This from Wikipedia
"Suspended gongs are played with hammers and are of two main types. The gong has been a Chinese instrument for millennia. Some gongs are loud enough to be heard from up to eight kilometres (five miles) away."
Gongs were also used to summon the slaves from the fields.
Slaves years ago were apparently known as JIANMIN. Apparently, different dynasties used captives and criminals as their slaves.
It was also at that time, that is the Shang and Zhou dynasties, peasants were constantly in servitude and weren't ever able to own their own land or even leave it without the permission of their 'owners' - sad really!
Then there were the Qin and Tang Dynasties, when slavery, such as it was, expanded to not only using criminals and war captives but also all prisoners of war and whoever the chief in charge thought was needed to expand public works or to be spared execution to work the rest of their lives in hard labour.
Slavery was all around the world, even in Jesus' time. Slavery in Greece and Rome during this time was far in advance of what horrible things were happening in China at that time.
Slaves were considered property of their owners and must have faced really brutal conditions. Slavery in those days was really institutionalised and so virtually par for the course, as the saying goes, and everyone just accepted that fact. I can't imagine what some poor people were going through.
Jesus Himself must have seen what was happening all around him, and he was sure that His whole being was totally against slavery of any kind. Exodus 21:16 was so explicit against all kinds of slavery - reading that verse says it all - virtually anyone found selling people at all will be put to death - WOW, couldn't be more explicit.
But here we are in today's world, where slavery is still in existence - pretty horrible. People tricked into or even forced to work for no pay - kidnapped even - it's pretty devastating.
Wow, even today, there are approximately 27 million people who are subject to slavery, forced labour, sex trade, and so it goes on and on. In the Bible, in Leviticus 25, it says that slaves should be treated as hired workers or temporary residents.
When we become Christians and we give our lives over to Christ, who paid with His life to save us from our sins, our lives are often changed dramatically, so dramatically that our entire life around us changes amazingly.
All women and men are created in God's image - we are ALL loved so intensely by God that slavery really has no place in our world at all. This condemns all who kidnap and sell persons from any race, anywhere, at any time.
In Genesis 1:27, God created us in His own image, which is itself an amazing and truly beautiful concept. It actually says in 1 Timothy that we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord, which is very encouraging.
God, in His love and mercy, created us to love and be loved in hugely various forms - his love is evident and with us in all sorts of situations which are available to us when we give our lives to Him. Unfortunately, there are lots of people in the world who refuse to know God at all.
Just recently, Sue and I were walking on the beach, and just on the promenade leading down to the sand. there is a memorial to a young bloke who was savagely knifed in the chest by one of his so-called acquaintances - he died instantly.
They were apparently vaguely aware of each other, and it was late at night or quite early in the morning, and there was an argument, or what you could call a so-called indiscriminate argument.
Apparently, it wasn't what you would call a savage type of argument, but a guy pulled out a knife anyway and stabbed the young fellow, who died pretty much straight away.
These young people had no idea about God and what he actually did for them all those years ago. In today's world, there are a few people who truly believe in lots of ways that they are really important and, in fact, in God's eyes, they are, but here on earth, we should really be putting others ahead of ourselves.
I know I have had all sorts of trouble with that, so I really can't point the finger at anyone - But this young man really wasn't going to let another young man take the shine off his personality - so so sad, really.
The young guy who was killed so dastardly that early morning now has a tribute along the beach walkway put there by his mum and dad. As a parent myself, I can only imagine what they go through - I really can't wrap my head around that fact.
It wasn't that long ago in a nearby neighborhood that a young man approached a group of noisy young people wrecking garbage bins and things on the sidewalk, and the same thing happened - they pulled a knife and he ended up dead.
When you think of the slaves mentioned above, even today, and also of the families so bereft of their members, young or old, taken from them forcefully and horribly, hundreds of them worldwide, it really gives us a wake-up call!
Where do we go with this? Always makes me really wonder where it will all end.
Putting God first is extremely important for us when we give our lives over to Jesus. In the Bible, in Matthew 22 and verse 37, it says, "Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind." In other words, we have to be totally 100 percent given over to God
Nothing has to come before God - of course, loving your family is awesome, and we are so willing to give up everything for them - the same has to be said for God - he actually comes first in everything. Does that make it hard to live like that?
Of course not - putting God first means we strive constantly to give Him first place in everything we do.
So, where are you with God? Do you think of Him at all? - Is He some sort of mystic being that you are vaguely aware of?
Yes, we are!! Are you ready?
Our very salvation is gained by faith. In John 3:16, it says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Through faith in Christ and by fully trusting in Him, salvation is ours.
How are you? Ready to give your life to Christ? Jesus' death on the cross fully paid for your sins. Accept Him today and fully trust in Him. Doesn't mean that you will live the perfect life, but what it does mean is that God is there for you. Come to Him, always asking His forgiveness.
Have a great week, and hope to see you next time.
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