Pierced Ears

I read something in Deuteronomy the other day that really made me think. Which, I must say, is a good thing to have happen when one is reading the Word of God.

Moses was reiterating the many facets of God's law to the Israelites and the portion that really struck me was in chapter 15 regarding the freeing of servants:

"If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free. And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today. But if your servant says to you, 'I do not want to leave you,' because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life." (verses 12-17)

How often, and properly so, do we hear Christians repeating the words of Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:5 and Hebrews 13:5 that remind us that our God will "never leave us or forsake us." It's true, His faithfulness reaches to the skies. For myself, I wonder how many times I consider this promise from God and then as an adoring and faithful servant moved by the love of his master repeat back to Him, "I do not want to leave you!"

King David expressed this sentiment of belonging in the beautiful Psalm 40 when he sings, "sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced." For David's day, this was a modern expression of "You'd rather have my heart than anything else, and You have marked me and made me Your own."

As many times as I remember God's promise to never forsake me, I want my heart to reverberate with the cry, "I do not want to leave you!" That cry realizes the weakness of man to remain perfectly faithful. It's the heart of the man in Mark 9: "I do believe, help me with my unbelief!" We may not be able to claim, as the LORD can, that we will be unfailing in our faithfulness, but we can respond to His devotion with the most we can muster (and even that is a gift of God's grace)!

Furthermore, perhaps the piercing of the earlobe represents the attentive ear of the adoring servant, the obedient sheep listening for the call of the Shepherd, the outward sign that the heart inside listens to no other voice but that of the Master. Pierce my ears, Lord! I do not want to leave you!