“Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all
the days of thy life.” “Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to
thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.”
The expression, “Thou shalt eat the _herb_ of the field,” we think has a
very peculiar significance; for God made “every _herb_ of the field
before it grew;” and one of the reasons assigned why the “herb was made
before it grew,” we find to be, that “there was not a man to till the
ground.” Now, the word _to till_ is translated from the word לַֽעֲבֹֽד
_la ebod_, and means _to slave_; but in English we use the term not so
directly. We use more words to express the same idea; we say _to do
slave-labour on the ground_, instead of _to slave the ground_, as the
expression stands in Hebrew.
The doctrine is, that the herb, on which the fallen sinner is destined
to subsist, was not of spontaneous growth; it could only be produced by
sweat and toil, even unto sorrow. Sin had made man a slave to his own
necessities; he had _to slave the ground_ for his subsistence; and such
was the view of David, who, after describing how the brute creation is
spontaneously provided for, says—
“He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and _herb_ for the service
(לַֽעֲבֹדַ֣ת _la ebodath, the slavery_) of man: that he may bring forth
food out of the earth.” _Ps._ civ. 14.
This state of being compelled to labour with sweat and toil for
subsistence, is the degree of slavery to which sin reduced the whole
human family. If we mistake not, the holy books include the idea that
sin affects the character of man as a moral poison, producing
aberrations of mind in the constant direction of greater sins and an
increased departure from a desire to be in obedience to the laws of God.
If we mistake not, the doctrine also is prominent that idleness is not
only a sin itself, but exceedingly prolific of still greater sins. This
mild state of slavery, thus imposed on Adam, was a constant restraint
against a lower descent into sin, and can be regarded in no other light
than a merciful provision of God in protection of his child, the
creation of his hand. If it then be a fact that a given intensity of sin
draws upon itself a corresponding condition of slavery, as an operating
protection against the final effect of transgression, it will follow
that an increased intensity of sin will demand an increased severity of
the condition of slavery. Thus, when Cain murdered Abel, God said to
him—
“Now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to
receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. When thou _tillest_ (תַֽעֲבד֙
_tha ebod, thou slavest_) the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto
thee her strength: a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the
earth.” * * * “And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him
should kill him.”
“Shall not yield unto thee her strength;” either the earth should be
less fruitful, or from his own waywardness, it should be less skilfully
cultivated by him, or that a profit from his labour should be enjoyed by
another; or, perhaps, from the joint operation of them all. Thus an
aggravated degree of sin is always attended by an aggravated degree of
slavery.
The next final step we discover in the history of slavery appears in
Ham, the son of Noah; and he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of
servants shall he be unto his brethren.” “_Servant of servants_,” עֶ֖בֶד
עֲבָדִ֖ים _ebed ebadim, slave of slaves_. This mode of expression in
Hebrew is one of the modes by which they expressed the superlative
degree. The meaning is, the _most abject slave_ shall he be to his
brethren.
Heretofore slavery has been of less intensity; here we find the
ordination of the master, and it is not a little remarkable that he is
distinctly blessed!
“And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. And the Lord hath blessed my
master greatly, and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks,
and herds, and silver and gold, and _men-servants_ (וַֽעֲבָדִים _va
ebadim, and male slaves_), and _maid-servants_ (וּשְׁפָ֔חֹת _va
shephahoth, and female slaves_), and camels and asses.” “And Sarah, my
master’s wife, bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him
hath he given all that he hath.”