I’d rather be a slave - 2 September 2009 |
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Psalm 123 tells us how we should ‘look’ to the LORD:
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us. (vv. 1-2)
To begin with, we look in anticipation of his mercy (v. 2).
But more than this: ‘as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress’.
So how do servants/maidservants look to their masters/mistresses? Examples:
- Awaiting the next instruction, eager to serve with wholehearted dedication and commitment. You want the roof scrubbed? The gutters fixed? The drains unblocked? Leave it to me.
- In the expectation of receiving all we need – a servant’s master, after all, is charged with caring for his staff.
Then think about what Deuteronomy 15 says about servants (slaves?). After six years of service, they are entitled to their freedom (v. 12), and are sent out laden with blessings from the flock, the threshing floor and the winepress of their former masters (v. 14).
But, bizarrely, some would rather remain enslaved than gain their freedom. Their master has treated them so well that they’d prefer to stay in his service, even though it’s quite a painful step to do so: ‘then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever’ (v. 17).
This, perhaps, is the kind of looking-to-the-LORD that Psalm 123 has in mind: The kind that would choose slavery to our Father rather than freedom in the world. After all, wouldn’t you rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the LORD than dwell in the tents of the wicked?
Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Bible, Minister's Blog