The Gospel of the Open Hand and the Pierced Ear Text: Deuteronomy 15:12-18
Introduction: A Peculiar People with a Peculiar Economy
We live in an age that is allergic to distinctions, hostile to authority, and embarrassed by the plain teaching of Scripture. And there are few places where this modern squeamishness is more pronounced than when we come to the economic laws of the Old Testament, particularly those dealing with what our translations call "slavery" or "servitude." The modern mind, shaped by the godless categories of Marx on the one hand and the radical individualist on the other, simply does not have the equipment to process what the Bible is doing here. They hear the word "slave" and immediately conjure up images of the Atlantic slave trade and antebellum plantations, and then they either dismiss the Bible as barbaric or they engage in all kinds of exegetical gymnastics to make it say something more palatable to our refined, 21st-century sensibilities.
But we must not do this. We must let the text speak for itself, in its own context. And when we do, we find that the Mosaic law regarding servitude is not a barbaric embarrassment but a profound display of God's wisdom, justice, and grace. It is a system designed to provide a safety net for the destitute, a path to restoration for the indebted, and a powerful picture of our ultimate relationship to God. The institution described here is a world away from the brutal, race-based chattel slavery that has rightly earned the condemnation of history. The biblical term is better understood as indentured servitude, a kind of voluntary apprenticeship entered into out of economic necessity.
What God is establishing in Israel is an economy of grace. It is an economic system that is fundamentally personal, covenantal, and redemptive. It is designed to reflect the central reality of Israel's own history: "you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you." This is the basis, the constant refrain, for all their social ethics. Their vertical redemption by God must be worked out in their horizontal relationships with one another. The grace they received is the grace they must extend. This passage, then, is not some dusty, irrelevant regulation for an ancient society. It is a case study in applied theology. It shows us what a gospel-shaped community looks like, and it culminates in one of the most beautiful pictures of heartfelt devotion in all of Scripture: the servant who loves his master and refuses to go free.
The Text
“If your brother, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall let him go to be free from you. When you let him go to be free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him generously from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as Yahweh your God has blessed you. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you this today. And it will be that, if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant. It shall not seem hard in your sight when you let him go to be free from you, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so Yahweh your God will bless you in whatever you do.”
(Deuteronomy 15:12-18 LSB)
The Sabbatical Release (v. 12)
The law begins with the principle of the seventh-year release.
“If your brother, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall let him go to be free from you.” (Deuteronomy 15:12)
First, notice the subject: "your brother, a Hebrew man or woman." This law concerns covenant members. This is not about prisoners of war or foreign slaves purchased from other nations, which the law addresses elsewhere. This is about an Israelite who, through poverty and debt, has had to sell his own labor. He is not selling his personhood; he is selling his service for a fixed period. This is a bankruptcy provision, a way for a man to work his way out of a desperate situation without being permanently crushed by it.
The term of service is limited to six years. The seventh year is the Sabbath year, the year of release. This rhythm is woven into the fabric of creation. God worked for six days and rested on the seventh. Israel was to work the land for six years and let it lie fallow on the seventh. This same principle of sabbatical rest and release is now applied to the impoverished brother. This is a divine guardrail against exploitation. It ensures that temporary poverty does not become permanent bondage. The structure of time itself preaches the gospel of release. God builds freedom into the calendar.
Generous Emancipation (v. 13-15)
When the day of freedom comes, the master's obligation is not merely to open the door. He must open his hand.
“When you let him go to be free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him generously from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as Yahweh your God has blessed you.” (Deuteronomy 15:13-14)
This is a stunning provision. The master is commanded not just to release the servant, but to re-capitalize him. He is to give him a generous severance package, a starter kit for his new life of freedom. The servant is to be furnished "generously", the Hebrew word means to load him down, to adorn him with abundance. This is not a grudging handout. It is a lavish gift from the three main sources of agricultural wealth: flocks, grain, and wine. The goal is not just to set him free, but to set him up for success, to ensure that he does not immediately fall back into the same cycle of debt and poverty.
And what is the basis for this command? It is not rooted in some abstract theory of social justice. It is rooted in redemptive history.
“And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you this today.” (Deuteronomy 15:15)
This is the heart of the matter. "Remember." Your entire national existence is a testimony to emancipation. You were slaves. You were destitute. And when God brought you out, He did not send you away empty-handed. He commanded you to plunder the Egyptians (Exodus 12:36). The wealth of your oppressors became your start-up capital. God furnished you generously. Therefore, you must do for your brother what God did for you. His grace to you is the pattern for your grace to others. To be a tight-fisted master to a Hebrew servant is to suffer from a catastrophic case of spiritual amnesia. It is to forget the gospel that created you as a people.
The Loving Bondservant (v. 16-17)
But then the law anticipates a remarkable possibility. What if the servant, when offered his freedom, refuses to leave?
“And it will be that, if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant.” (Deuteronomy 15:16-17)
This is not the Stockholm Syndrome of a broken man. This is a declaration of love. The text gives the reason: "because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you." The master has been so just, so kind, so generous, that the servant has found a true home. He has found security, belonging, and affection. He looks at the prospect of freedom and concludes that true freedom is found right here, in willing service to this good master. His servitude has been transformed from an economic necessity into a loving relationship.
When this happens, a public ceremony is prescribed. The master takes an awl and pierces the servant's ear against the doorpost of the house. This act symbolizes several things. The ear is the organ of hearing and obedience. By having his ear pierced, the servant is saying, "I will listen to your voice and obey you for the rest of my life." The doorpost represents the household itself. He is being permanently attached to this family. This is a willing, lifelong commitment. And it is a public act, a permanent mark that testifies to his love and his master's worthiness. He is now a bondservant, a servant "forever," not out of compulsion, but out of love.
The Economics of Blessing (v. 18)
Moses concludes this section with a word of encouragement to the master, anticipating that this generosity might seem costly.
“It shall not seem hard in your sight when you let him go to be free from you, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so Yahweh your God will bless you in whatever you do.” (Deuteronomy 15:18)
God addresses the master's heart. "It shall not seem hard in your sight." Don't grumble about the cost of setting him up in business. Why? First, because it's good business. This servant has been more productive and more loyal than a temporary hired hand. He has worked for "double the service of a hired man." His labor has been a great benefit to you. Releasing him generously is simply a just return on his faithful service.
But the ultimate reason is not found on a balance sheet. The ultimate reason is theological: "so Yahweh your God will bless you in whatever you do." Generosity is not an economic loss; it is an investment in the bank of Heaven. God promises to underwrite this entire system. When you deal with your brother according to the pattern of God's grace, you align yourself with the grain of the universe, and the God who owns all things promises to bless you in all your enterprises. To be stingy is not only to forget the gospel of your own redemption, it is to be profoundly foolish and short-sighted.
The Pierced Ear of the Messiah
This entire passage is a beautiful illustration of covenant economics, but its ultimate fulfillment points us directly to Jesus Christ. We, like the Israelites, were slaves. We were in bondage to sin and death, a far more cruel master than any Egyptian. We were hopelessly in debt, with no ability to pay. And God, in His mercy, did not leave us in our bondage. He sent His Son to redeem us, to purchase our freedom, not with gold or silver, but with His own precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19).
He did not just set us free and leave us empty-handed. He furnished us generously. He gave us the righteousness of Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, adoption as sons, and an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading (Ephesians 1:3-14). He has loaded us down with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
And now, having been set free, we are confronted with the same choice as the Hebrew servant. We can take our freedom and go our own way. Or, having tasted the goodness and love of our Master, we can say, "I will not go out from you. I love you. I fare well with you. My greatest freedom is found in serving you."
This is precisely what the Messiah Himself did. Psalm 40, a messianic psalm, speaks of this very thing. "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, 'Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart'" (Psalm 40:6-8, emphasis added). The author of Hebrews applies this directly to Christ (Hebrews 10:5-7). Jesus is the ultimate bondservant who, out of love for the Father, willingly went to the cross. His ears were open to the Father's will. He became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, the ultimate doorpost where He was pierced for our transgressions.
And because He became the loving bondservant, we who are in Him are called to the same life. Our baptism is our ear-piercing ceremony. It is our public declaration that we belong to Him forever. We are no longer our own; we have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). Our service to Him is not a grim duty but a joyful response to His overwhelming love and generosity. He is a good Master. We fare well with Him. Why would we ever want to leave?