The Mark of the Bondservant

In his psalms, David wrote, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; my ears you have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering you did not require” (Psalm 40:5-6, NKJV).

This may well be interpreted as an allusion to the custom of masters boring the ear of a slave who refused his offered freedom (see Exodus 21:6). What marked the bondservant is that he pledged to give himself wholly to his master. This is not to suggest we should all quit our jobs to enter full-time ministry. Too many nowadays are getting out of God's will by going out presumptuously, leaving the responsibilities of raising a family to “go out by faith.” This is mistaken mindset!

The greater thing is to stay put and give the Lord more quality time where you are. It is a matter of putting Christ at the center of everything so that family, job and all things revolve around him. Christ becomes the focus of our thoughts and we spend time in his presence, hearing his voice, obeying his commands.

The bondservant is more a giving rather than a taking soul. This servant is not interested in reward or personal gain. His wages are the glory and honor he bestows on his master. The true bondservant who is committed to lifelong service is marked by the Lord in some special way. What marks the bondservant?

Scripture says, “Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And he called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.’” (Ezekiel 9:3-4).

You can't miss the servants of God because they bear in their bodies the marks of Christ. The mark of a broken, contrite spirit is that it weeps over the abominations done against the Lord. God does not drill the ear with an awl; rather he breaks the heart with his hammer.

Another mark on this bondservant is a circumcision made without hands. It means that all self-made plans, schemes and dreams are abandoned, and the concerns and burdens of the Lord become supreme.