What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 15:17? Then take an awl After six full years of service, every Hebrew slave was to be set free (Deuteronomy 15:12; Exodus 21:2). Yet the Lord made provision for a unique situation: a servant who loved his master, enjoyed the household, and desired to remain. In that case, “then take an awl.” • The command is literal—an awl was a common woodworking tool, small and sharp, suited for boring a hole. • Its use signals that this moment is public and deliberate, not secret or coerced (Exodus 21:5–6). • The step honors a servant’s choice; it is an act of the person’s own will rather than an imposition. Pierce it through his ear into the door “And pierce it through his ear into the door.” The picture is vivid: • Ear – the organ of hearing. By submitting his ear, the servant declares lifelong attentiveness to his master (Psalm 40:6, “You have opened my ears”). • Door – the entry to the household. Driving the awl into the doorpost fixes the servant’s allegiance to that specific home, much like the Passover blood on doorframes marked families for salvation (Exodus 12:7). • Public witness – at the very threshold, relatives, neighbors, and elders could observe the covenant. Jesus later called Himself “the door” (John 10:7); devotion to Him is likewise visible and unmistakable. He will become your servant for life The piercing is followed by the statement: “and he will become your servant for life.” • Permanent, not provisional—no seventh-year release, no jubilee exemption (Exodus 21:6). • Love, not bondage—“Because he loves you…he chooses to stay” (Deuteronomy 15:16). Love transforms service into joyful belonging (2 Corinthians 5:14–15). • A gospel echo—believers freely yield themselves as “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:16–18). The permanence we see here foreshadows Christ’s claim on those He redeems (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Treat your maidservant the same way “And treat your maidservant the same way.” God levels the ground: • Equal dignity—male or female, the voluntary covenant is identical (Galatians 3:28). • Guarding the vulnerable—women in the ancient Near East were easily exploited; the Lord forbade that (Deuteronomy 24:17). • Consistent care—whatever kindness, provision, or honor is extended to the male servant must also surround the female (Colossians 3:11). In every generation, the principle still presses us toward impartial love. summary Deuteronomy 15:17 portrays a real ceremony, using a real awl, at a real door, to seal a servant’s lifelong choice to remain. The pierced ear testifies to love-born loyalty, the door anchors that loyalty to a household, and the same privilege is granted to men and women alike. Literally lived out in Israel, the scene points forward to the greater reality of willing, lifelong devotion to the Lord Jesus, whose servants find freedom in permanent surrender. |
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