12 " If your kinsman , a Hebrew man or woman , is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years , but in the seventh year you shall set him free . 13 "When you set him free , you shall not send him away empty-handed . 14 "You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat ; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt , and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore e I command you this today . 16 "It shall come about if he says to you, 'I will not go out from you,' because he loves you and your household , since he fares well with you; 17 then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door , and he shall be your servant forever . Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant . 18 "It shall not seem hard to you when you set him free , for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man ; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever e you do .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 15:12-18
Commentary on Deuteronomy 15:12-18
(Read Deuteronomy 15:12-18)
Here the law concerning Hebrew servants is repeated. There is an addition, requiring the masters to put some small stock into their servants' hands to set up with for themselves, when sent out of their servitude, wherein they had received no wages. We may expect family blessings, the springs of family prosperity, when we make conscience of our duty to our family relations. We are to remember that we are debtors to Divine justice, and have nothing to pay with. That we are slaves, poor, and perishing. But the Lord Jesus Christ, by becoming poor, and by shedding his blood, has made a full and free provision for the payment of our debts, the ransom of our souls, and the supply of all our wants. When the gospel is clearly preached, the acceptable year of the Lord is proclaimed; the year of release of our debts, of the deliverance of our souls, and of obtaining rest in him. And as faith in Christ and love to him prevail, they will triumph over the selfishness of the heart, and over the unkindness of the world, doing away the excuses that rise from unbelief, distrust, and covetousness.