What does "hired himself out" reveal about the prodigal son's desperation? Setting the Scene “After he had spent everything, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.” The Phrase in the Original • Greek verb: kolláō – “to glue, cling, fasten oneself to.” • It paints a picture of attaching oneself out of sheer necessity, not choice. • The son is not negotiating a wage; he is clinging to a stranger for survival. What “hired himself out” Reveals about His Desperation • Total loss of independence – Once a free heir, he is now effectively bonded labor. – Proverbs 22:7: “The borrower is slave to the lender.” • Humiliation before Gentiles – As a Jew, submitting to a “citizen of that country” (a Gentile) underscores social and spiritual collapse (cf. Isaiah 1:7). • Defilement through his new work – Feeding pigs was unthinkable (Leviticus 11:7). – His need overrides every cultural and religious barrier. • Rock-bottom hunger – Verse 16 shows he longed for pig feed—graphic evidence of utter destitution. – Ecclesiastes 7:26: sin “snares” and “binds,” leaving a person longing for worthless fare. • Slavery as a metaphor for sin – John 8:34: “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” – Romans 6:16: we become “slaves of the one we obey.” – His physical slavery mirrors his spiritual bondage far from the father. Why the Lord Includes This Detail • To prove the certainty of spiritual consequences (Galatians 6:7). • To demonstrate that life outside the Father’s house always ends in bondage. • To set up the contrast: only when the son reaches this depth does he “come to his senses” (v. 17). Takeaway for Today When we cling to anything other than the Father, we will eventually find ourselves “glued” to what degrades us. The prodigal’s hiring out is the visible sign that every self-directed path ends in desperation—yet it is also the turning point where grace can break in (Psalm 34:18). |
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