What is a Servant?
If you know my kids, this little glimpse into our days will give you a chuckle. My mum thought it was pretty good, and we started referring to each other as servants on her last visit.
Stick with me! I am hopeful that you can have a mindset shift just like I did when it comes to the word servant and your family role. I know so many of my friends and family members just don’t open up a Bible on the regular, or maybe don’t even have one. But, I’ve gotta tell you - it’s pretty awesome.
So, let’s set the scene.
My youngest son is perched up on his chair, wrapped in blankets. He “wants to be warm,” but for some reason doesn’t put socks on. I don’t pretend to understand the mind of a five-year-old boy. He had the iPad in front of him - most likely watching Bluey. That show was on a lot over Winter Break. I was most likely emptying the dishwasher - that happened a lot over Winter Break too.
“Mom, can you get me some water?”
“No. I’m busy. You can get it though.”
“But I don’t wanna be cold! And I don’t wanna miss my show!”
I can only imagine how my face looks when he asks me to do stuff that I know he can do. I’m sure my head tilts to the side and I squinch up my eyes. Then of course a litany of thoughts run through my brain and I tell myself ‘No!’
“Sam, I’m not your servant, ya’ know.”
“Please!”
And with that please you can call up the ridiculously cute images of kids' eyes growing twice their normal size, and then feel your strength dwindling. So, yeah. I got the kid a cup of water even though he could've gotten it himself.
But the kicker was, as soon as I placed it down next to him he said, “Thank you, servant!”
Ohhh! Yup, as my husband has told me, these sons of mine have me figured out. Especially the youngest son. But I wasn’t even mad. It was just funny at that moment because he did his cheeky little smile and went on with his day. All of which was made more complete by knowing that his mum was willing to serve as the servant.
So what does my new title of servant mean now?
I love when encounters with my kids pop up again days later while I am reading my Bible.
Fast-forward a few days and picture a serenely quiet house. I was on a break from my BSF study of the Book of John and pulled out an old devotional, The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn.1 The English language can’t articulate all that the original Hebrew and Greek can, and that is one of the reasons this book is so fun to read.
I am going to give you a brief snippet of the page here:
“An angel,” said the teacher. “What do you know of angels?”
“They’re heavenly creatures…sent by God…with wings.”
“They don’t all have wings,” he said. “There are many different kinds of angels…cherubim, seraphim, warring angels, ministering angels…And then,” he said, “then…there are the other angels.”
“The other angels?”
“The earth angels,” he said.1
Unrelated, but when I read this my brain started playing Earth Angel by The Penguins! Ahh. This is how a woman’s brain works. Back to etymology now. ;)
As I read further into Cahn’s devotional and did some searching online,2 I learned the words for angel in Hebrew and Greek:
Hebrew - Malakh (a messenger)
Greek - Angelos (a messenger)
If your mind conjures images of angels with beautiful, feathery wings floating somewhere up in the sky and holding a harp, I want you to shake your head a little bit. Ask yourself, instead, what the purpose of an angel could be. With Christmas not far behind us, do you think of the angel who came to tell Mary what God had in store for her? Gabriel came as a messenger to Mary (Luke 1:26-38).
Now get ready for another head shake to prepare your mind for a shift. What if the idea of earth angels is so much more than the old song from The Penguins? What if earth angels are people that God is using as messengers too?
Let’s Go Deeper into the Word
So where were these words used? Each devotional that Cahn has in this book references several verses - it’s meant to partner with Biblical study. Look to:
Haggai 1:13
Malachi 3:1
Luke 7:24-27
Malakh + Servants in Haggai
“Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: ‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord.”
Haggai 1:13
Reading just one verse doesn’t make sense. Jen Wilkin’s teachings have taught me that in the past. First off, let’s dig deeper into Haggai, a tiny book from the Old Testament. Haggai was a prophet, called by God, to spur His people on to rebuild the Temple! Haggai was called to speak specifically to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest. These men needed to be pushed to complete a temple that would truly honor God.
And in the last verse of Haggai, it says:
“ ‘On that day.’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty”
Haggai 2:23
God used His malakh - His messenger - to speak to one of the most esteemed Jewish men of the day, and He called that man His servant!
Zerubbabel was referred to as a servant and connected metaphorically to a signet ring. Back in the day, a signet ring could be used to seal letters in a way that proved who the author was. If a king’s signet ring was given to one of his subjects, it could also be used to show that person was under the king’s protection.
Mindset Shift From Haggai: What is a Servant?
So, in my crazy mum-brain, being called a servant shifted. If God was calling the governor of Judah a servant in one breath and then giving him His signet ring in the next, then the term servant could be more esteemed in my eyes. If I can model the beauty of servanthood to my children, then will they also grow up to be men who serve?
Angelos + “Least In The Kingdom Of God” in Malachi and Luke
I love reading Jesus’ words in Luke when He says,
“This is the one about whom it is written:
‘I will send my angelos ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’Luke 7:27
Jesus was echoing words from the Old Testament here. He did that a lot. While John the Baptist prepared the way for people to hear Jesus, he was also a messenger of God even before he was born! In Luke 1:44 we read that he “leaped for joy” in his mother’s womb when he heard Mary’s voice. So. Amazing. Not only did he spread the good news of Jesus’ coming as an adult, but led Mary to sing a song of praise while she carried Jesus in her womb.
Jesus also had a way of speaking that made his followers really think. Like this -
I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he”
Luke 7:28
I had to look up some commentary on this, but it really connects back to the word that started all of this - SERVANT! Referring to someone as a servant or slave or lowest of the low does not necessarily have a negative connotation in Christianity. In the verse above, “Jesus is saying that the vilest sinner who repents and enters the kingdom is greater than John who is greater than all the Pharisees, scribes, and priests who heard his message and rejected it.”3
Mindset Shift From Malachi + Luke
Readers of the Greek would have seen John the Baptist called angelos - both in Malachi and much later in Luke. Today, in my 21st century perspective, I see angelos and think ‘perfect being from God.’ But the truth is, nothing is perfect other than God! And even more, I need to check my life - my relationships, my reading, my connections. Who could God be using to send a message to my family and me?
I also need to embrace the truth that I am a sinner…every day, folks. But that title, and the fact that I am often a servant in my own house, is not a bad thing. When I acknowledge how I mess up and serve out of love, I am WAY CLOSER to Jesus.
So, Now What?!
Please comment with ridiculous conversations you have been having with your family and friends. I would love to hear the words that stick out. Because, who knows…those words might just prompt me to look up the etymology of what they used to be. And that journey of learning is never a waste.
Sources
1. Cahn, Jonathan. “The Mystery of the Secret Angels.” The Book of Mysteries, FrontLine, Lake
Mary, FL, 2018, pp. 40–40.
2. Parsons, John. “The Angel of the Lord.” Hebrew for Christians,
www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Vayera/Angel/angel.html#lo
aded. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.
3. “What Does Luke 7:28 Mean?” BibleRef.Com, Got Questions Ministries,
www.bibleref.com/Luke/7/Luke-7-28.html. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.