a quick thought about Hebrew slaves Exodus 21:2-6

An interesting thing I learned this week, in regards to the law of Moses, is found in verses 2 through 6 of exodus chapter 21. The verse says the following:

“2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

3 If he came in aby himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.

5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.”

Pervious to reading this I did not know that A the Hebrews had slaves that were Hebrew or B that being a slave in some cases was voluntary. When I first read verse six I was confused and did not know what to think of part with the ear and the awl. In the manual it explains these practices in more depth as follows”

“His ear was then to be bored with an awl against the door or lintel of the house, and by this sign, which was customary in many of the nations of antiquity, to be fastened as it were to the house for ever. That this was the meaning of the piercing of the ear against the door of the house, is evident from the unusual expression in [Deuteronomy 15:17], ‘and put (the awl) into his ear and into the door, that he may be thy servant for ever,’ where the ear and the door are co-ordinates.” (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 1:2:130.)”

I had never before understood this practice. It is both symbolic and ceremonial, but it also seems to have the practical advantage of denoting the slaves situation within the context of the law of Moses. Since everything that that the Lord creates is created both physically and spiritually given that the law of Moses was authored by the Lord, I began to wonder what the spiritual reflections of this law might be. Or in other words I began to wonder what lessons could be gained on spiritual matters from this practical commandment. The conclusion I came to is that we are all like a servant when we are baptized. as we serve the lord we come to love him even more deeply then what led us to baptism. When we are truly converted we make covenants with the lord that further bind us to him and increase our commitment to him. In a way this is like getting our ears pierced with an all. We are stating to the lord that we never want to leave him and that we want to serve him forever.   

Jacob's Ladder

you have probably heard references to Jacob's ladder. you may have even read Genesis chapter 28 many times and still not understood what Jacob's ladder is. to explain Jacob's ladder let me begin by first summarizing the relevant content of Genesis chapter 28

at the begging of Genesis chapter 28 it says that Isaac blessed Jacob and commanded him to not marry a Canaanite. Isaac then commanded Jacob to go to Padan-aram to marry one of the daughters of Laban. In verse 10 Jacob begins the first leg of his journey to Padan-aram and leaves a place called Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. In verse 11 we find that while en route, Jacob stops for the night along the way and seems to have slept outside. In verses 12 through 15 Jacob has a dream wherein is featured the aforementioned ladder. and it says

"12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

  

13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

  

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

  

15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."

in verse 16 Jacob wakes from his dream and acknowledges that he feels the Lord's presences in that place were he had dreamed. In verse 17 Jacob says "and this is the gate of heaven"

In the next three verses Jacob sets up a stone "pillar" or monument in a way that seems in line with ancient traditions of Hebrew temples. he then named the place Bethe-el which is a condensed version of the of the Hebrew words Beth Eloheim which is interpreted to me house of God.

Joseph Smith said “Paul ascended into the third heavens, and he could understand the three principal rounds of Jacob’s ladder—the telestial, the terrestrial, and the celestial glories or kingdoms” 

President Marion G. Romney explains that the rungs of the ladder were covenants. He further explains that the place Jacob made promises with lord, Bethel, was essentially like a temple and today modern temples can be a ‘gate to heaven’ for us like Bethel was to Jacob. President Romney further expounds that because Jacob kept the covenants he made, he not only approached the gate of heaven but ultimately entered in. I am grateful for men of God like Joseph Smith and President Romney for opening up the scriptures to me as they may have never have been otherwise.