February 28

Slavery in the Bible

Exodus 21:20-21 f a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.

Is this verse condoning slavery? For us living in Stamford in 2009 we recoil from the idea of humans ever bring regarded as property to be brought and sold, whether beaten or not. How could God ever permit the institution of slavery?

Some initial thoughts on this question:
1. Back to yesterday’s theme of the Redemptive History of mankind. This was a primitive, morally immature world where just the basics of decent human behavior had to be laid down by God. He could not give them the elevated view of mankind that we have today all in one moment. It is important that we do not confuse God's use of an institution (or of evil) with His approval of it.
2. The whole celebration of the Jewish feasts is a picture of God’s stance on slavery. The first of the holy festivals given to the Israelites is the Feast of the Passover, which is to commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. God heard the cries of people and brought His wrath against the nation that had enslaved them. In the Passover celebration which is a lasting memorial, the Lord painted for us a picture of our ultimate deliverance from the bondage of sin. Every spring to this very day, the Jewish people remember that they were released from slavery by the hand of God. Year after year, Passover reminds the world that God does not approve of slavery.
3. The laws given in our passage today are not the final answer to God’s perspective on this topic. We will have to wait until the NT to have a complete picture.
4. There are elevated laws on slavery found in the OT. Most people conveniently overlook them:
- If you kidnapped a person and sold them into slavery you are to be put to death!
- If you were involved in slave trade you were to be put to death! This would have ended American slavery!
- If you kill your slave you are to be punished. From today’s verses.
- Permanently injured slaves had to be set free.
- Slaves who ran away from oppressive masters were effectively freed.
- You could not take sexual advantage, rape, or force a slave to become a prostitute.
- The law also gave slaves a day of rest every week.
- Hebrew slaves had to be freed every 6 years and on the year of Jubilee every 50 years.

5. Slavery in the ancient world. Slavery described in the Old Testament was quite different from the kind of slavery we think of today - in which people are captured and sold as slaves. Slavery during Old Testament times was not what we commonly recognize as slavery, such as that practiced in the 17th century Americas, when Africans were captured and forcibly brought to work on plantations. Unlike our modern government welfare programs, there was no safety-net for ancient Middle Easterners who could not provide a living for themselves. In ancient Israel, people who could not provide for themselves or their families sold themselves into slavery so they would not die of starvation or exposure. In this way, this was an economic system, a way for a person to receive food and housing in exchange for labor. So, although there are rules about slavery in the Bible, those rules existed to protect the slave.
6. Race and slavery. The slavery of the past few centuries was often based exclusively on skin color. Black people were considered slaves because of their nationality – many slave owners truly believed black people to be “inferior human beings” to white people. The Bible most definitely does condemn race-based slavery. Consider the slavery the Hebrews experienced when they were in Egypt. The Hebrew were slaves, not by choice, but because they were Hebrews (Exodus 13:14). The slavery found in the Bible was not based on race. People were not enslaved because of their nationality or the color of their skin. In Bible times, slavery was more of an economic institution. People sold themselves as slaves when they could not pay their debts or provide for their family. In New Testament times, sometimes doctors, lawyers, and even politicians were slaves of someone else. Some people actually chose to be slaves so as to have all their needs provided for by their master.
7. Jesus Christ radically changed the relationship of slaves and masters. As Christ followers they become brothers and sisters. Paul does not speak against the institution of slavery but gave guidelines to be applied. His counsel for this relationship can be applied to the employer-employee relationship. Bottom line - employees should work hard; show respect for their employers. In turn employers should be fair. At issue here is our integrity as workers. Our work should reflect our faithfulness to and love for Christ.
Paul was not advocating an economic revolution (Marxism). He was advocating a spiritual revolution (Christ’s invisible kingdom).

8. Modern slavery. There is a tendency to look at slavery as if it was something of the past. It is estimated that today there are 20 million people in the world who are subject to slavery: forced labor, sex trade, inheritable property, etc. Those of us who have been redeemed from the slavery of sin should be the foremost champions of ending human slavery in the world today.

9. The best way to end slavery is to do it from the inside-out. If a person experiences the love, mercy, and grace of God, receiving His salvation – God will reform his soul, changing the way he thinks and acts. A person who has experienced God’s gift of salvation and freedom from the slavery of sin, will be changed from the inside out, and realize that enslaving another human being is wrong. A person who has truly experienced God’s grace will in turn be gracious towards others. That would be the Bible’s prescription for ending slavery.
Action Steps for us today:
1. Pray for slavery to end.
2. Support missions to third world countries where the vast majority of slavery exists.
3. Share the gospel message freely. It is only as God changes us from the inside-out that we will push back the encroaching darkness.
4. Watch a movie on slavery... two great movies.... “Amistad” and “Amazing Grace.”
5. Work to put pressure on foreign governments to end slavery. Case in point: the situation in Darfur, where thousands of our fellow Christians are being sold into slavery.