What Is a Homeborn Slave?

Satan Has Blinded the Eyes of All Those Who Do Not Believe

“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn slave? Why is he spoiled?” (Jeremiah 2:14)

Jeremiah was sent to Jerusalem, and Judah, to call them to repentance and warn them of the coming judgment of the Lord against them due to their following other gods. Their idolatrous behavior would result in them becoming slaves when the Lord allowed their nation to be overtaken by the Babylonian Empire. They had, in fact, already become slaves to the heathenistic gods that they now served. And they had sinned against the Lord for so long that they no longer feared judgment. In some 35 years from the time of Jeremiah’s prophecies, they would become slaves to a foreign power. They did not repent nor did they realize the severity of their situation and the fact that they had already become “homeborn slaves” to the gods of the surrounding nations.

A good example of a homeborn slave is a wild animal that is born into captivity. There are generations of these animals born in zoos. Their life is limited to the boundaries of a cage. The animal is captive, or a slave, and does not know the freedom that it is meant to enjoy. Such was Israel and such are all those that do not know the Lord today. Regarding homeborn slaves today; the following verse makes it clear:

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Satan has deceived the unbelieving world. They are in effect, “homeborn slaves.” They follow the “god of this world” and do not even realize it. Due to original sin, mankind is born into it. The fall in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned against the Lord by yielding to the temptation brought to them by Satan, resulted in all those that came after them being born with a sin nature. Just as it was with Israel at the time of Jeremiah; the Lord warns all of humanity today that they will face judgment if they do not repent and go the Lord’s way. Satan deceived Adam and Eve and continues to deceive all those that do not know the Lord.

Those that realize their need for a savior, repent of their sins and come to the Lord. He has offered us forgiveness and fellowship with Him through His sacrificial death on the cross. God the Father sent His Son to pay the sin debt on the Cross so that we might be free to live the lives the Lord intended for us to live. There is a freedom in knowing the Lord that we cannot know while we live our lives as “homeborn slaves.” He is the “door” that releases us from the control of the sin nature and the “god of this world” as the Lord tells us in the following verses:

“I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

 The thief (Satan) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

 I am the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:9-11)

We are approaching the end of days as we know it. The Lord will return for those that love Him and, after that, will return in judgment on this world. Jesus told us how it would be at the time of his return. Incredibly, most of the world will not come to the Lord but will remain as “homeborn slaves” in bondage to Satan. Jesus spoke of the time of Noah being similar to the time of His return. All those at the time of Noah were going about their daily lives with no regard for the Lord. And then the flood came and “took them all away” as Jesus explained in the following verses:

 “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).

Just as those at the time of Noah lived their lives with no regard for the Lord or their eternal future; most in the world today give little thought to the things of the Lord, or where they will spend eternity. The Ark of Safety is here now. That “Ark” is Christ. The captives can be freed by faith in Christ and Him Crucified. The Lord has done all He can. The “door” is open wide to whomsoever will come in repentance and faith to the God that loves us and has provided the key to release us from the prison of our fallen nature.

The Lord warned Israel prior to their captivity to a foreign power. He is warning us at this time, and calling us to repentance and Eternal Life with Him. Israel didn’t listen and reaped the judgment. How many today will realize that they are “homeborn slaves” serving the “god of this world,” and come to the “door” the Lord has provided. Those that will heed the Lord’s warning will experience a freedom that they did not know possible. The Bible says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” If you do not know the Lord and will heed His call, you will experience a freedom that you have not known before.

“If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023