The Pierced Ear Society

April 28

(Psalms 40:4-8 NIV) “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. {5} Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. {6} Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. {7} Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-- it is written about me in the scroll. {8} I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

(Exodus 21:2-6 NIV) “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. {3} If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. {4} If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. {5} "But if the servant declares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,' {6} then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.”

(Deuteronomy 15:12-18 NIV) “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. {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.”

God has a plan for our lives. He wants us to know His wonders. He wants us to put our faith in Him. His plan is that we come to him of our own free will, and that we grow to love him and become loyal to him. God is not into oppressive religion. In David’s day, slaves often had a term of service, after which they could become free again. But sometimes they had grown to love their master and would choose to stay on, serving voluntarily. When a slave did this they would use a sharp awl and pierce their ear lobe as a symbol of their loyalty for life. God could make us serve Him, but instead, He gives us our freedom. When we decide to serve Him freely, we have “pierced our ear” for Jesus. We desire to do His will. Serving him is not an obligation, but a joy. His law is written in our hearts. We have become part of the “pierced ear society”. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day