Êxodo 21

Êxodo 21

Morris explains that "The "opened ear" refers to the boring of a hole in the ear of a bond servant who, after becoming eligible for freedom, chooses instead to remain forever in the service of his master (see Exodus 21:6). This ritual symbolized the dedication of the servant to hear and obey only his master's orders." Mine ears hast thou opened" (Hebrews 10:5 from Psalm 40:6) is here translated as "a body hast thou prepared me." The openings in the ear of an indentured servant (Exodus 21:6) indicated the intent of that servant to serve his master forever, as it were, hearing only the voice of his master and doing only his will henceforth. This was a type of Christ, who willingly became a bondservant (Philippians 2:5-8), willing even to die in accord with His Father's will. But before He could do this, He had to have a human body, with human ears. (Defender's Study Bible) Zuck adds "The idea of having one's ears pierced is closely connected to the fact that Jesus had a body prepared for Him by God the Father. As Westcott wrote, "The 'body' is the instrument for fulfilling the divine command, just as the 'ear' is the instrument for receiving it." The Septuagint obviously gave a free translation of the Hebrew, using the words "body" and "prepared" in place of "ears" and "pierced."" (Basic Bible Interpretation) Herbert Lockyer - The master then bored a hole in the slave’s earlobe with an awl (Exod. 21:6), and the pierced ear signified perpetual slavery. It was this wonderful truth Bishop C. G. Moule (1841-1920) realized when he wrote these expressive lines: My Master, lead me to Thy door, Pierce this now willing ear once more. .......................... And pierced ears shall hear the tone Which tells me Thou and I are one. Do we bear in this part of our body the marks of the Lord Jesus? What deeper spirituality would be ours if only our ears were more closely identified with the ears of Jesus! How can we expect to have tranquility of soul if we allow the rude voices of the world to enter our ears without a protest? Open my ears, that I may hear Voices of truth Thou sendest clear; And while the wavenotes fall on my ear, Everything false will disappear. F B