Praise the Lord, all you nations.
….Praise him, all you people of the earth.
For his unfailing love for us is powerful;
….the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the Lord! Psalm 117:1-2 NLT

Romans 1:1 (<<click here to read the passage)
For whatever reason, I can remember a song that was popular in the early 80s when I was in college. It sort of caught you off guard if you weren’t aware of its origins. The song was Pierce My Ear (written by Steve Croft) and it was based on an Old Testament passage from the book of Exodus, which takes us way back to when the Law was first given to the Israelites through God’s servant Moses.
The passage dealt with slaves (servants). I realize that the topic of slavery is a very hot topic (and justifiably so) but in this particular context, it was speaking of Hebrews (Israelites) who bought other Hebrews because of their debt or poverty according to the Amplified Bible. The Law made it very clear that the servant shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing. Exodus 21:2b AMP
But God allowed for an exception, not that the master could force the servant into a lifetime of service against the servant’s will but letting the servant remain with his master if he so chose. The Law goes on to stipulate the following as found in a parallel passage in the book of Deuteronomy.

Now if the servant says to you, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is doing well with you; then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall [willingly] be your servant always. Deuteronomy 15:16-17a AMP

In this instance, the servant knows he is loved and well-cared for by his master and chooses – willingly – to commit himself to serve him for the rest of his days.
In essence that is what Paul is saying here in his opening statement to the believers of Rome. The beginning of verse 1 reads, “This letter is from Paul, a slave [servant] of Christ Jesus…”
A commentator stated, “There were several ancient Greek words used to designate a slave, but the idea behind this word for servant (doulos) is ‘complete and utter devotion, not the abjectness which was the normal condition of the slave.’”
I had to look up abjectness and it means extremely contemptible or degrading, utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched.
Paul did not think of himself as a victim of abjectness. He willingly chose to serve Jesus, giving his whole life to Him, following and abiding in Him.
May the lyrics of Pierce My Ear be our prayer.

Pierce my ear, O Lord, my God
Take me to Your door this day.
I will serve no other God,
Lord, I’m here to stay.
For You have paid the price for me
With Your blood You ransomed me
I will serve You eternally,
A free man I’ll never be.

Amen!

Sept 1st, 2022, Thurs, 7:46 pm