“All the people still left from the Emori, Hitti, P’rizi, Hivi, and Y’vusi, who were not part of the people of Isra’el, that is, their descendants remaining after them in the land, whom the people of Isra’el were not able to destroy completely — from them Shlomo levied his forced laborers; as it is to this day. But Shlomo did not raise any of his forced labor from the people of Isra’el; rather, they were the soldiers, his servants, administrators and commanders, and the officials in charge of his chariots and horsemen. There were 550 chief officers over Shlomo’s work, in charge of the workers.” – 1 Kings 9:20-23
Verse 20 tells us about the various non-Hebrew races who were still in the land that Israel failed to drive out completely.
To be clear, these groups weren’t necessarily troublemakers.
They were living peacefully under Solomon’s rule.
And they’re the ones Solomon used to build the labor force for all his construction projects.
Interestingly, we’re told Solomon didn’t draft any of his forced labor from the people of Israel.
One commentator has noted this was a flip of what happened when the Hebrews were slaves back in Egypt.
This time the Israelites were the ones giving orders, and the people doing the heavy lifting were foreigners.
Now don’t picture chains and whips when you hear “forced labor.”
This was closer to a labor tax.
I don’t hand over a part of my paycheck to the government because I want to.
It’s because the government requires it, and I’ll face serious legal consequences if I don’t comply.
But paying taxes doesn’t make me a slave.
It was the same with what Solomon was doing.
He was just forcing those Gentiles to pay taxes via labor instead of paycheck deductions.
This brings me to an interesting point I wanna bring up about the word “slave.”
I know the term has a negative connotation in the West because of the slave trade that is a part of our history.
But the Bible is an Eastern book.
So the true Scripture meaning carries a different nuance.
For example, in the Book of Romans, when the Apostle Paul refers to himself as a “slave to Christ”…
He wasn’t using the expression to indicate deep humility or something.
Quite the opposite, actually
He was using that phrase as an indicator of the HIGHEST honor and the HIGHEST status.
In other words…
“Since I’m a slave to Christ…
You had better listen to me…
And respect my authority, homie.”
That’s the real nuance of what Paul was saying.
He wasn’t being humble.
He was pulling rank.
Ya feel me?
So what takeaway can we extract from all this?
Here’s what’s coming to me.
No matter who you are…
You’re gonna be a slave to something.
A slave to sex.
A slave to money.
A slave to your career.
A slave to other people’s approval.
A slave to comfort.
Or whatever else you attach your self-esteem and peace of mind to.
The question isn’t whether you’ll serve.
The question is…
WHO will you serve?
And that’s where Paul’s statement about being a “slave to Christ” takes on a whole new meaning.
He was essentially saying…
“I belong to the King.
And because I belong to the King…
Everything else will take its proper place.”
Ya feel me here?
So apply this principle to your life.
When you’re a slave to God…
Career can’t be your master.
Money can’t be your master.
Sex can’t be your master.
Other people’s opinions can’t be your master.
Fear can’t be your master.
And that, my friend, is true freedom.
If you serve the wrong master…
You become a slave in the negative Western sense of the word.
But when you serve the right Master…
You free yourself from all the trappings the world bows down to.
And that’s your lesson for today.
You don’t become free by having no master.
You become free by having the right Master.
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one
and love the other,
or you will be devoted to the one
and despise the other.
You cannot serve
both God and money.”
-Matthew 6:24
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