Daily Devotional Podcasts

80_I love my master Exodus 21: 1-6 “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever. Adoniram Judson, a missionary to Burma, endured unimaginable hardships: years of imprisonment, terrible diseases, the heartbreak of losing his children and his wife, and the unrelenting challenges of ministering in a tropical country. Yet, when asked why he didn’t abandon his mission for the comfort of a life back home, his response was simple yet profound: “I love my Savior, and I love these people He has called me to serve.” Judson’s life paints a powerful picture of what it means to serve out of love—a life mirroring the heart of a devoted servant who voluntarily lives out his life serving his master. In Exodus 21:1-6, we find a remarkable framework that illuminates this idea of voluntary, love-driven service. These verses are set within a larger passage where God provides Israel with instructions for living as His covenant people. These are not just societal rules. God is crafting a picture of a just and compassionate community, where even the institution of slavery—so often associated with oppression—is transformed into something humane and redemptive. The Israelites had survived decades of bitter slavery in Egypt, from which they were delivered only by the mighty hand of God. They knew what it meant to be powerless, to toil under harsh taskmasters. Unlike the harsh slavery of the ancient world, God’s order brought transformation. In God’s land, slavery was not an institution of exploitation. Instead, it was a provision whereby the poor could earn their living. If a Hebrew man had no other recourse, he could sign away his liberty to another Hebrew, becoming a servant until he paid off his debts or until six years were past. In the seventh year, he was to be set free—with a generous gift of flocks, grain, and wine. These instructions reminded the people of Israel that they were themselves redeemed by God’s mighty hand and outstretched arm. This law taught the Israelites to treat others with compassion and dignity. More than that, it underscored a fundamental truth: God’s redemption brings freedom. No debt, however large, could bind a Hebrew slave indefinitely because God had already claimed the Hebrew people as His own. They belonged to Him, and no human master could override