(-en), (man) servant, son, young man.
παῖς pais paheece Perhaps from G3817; a boy (as often beatenwith impunity), or (by analogy) a girl, and (generally) a child; specifically a slave orservant (especially a minister to a king; and by eminence to God) KJV Usage: child, maid (-en), (man) servant, son, young man.
3814 LSJ
Gloss: παιδίσκη a young girl, maiden
Dodson: παιδίσκη a female slave, maidservant, maid. a
female slave, maidservant, maid, young girl.
Strong's: παιδίσκη a girl, i.e. (specially), a female slave
or servant Derivation: feminine diminutive of G3816; KJV
Usage: bondmaid(-woman), damsel, maid(-en).
παιδίσκη paidiskē pahee-dis'-kay Feminine diminutive of G3816; a girl, that is, (specifically) a female slave or servant KJV Usage: bondmaid (-woman), damsel, maid (-en).
2932 LSJ
Gloss: κτάομαι to procure for oneself, to get, gain, acquire
Dodson: κτάομαι I win, get, buy, possess (a) I acquire,
win, get, purchase, buy, (b) I possess, win mastery over.
κτάομαι ktaomai ktah'-om-ahee A
primary verb; to get, that is, acquire (by any
means; own) KJV Usage: obtain, possess, provide, purchase.
This is a very powerful section. What we see is that
nationality has little to do with slavery, instead it has everything to do with
following Yahweh and his commands. This is key. So because they did not do what
they were instructed to do as Moses prophesied, they were sent out into all the
areas of the world as slaves. Remember that the Jews were allowed to own slaves
as well, they were to set them free after seven years. Yahweh expected slave
owners to treat their slaves well, but the Jews would not be so fortunate.
Slavery is not a new thing. The Jews were sold into slavery, they were sent to
Egypt as slaves, sold to people all over the world, and they remained slaves,
being bought and sold. If we want to see the characteristics of these Jewish
slaves we need to read the context of this section.
Deut 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not
hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe all his commandments, as
many as I charge thee this day, then all these curses shall come on thee, and
overtake thee. 16 Cursed shalt thou be in
the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be
thy barns and thy stores. 18 Cursed shall be the offspring of thy
body, and the fruits of thy land, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of
thy sheep. 19 Cursed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and cursed shalt
thou be in thy going out.
Everything they do will be cursed; their business, their
heirs, and their animals will be overtaken by the curse. Pretty much at this
point we can understand that the only thing left for them would be to look to
Yahweh for help. But it gets worse.
Deut 28:20 The Lord send upon thee want, and famine,
and consumption of all things on which thou shalt put thy hand, until he shall
have utterly destroyed thee, and until he shall have consumed thee quickly
because of thine evil devices, because thou hast forsaken me. 21 The
Lord cause the pestilence to cleave to thee, until he shall have consumed thee
off the land into which thou goest to inherit it. 22 The Lord smite
thee with distress, and fever, and cold, and inflammation, and blighting, and
paleness, and they shall pursue thee until they have destroyed
thee. 23 And thou shalt have over thine head a sky of brass, and the
earth under thee shall be iron. 24 The Lord thy God make the rain of
thy land dust; and dust shall come down from heaven, until it shall have destroyed
thee, and until it shall have quickly consumed thee. 25 The Lord give
thee up for slaughter before thine enemies: thou shalt go out against them one
way, and flee from their face seven ways; and thou shalt be a dispersion in all
the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And your dead men shall be food to the
birds of the sky, and to the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to
scare them away. 27 The Lord smite thee with the botch of Egypt in
the seat, and with a malignant scab, and itch, so that thou canst not be
healed. 28 The Lord smite thee with insanity, and blindness, and
astonishment of mind. 29 And thou shalt grope at mid-day, as a blind
man would grope in the darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways; and
then thou shalt be unjustly treated, and plundered continually, and there shall
be no helper.
Famine, pestilence, distresses, fever, cold, inflammation,
blight, paleness, it will be as if living encaged in iron and brass. No rain,
slaughtered, dispersed over all the kingdoms of the earth. Beasts will attack
them and birds will eat their dead bodies. They would have the diseases of
boils on their hind ends, scabs, and itching, along with insanity, and
blindness, while being unfairly treated, stolen from continually, and no
helpers. And still things get worse.
Deut 28:30 thou shalt take a wife, and another man
shall have her; thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell in it; thou
shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes of it. 31Thy
calf shall be slain before thee, and thou shalt not eat of it;
thine ass shall be violently taken away from thee, and shall not be restored to
thee: thy sheep shall be given to thine enemies, and thou shalt have no
helper. 32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another
nation, and thine eyes wasting away shall look for them: thine hand shall have
no strength. 33 A nation which thou knowest not shall eat the produce
of thy land, and all thy labours; and thou shalt be injured and crushed
always. 34 And thou shalt be distracted, because of the sights of
thine eyes which thou shalt see.
Nothing they do will turn out right for them. We see here
people who are simply destitute, unable to change their situation. Literally
hopeless.
Deut 28:35 The Lord smite thee with an evil sore, on
the knees and the legs, so that thou shalt not be able to be healed from the
sole of thy foot to the crown of thy head.
More physical problems. No universal healthcare. Suffering.
Deut 28:36 The Lord carry away thee and thy princes,
whom thou shalt set over thee, to a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers
know; and thou shalt there serve other gods, wood and stone. 37 An
thou shalt be there for a wonder, and a parable, and a tale, among all the
nations, to which the Lord thy God shall carry thee away.
Wherever they were sold they would become a story of what
not to do or who not to be like. How could the sons of Jacob have forgotten
their forefathers? Was living in the moment for the pleasures of this life so
important that they were willing to risk what Moses warned them of? In other
words, was forsaking Yahweh, who led them out of Egypt, better than staying
connected to Him? The prophets did it,
the Zedek’s did it, and the rest of the nation could have done it too.
Deut 28:38 Thou shalt carry forth much seed into the
field, and thou shalt bring in little, because the locust shall devour
it. 39 Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and dress it, and shalt not drink
the wine, neither shalt thou delight thyself with it, because the worm shall
devour it. 40 Thou shalt have olive trees in all thy borders, and
thou shalt not anoint thee with oil, because thine olive shall utterly
cast its fruit. 41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters,
and they shall not be thine, for they shall depart into
captivity. 42 All thy trees and the fruits of thy land shall the
blight consume. 43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up very
high, and thou shalt come down very low. 44 He shall lend to thee,
and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
Even if they planted they would not eat what they planted
because they were planting for their masters. Their children would be taken as
slaves too. Strangers and foreigners would rise up becoming the head while the
Jewish slaves sink low, and become the tail.
Deut 28:45 And all these curses shall come upon thee,
and shall pursue thee, and shall overtake thee, until he shall have consumed
thee, and until he shall have destroyed thee; because thou didst not hearken
to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commands, and his ordinances
which he has commanded thee. 46 And these things shall
be signs in thee, and wonders among thy seed for ever; 47 because
thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with gladness and a good heart, because
of the abundance of all things.
Again, this slavery is due to not serving the Lord with
gladness and a good heart because abundance and riches distracts people from
the voice of Yahweh Elohim and His commands and ordinances. They did not heed
the prophets sent to help them. Curses pursue them. They can’t get away from
the curses. We see people like that today, living impoverished under tremendous
burdens, but even if we help, or educate them, or make things easy for them,
they cannot change their fate because curses are pursuing and overtaking them.
Dismal as that seems, Jesus came to free people from being slaves due to sin.
Deut 28:48 And thou shalt serve thine enemies, which
the Lord will send forth against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in
nakedness, and in the want of all things; and thou shalt wear upon thy neck a
yoke of iron until he shall have destroyed thee. 49 The Lord shall bring
upon thee a nation from the extremity of the earth, like the swift flying of an
eagle, a nation whose voice thou shalt not understand; 50 a nation
bold in countenance, which shall not respect the person of the aged and shall
not pity the young. 51 And it shall eat up the young of thy cattle,
and the fruits of thy land, so as not to leave to thee corn, wine, oil, the
herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep, until it shall have destroyed
thee; 52 and have utterly crushed thee in thy cities, until the high
and strong walls be destroyed, in which thou trustest, in all thy land; and it
shall afflict thee in thy cities, which he has given to thee. 53 And
thou shalt eat the fruit of thy body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy
daughters, all that he has given thee, in thy straitness and thy affliction,
with which thine enemy shall afflict thee.
Jewish slaves wearing iron neck collars would end up slaves
in a faraway nation that is like a swift flying eagle with a language they
don’t understand. The nation would be a bold snarky one and take all their
resources leaving them to eat their children. Leviticus warns of this as well.
Lev 26:29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons and of your
daughters. [2 Kings 6:28,29.] AMP
This happened a couple of times in biblical history. One of
those times was when the Northern kingdom was under siege after the kingdom
split in the region of Samaria. This is before the Northern kingdom went into
captivity.
2 Kings 6:29 So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day
I said to her, Give your son so we may eat him, but she had hidden her son. AMP
The second time this happened was at the time that the
glory left the temple after over 300 years of temple defilements, right before
the Southern kingdom went into captivity. Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied of
this but the priests did not repent.
Ezek 5:9-11 And because of all your abominations, I will do
in you that which I have not done and the like of which I will never do again. [Lam
4:6; Dan 9:12; Amos 3:2.] 10 Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your
midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you
and all who are left of you I will scatter to all the winds. [Lev 26:33; Deut
28:64; Ezek 12:14; Zech 2:6.] 11 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God,
surely because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things
and with all your abominations, therefore will I also diminish you and withdraw
My eye that it shall not spare you. And I also will have no pity. AMP
Jer 19:9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their
sons and their daughters, and they shall eat each one the flesh of his neighbor
and friend in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those
who seek their lives distress them. AMP
Look how Jeremiah describes this time after it happens.
Lam 4:8-10 [Prolonged famine has made] them look blacker
than soot and darkness; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin
clings to their bones; it is withered and it has become [dry] like a stick. 9
Those who are slain with the sword are more fortunate than those who are the
victims of hunger [slain by the famine]; for they [the hungry] pine and ebb
away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. 10 The hands of
[heretofore] compassionate women have boiled their own children; they were
their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people [Judah]. AMP
If we read Lamentations 1-4 we find it written in acrostics
of the twenty two letters of the Hebrew Alphabet. Chapters 1 and 5 give us a
summary of the siege with chapters 2 and 4 giving us details of the siege.
People sometimes use this section to refer to the Holocaust, but as far as
historical literature is concerned, it is speaking specifically to Judah going
into captivity. Their skin would look blacker than soot, and they would become
skin and bones, and dehydrated. We have seen this in our modern times,
countries under siege, in famine, and people deathly ill. We send aid, we
attempt to help, but really this is a worldly reality that still happens to
this day. Remember who the god of this world is. Our only source of protection
is Yahweh. So the Israelites were no different than anyone else who was
starving. They ate their children just like other people and tribes have done.
Deut 28:54 He that is tender and very delicate within
thee shall look with an evil eye upon his brother, and the wife in his bosom,
and the children that are left, which may have been left to
him; 55 so as not to give to one of them of the
flesh of his children, whom he shall eat, because of his having nothing left
him in thy straitness, and in thy affliction, with which thine enemies shall
afflict thee in all thy cities.
Even the rich pampered people who were the elite of the
society will want the flesh of his children for food, and he won’t share with
anyone else. Sometimes we wonder what it would be like if the elite of our
nations lived like the majority of people in the world, here Moses prophesies
that they will be just like the regular people, cannibals. Even the high
society women will become cannibals.
Deut 28:56 And she that is tender and delicate among
you, whose foot has not assayed to go upon the earth for delicacy and
tenderness, shall look with an evil eye on her husband in her bosom, and her
son and her daughter, 57 and her offspring that comes out between her
feet, and the child which she shall bear; for she shall eat them because of the
want of all things, secretly in thy straitness, and in thy affliction, with
which thine enemy shall afflict thee in thy cities. 58 If thou wilt
not hearken to do all the words of this law, which have been written in this
book, to fear this glorious and wonderful name, the Lord thy
God; 59 then the Lord shall magnify thy plagues, and the plagues of thy
seed, great and wonderful plagues, and evil and abiding
diseases. 60 And he shall bring upon thee all the evil pain of Egypt,
of which thou wast afraid, and they shall cleave to thee. 61 And the
Lord shall bring upon thee every sickness, and every plague that is not
written, and every one that is written in the book of this law, until he shall
have destroyed thee. 62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas
ye were as the stars of the sky in multitude; because thou didst not hearken to
the voice of the Lord thy God.
After all this, all the plagues, diseases, sicknesses, and
pains, written or unwritten, will come upon the people until they are destroyed
because they did not hearken to the written laws Moses gave them. Then, the few
that are left will go out on boats as slaves.
Deut 28: 63 And it shall come to pass that as the Lord
rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice
over you to destroy you; and ye shall be quickly removed from the land, into
which ye go to inherit it. 64 And the Lord thy God shall scatter thee
among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other; and thou shalt there
serve other gods, wood and stone, which thou hast not known, nor thy
fathers. 65 Moreover among those nations he will not give thee quiet,
neither by any means shall the sole of thy foot have rest; and the Lord shall
give thee there another and a misgiving heart, and failing eyes, and a wasting
soul. 66 And thy life shall be in suspense before thine eyes; and
thou shalt be afraid by day and by night, and thou shalt have no assurance of
thy life. 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were evening!
and in the evening thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thine
heart with which thou shalt fear, and for the sights of thine eyes which thou shalt
see. 68 And the Lord shall bring thee back to Egypt in ships, by the
way of which I said, Thou shalt not see it again; and ye shall be sold there to
your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and none shall buy you. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Deuteronomy/index.htm
This seem so harsh, as if Yahweh is such a mean elohim. But
let’s be reminded that Moses had to fight for the Israelites over and over
before Yahweh. Yahweh told Moses he wanted to wipe them all out and raise up a
nation through Moses. Moses pleaded on their behalf. Moses even got mad at them
a few times, to the end that even Moses’ anger cost him and he could not enter
the Promised Land. It seems that they as a whole never quite did what they were
supposed to do. That is why there was always separation between the prophets
and the temple. The priests and Levites led the nation in defilement, the kings
also multiplied the sin and turning away from Yahweh. The people living for
Yahweh moved out of Israel and Judah and did not entangle themselves with the
affairs of the nations. The Lord said this to Solomon; we tend to quote this in
part, but here is the section in context. http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2014/03/passover-male-prostitution-in-temple.html
2 Chron 7:12 And the Lord appeared to Solomon by
night, and said to him, I have heard thy prayer, and I have chosen this place
to myself for a house of sacrifice. 13 If I should restrain the
heaven and there should be no rain, and if I should command the locust to
devour the trees, and if I should send pestilence upon my
people; 14 then if my people, on whom my name is called, should
repent, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, I also will
hear from heaven, and I will be merciful to their sins, and I will heal their
land. 15And now my eyes shall be open, and my ears attentive to the prayer
of this place. 16 And now I have chosen and sanctified this house,
that my name should be there for ever: and my eyes and my heart shall be there
always.
Waiting and listening from heaven, Yahweh unfortunately did
not hear or see the people repenting, instead he saw and heard all manner of
defilements. Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding the people over three hundred years
later sums up the state of the Jews. They forsook the fountain of the water of
life.
Jeremisah 2:4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of
Jacob, and every family of the house of Israel. 5 Thus saith the
Lord, What trespass have your fathers found in me, that they have revolted far
from me, and gone after vanities, and become vain? 6 And they said
not, Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who guided
us in the wilderness, in an untried and trackless land, in a land which no man
at all went through, and no man dwelt there? 7And I brought you to Carmel,
that ye should eat the fruits thereof, and the good thereof; and ye went in,
and defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. 8 The
priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that held by the law knew me not:
the shepherds also sinned against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and
went after that which profited not.
9 Therefore I will yet plead with you, and will plead
with your children’s children. 10 For go to the isles of the Chettians,
and se; and send to Kedar, and observe accurately, and see if such things have
been done; 11 if the nations will change their gods, though they are
not gods: but my people have changed their glory, for that from
which they shall not be profited. 12 The heaven is amazed at this,
and is very exceedingly horror-struck, saith the Lord. 13 For my
people has committed two faults, and evil ones: they have forsaken
me, the fountain of water of life, and hewn out for themselves broken cisterns,
which will not be able to hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, or a home-born slave? why has
he become a spoil? 15 The lions roared upon him, and uttered their
voice, which have made his land a wilderness: and his cities are broken down,
that they should not be inhabited. 16 Also the children of Memphis
and Taphnas have known thee, and mocked thee. 17 Has not thy
forsaking me brought these things upon thee? saith the Lord thy God.
If we think through history, there have been many wars, and
many people have died. We can look at each nation on the earth today and can
see that there is a group of elite, a group of working class, and a group
impoverished. It seems that the impoverished have entered into every nation.
Many were sold to the people of those nations as slaves. But regardless of
whether a nation has active slavery or not, the price for not hearkening to
Yahweh after being saved from slavery in Egypt was curse upon curse. The Jews were
scattered into every nation, into every corner of the earth. Look at every
nation. Look at the people who fit Moses profile here in Deuteronomy 28, and
you will find the heirs of Jacob. The descendants of Jacob are not prosperous
elite. They are not skilled at making money, and healthy. They still struggle
and are sickly.
Deut 28:64G2532And G1289[3will
disperse G14734you G29621 the lord
G3588 G23162your
God] G1473 G1519into G3956all G3588the G1484nations,
G575from G206.1the tip
G3588of the
G1093earth,
G2193unto G206.1the
other tip G3588of the
G1093earth.
G2532And G1398you
shall slave G1563there G2316to
other gods G2087 G3586of wood
G2532and G3037stone,
G3739which G3756[2have
no G19873knowledge
of G14731you], G2532nor G3588 G3962your
fathers.G1473
1398 LSJ Gloss: δουλεύω to be a slave
Dodson: δουλεύω I am a slave, am subject to, obey I am a
slave, am subject to, obey, am devoted.
Strong's: δουλεύω to be a slave to (literal or figurative,
involuntary or voluntary)
Derivation: from G1401; KJV Usage: be in bondage, (do) serve(-ice).
Derivation: from G1401; KJV Usage: be in bondage, (do) serve(-ice).
δουλεύω douleuō dool-yoo'-o From G1401; to be a slave to (literally or figuratively, involuntarily or voluntarily) KJV Usage: be in bondage, (do) serve (-ice).
These people who came out of Egypt, their descendants, have
not changed and become “un-cursed” unless they have received Jesus as Lord and
Messiah. That is the key. The curse is reversed when Jesus becomes Lord and
Savior in the heart of the individual. Then the blessings come from generation
to generation. Think of this at the time of the Jewish Civil War that Josephus
tells us about. The Zealots rose up in Israel and wanted to overthrow Rome. But
they needed the help of their countrymen. Instead of the Israelites being “all
in” they refused the Zealots, and the Zealots attacked the Israelites in Judah
until eventually many had died. Then the Romans simply walked in, destroyed the
temple and the revolting Zealots. The Jews were scattered outside of Jerusalem
and were not allowed back into the city. History keeps repeating. Those Jews
outside the city prior to this, the Essenes/Nazarenes/Therapeutaes and prophets
who were faithful to Yahweh received Jesus as Lord and lived the blessings
while their brothers and sisters who rejected Jesus received the curses.
Let’s get the picture here, if the descendants of Jacob
reject Yahweh, they will be slaves. It does not matter what year we are speaking
of, at the time of entering into the Promised Land, the Kingdom splits,
Northern and Southern Captivity, Greek rule, Roman rule, or German rule. If
Yahweh is rejected by Jacob’s seed, they will be slaves.
Very clearly Moses warned the sons of Jacob who were coming
out of Egypt that if they did not hearken to Yahweh they would receive the
curses. Their curse included becoming slaves. Many nations bought slaves from
tribal leaders. We may be confused by this in thinking that the tribal kings
and lords were selling their own people. They were not. They were selling their slaves, those in slavery to the
nations of those tribal kings and lords. When many African slaves came to the
Americas they brought with them hymns and spiritual songs regarding Moses and
Joseph and places like Canaan. They came singing these songs, but were not
allowed to sing in their native African languages. They eventually sang these
spirituals in English, and later in the 1800’s, slaves were converted to
Christianity. Why were the African bought slaves singing songs about Moses and
the Old Testament?
Today there are many things that enslave us. Things like
lusts of various kinds hold power over us. And while there is still slavery on
the earth, and we are still enslaved to our kings, lords, and political leaders,
Jesus made us free from sin. While we have to submit to our governing
authorities we don’t have to submit to the devil, the god of this world, the
prince of the power of the air who is the spirit that now works in the children
of disobedience. We can live in the blessings if we hearken to Yahweh. Jacob’s
heirs were given a clear choice, they did not choose well. Jesus came to give
us another choice, what will we choose?
