Topical Bible: Servants: Hired: Often Will Fed and Taken Care of

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Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical times, the role and treatment of hired servants were significant aspects of ancient Near Eastern society, including among the Israelites. The Bible provides various insights into the lives of hired servants, emphasizing the importance of their well-being and fair treatment.

Old Testament Context

The Old Testament law contains specific instructions regarding the treatment of hired servants. In Leviticus 19:13 , it is commanded, "You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand." This verse underscores the ethical obligation to pay hired servants promptly, ensuring they are not deprived of their rightful earnings.

The book of Deuteronomy further elaborates on this principle. Deuteronomy 24:14-15 states, "Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise, he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin." This passage highlights the vulnerability of hired servants and the moral imperative to provide for their immediate needs.

New Testament Insights

In the New Testament, the parables of Jesus often reflect the social and economic realities of His time, including the relationship between masters and hired servants. In the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), Jesus describes a landowner who hires laborers at different times of the day but pays them all equally. This parable illustrates the generosity and fairness expected in the treatment of hired workers, as well as the broader spiritual truths about the kingdom of heaven.

Cultural and Historical Considerations

Hired servants in biblical times were often day laborers who depended on daily wages for their sustenance. Unlike bondservants or slaves, hired servants had more freedom and were typically employed for specific tasks or seasons. The biblical mandate to care for hired servants reflects a broader concern for social justice and compassion within the community.

The provision for hired servants extended beyond mere wages. In many cases, they were also provided with food and shelter as part of their employment. This practice is evident in the account of the Prodigal Son, where the younger son, upon returning to his father, reflects on the well-being of his father's hired servants: "How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death!" (Luke 15:17). This acknowledgment indicates that hired servants were often well-fed and cared for, even in times of personal hardship.

Conclusion

The biblical portrayal of hired servants emphasizes the importance of justice, compassion, and provision for those who labor. The scriptures advocate for the fair treatment of hired workers, ensuring they receive their due wages and are cared for adequately. This reflects a broader biblical ethic that values human dignity and the well-being of all members of society, regardless of their social or economic status.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Luke 15:17
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Prodigal and his Father
... The dark picture is only too often verified in the ... to eat as one of the hired servants,
whose relation to ... but he issues instructions to the servants which show ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/the prodigal and his father.htm

On Family Religion
... with you for a term of years; not only hired servants, whether they ... that no only
your wife, but your servants also, may ... Will you not then feed this as often? ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 94 on family religion.htm

Questions and Answers--Sorrowful Cases--Testimonies from those who ...
... Labour is so scarce out there, and hired help so ... And often a kind farmer has asked
to be allowed to ... in this country, where domestic and farming servants are so ...
/.../lowe/gods answers/chapter ix questions and answerssorrowful.htm

Ruth
... And he would have had hired servants, too, and slaves ... spend so strangely, and so
nobly often, on persons who ... congregation"and there is one, I will warrant, in ...
/.../kingsley/the water of life and other sermons/sermon x ruth.htm

An Eloquent Catalogue
... first, and to whom He had been so often manifested in ... the nets and the boats and
the hired servants for ever ... way, the Lord met me.' Jesus Christ will come to ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture st john chaps xv to xxi/an eloquent catalogue.htm

Letter xxii. To Eustochium.
... not Himself possess what He had forbidden to His servants. ... old age married Keturah;
[487] that Leah hired Jacob with ... as those by which we are often mocked, I ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter xxii to eustochium.htm

The Romance of M. Renan. By Napoleon Roussel.
... thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants." That is ... Did Jesus often go to marriage
feasts ... the five thousand persons fed to five hundred, there will be enough ...
/.../the romance of m renan and the christ of the gospels/the romance of m renan.htm

Philippians ii. 19-21
... and is strictly guarded, then even his servants are debarred ... two whole years in his
own hired dwelling ... for thy stomach's sake, and thine often infirmities." (1 ...
/.../homily ix philippians ii 19-21.htm

The Domestic Relation.
... The tender heart of a child very often receives a deep ... more, but men and women have
their hired man and ... Their duty toward such servants is to treat them with ...
/.../orr/the gospel day /chapter xiii the domestic relation.htm

His First Residence in Germany.
... and of becoming acquainted with the language, he hired a lodging ... an encouraging example
to the poor tried servants of the ... I have often said in my heart, If the ...
/.../chapter iv his first residence.htm