Slavery in the Bible

[MessageOfTheCross]

2 Timothy 2:

24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Yes - I see the big red letters and numbers. They seem to "run against" your LARGE ALL-CAPS "admonishment"...?













(just teasing)

Hope this helps. This is why I preach Christ Crucified (The Power Of God). Jesus said deliverance come by preaching. Luke 4:18

 

[GaryA]

Hope this helps. This is why I preach Christ Crucified (The Power Of God). Jesus said deliverance come by preaching. Luke 4:18

Preach on...

I just found amusement in it and decided to inject a light-hearted thought-provoking side-note into it...

 

[SoulWeaver]

Thanks for responses.

It’s immoral for me to own another poor person today, even if I give them food, shelter and tell them they’re free after 6 years... so why wasn’t this immoral back then?

Time shouldn’t dictate if something is immoral. It’s either moral or not. So why wasn’t owning another person in the OT immoral? Because it was culturally accepted at the time? That’s not a real answer for me. God laid out 600+ mosaic laws and was not afraid to dictate specific rules so why not say ‘don’t own another person as property’.

Instead of owning another person why not help them by giving them food and shelter, why did people have to own other people to help them out? The more I think deeply about this I struggle to comprehend how this could ever be a good thing.

You have artists and sportsmen even nowadays that are basically slaves to their long term contract. Nobody considers it immoral. Not all people under contract did physically intense jobs, either, all according to the skill. There's a mention of "slave" Ziba in the Bible who had 20 slaves under his command. So it's very unlike Greco-Roman slavery system. Again, they were not owned in that way, they had obligation to contract, but human trade and kidnapping people was punishable by death, God laid it out explicitly. It boils down to how much the rich obeyed God. In good cases, the people were treated with compassion, had an employment and a good reward at the end of the contract, and they were setup for a fresh start in life. A good thing! In the bad, the masters were cruel and tried to underpay the workers.

 

[SoulWeaver]

Exodus 21:16
He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 24:7
If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen of the sons of Israel, and he deals with him violently or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you.

This suggests that people had to enter the 7 year serving contract willingly. Insta death penalty for trapping people for exploitation or sale.

 

[oldethennew]

Been struggling to reconcile the slavery laws handed down in Exodus 21. Outside of ‘context’ and ‘think of the times’, how do people justify the seemingly immoral laws handed down?

- if master gives his slave a wife she will be a slave for life

- rules on selling your daughter

- rules on beating your slave

===================================
first of all, God cannot be 'immoral' -
with the 'word', 'slavery', this automatically brings pictures of 'black slaves during the 1800's and prior' -
this doesn't even come 'close to Biblical slavery'...
the closest we can come today in our culture is an indentured servant, which means that they serve someone
until they 'pay-off' their debt...
this is exactly what was going on, that someone would be in 'debt' and they would have to 'work it off',
with their servitude to whom ever would be responsible for their 'debt'...
usually a relative; but they were 'treated as a family member' with the 'legal rights of a family member'...
And, they could serve no longer than 'seven-years'...
in short,
it was a way for the servant to be 'out of DEBT', and out of ' BONDAGE', but they could 'choose' to remain,
and serve their 'master', for the rest of their lives'...
The most 'honoured of men', such as Moses and Elijah, were referred to as 'slaves of God/Yeshua,
according to Jewish History...
and, we pray, that we be accounted worthy to be 'slaves' of Christ Jesus, our Lord'...
as it is written:
1COR. 6:19.
What? know you not that your body is ((( the temple of The Holy Ghost))) which is in you,
which you have of God, and you are not your own?
hey guys,
can't DO your OWN THINGS anymore!!!
It's God CALL from here on OUT!!!
other wise, it's just plain ole you calling your OWN SHOTS...

 

[CS1]

.
I've been an ongoing student of the Bible since 1968 via sermons, seminars,
lectures, Sunday school classes, radio Bible programs, and various authors
of a number of Bible related books. In all those fifty-two years I've yet to be
shown even one single verse in the Bible condemning or prohibiting slavery.
Never even one time has anyone I've listened to, or anybody whose book
I've read, pointed out where the Bible condemns slavery as a moral evil.

Now, I'm not saying there are no passages in the Bible condemning or
prohibiting slavery, only that I myself have to yet to be shown any. But I
have seen passages addressing the treatment of slaves.
_

I hate to tell you you have wasted time with the long list of things you say you hearing and studying. it is a no brainer.

Jesus said quoting from the prophet Isaiah in Luke 4:18 he came to set the captive free and open prison doors. God has been leading his people out of Bondage also known as slavery. Slavery was birthed by sin. The Bible is clear to do unto others what you would have them do unto you. IF one studies the word of God and can't see God is not for slavery, then that person has a slave mentality. And I can tell you no one has addressed slavery as evil or immoral. I would love for one to show a people who has not enslaved their own people the list is long:

Africa
China
japan
India
Native Americans
Europeans
South American
Pacific Islanders

and one and on it goes
those who enslaved were and are today black and white, yellow, and brown.

 

[SoulWeaver]

I sat on this subject a lot years ago, so forgive me for scattered posts as I'm recollecting the info I went over, and my own thoughts again...

God seemingly allowing them to beat servants is indeed a puzzling one. For one though, this tells us that they did a lot worse to the servants otherwise and that the law was actually a restraint upon something even more savage. They would beat the people who owed sometimes until they give up the ghost, and that's a fact. However, this still doesn't justify the situation, and also doesn't quite make sense with the rest of the Scripture. Pay attention at God taking pity upon Balaam's donkey that was struck? Does it make sense to anyone here that God has pity for animals, but has no pity for human persons?

Numbers 22:32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.
Deuteronomy 22:4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help (...)

The more I thought why God allowed them to beat one another... Could it be God was handing Israel a MIRROR? Maybe... They were taken out of Egypt. Yet, another Egypt appears... in the midst of God's land? Ring ring hello? I am fairly certain that some of the cruel ones beat their servants without measure and any limit before the law was pronounced. So since they were taken out of Egypt and removed from this kind of life by God, so they would not be beaten and ruled fiercely... Where did these Egyptian ways come from, why did Egypt again sprout from among them? The fact that they have been through it collectively, it was the heart of their history, and then they proceeded to do it to others? Where does evil really come from, and who is to be blamed when there is no Pharaoh around?

 

[Lanolin]

The hebrews willingly immigrated to Egypt and worked there cos they were facing famine but it wasnt till years later that the Pharoah started being cruel to them.

Hagar (an egyptian) was actually Abrahams slave (or in my bible, bondmaid) and was treated much like we treat servants/employees today, it was the exception that Sara turned on her after she became pregnant.

anyone who works for someone else really is a servant or what is depicted in the bible as slave, because serving a master or mistress is kind of the same thing you arent free even if you are paid. You have a contract. You dont really get to negotiate it.

Nowadays what most people are is slave to the bank, because they have to pay their mortgage, anyone whos in debt to someone has to work for them to pay it off.

entire countries that have debts to pay are slave to the world bank.

This is why the Lords prayer has the prayer about forgiving debts.
we must let those who have debts against us go free by forgiving them, which is kind of a hard concept for many to grasp. But you know yourself you dont want to work your whole life for someone else and then have nothing to show for it. it can break a person and they are not free till all the debts been paid.

Jesus came to pay this debt and set us free.

 

[GraceAndTruth]

Since slavery ownership has been abolished in every Christian country today, I don't see the reason for all the angst about it. We can't undo the past we can only abhor the cruelty of it and move on. As rightly stated by others here, there is a huge difference between the slavery of biblical times and slavery later in history. Some things of this world are as bad as slavery and still go on to this day, one of them being unloved children who are battered, hungry or devoid of a caring human in their lives.

The world will never be free of sin and will always have injustices and cruelty as long as there are people whose hearts have not yet been quickened to new life in Christ Jesus.

 

[Webers.Home]

.
Slavery is commonly depicted in the Bible as a misfortune, but to my
knowledge never as a moral evil.

In point of fact, I've yet to see anything in the New Testament requiring
Christian masters to free their slaves. There is, however, plenty said about
how masters are supposed to treat slaves; especially Christian slaves.

There's also a few things said directly to Christian slaves about their
conduct, their duty to Christ, and about loyalty to their masters;
especially Christian masters.
_

 

[CS1]

I sat on this subject a lot years ago, so forgive me for scattered posts as I'm recollecting the info I went over, and my own thoughts again...

God seemingly allowing them to beat servants is indeed a puzzling one. For one though, this tells us that they did a lot worse to the servants otherwise and that the law was actually a restraint upon something even more savage. They would beat the people who owed sometimes until they give up the ghost, and that's a fact. However, this still doesn't justify the situation, and also doesn't quite make sense with the rest of the Scripture. Pay attention at God taking pity upon Balaam's donkey that was struck? Does it make sense to anyone here that God has pity for animals, but has no pity for human persons?

Numbers 22:32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.
Deuteronomy 22:4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help (...)

The more I thought why God allowed them to beat one another... Could it be God was handing Israel a MIRROR? Maybe... They were taken out of Egypt. Yet, another Egypt appears... in the midst of God's land? Ring ring hello? I am fairly certain that some of the cruel ones beat their servants without measure and any limit before the law was pronounced. So since they were taken out of Egypt and removed from this kind of life by God, so they would not be beaten and ruled fiercely... Where did these Egyptian ways come from, why did Egypt again sprout from among them? The fact that they have been through it collectively, it was the heart of their history, and then they proceeded to do it to others? Where does evil really come from, and who is to be blamed when there is no Pharaoh around?

wow, what a blatant indictment to the living God. I am shocked there is no mention of the "Father of lies", or he who deceived the nations. The one Jesus said was a murderer from the beginning. No, it was not mentioned. Sad because God is to blame for the sin of man. Yet, one takes God out of context. it was not God who did what God told Adam and Eve not to do. It was man & women. it was not God who killed Able it was his own brother and God warned Cain too. God told Cain " sin IS AT THE DOOR READY TO TAKE YOU, You(Cain) must master it. Genesis 4:7

"Pay attention at God taking pity upon Balaam's donkey that was struck? Does it make sense to anyone here that God has pity for animals, but has no pity for human persons?"

This is why we need a relationship with God. To make the above statement is completely unbiblical, and not true concerning the god of the bible. This is nothing but a secular humanistic approach to the word of God. Christian liberalism and it is false.

The actions recorded about Balaam's donkey are not normative but descriptive. With proper Biblical understanding of who God is of the bible. Could not possibly make such an assertion.

Jesus said : Luke 4:18-19

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

The word FREE in the Bible is mentioned 59 times KJV, liberty 27 times.



To understand HOW God intended man to be you just have to see how HE made man and how it was before a man chooses to disobey a holy God. Slavery was not a plan of God it was the plan of the devil and man choose wrongly.

 

[SoulWeaver]

wow, what a blatant indictment to the living God. I am shocked there is no mention of the "Father of lies", or he who deceived the nations. The one Jesus said was a murderer from the beginning. No, it was not mentioned. Sad because God is to blame for the sin of man. Yet, one takes God out of context. it was not God who did what God told Adam and Eve not to do. It was man & women. it was not God who killed Able it was his own brother and God warned Cain too. God told Cain " sin IS AT THE DOOR READY TO TAKE YOU, You(Cain) must master it. Genesis 4:7

"Pay attention at God taking pity upon Balaam's donkey that was struck? Does it make sense to anyone here that God has pity for animals, but has no pity for human persons?"

This is why we need a relationship with God. To make the above statement is completely unbiblical, and not true concerning the god of the bible. This is nothing but a secular humanistic approach to the word of God. Christian liberalism and it is false.

The actions recorded about Balaam's donkey are not normative but descriptive. With proper Biblical understanding of who God is of the bible. Could not possibly make such an assertion.

Jesus said : Luke 4:18-19

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

The word FREE in the Bible is mentioned 59 times KJV, liberty 27 times.



To understand HOW God intended man to be you just have to see how HE made man and how it was before a man chooses to disobey a holy God. Slavery was not a plan of God it was the plan of the devil and man choose wrongly.

Wow, I think you completely misread my post... like 100%... where did I indict God?
My point was that they were physically removed from Egypt yet Egypt came to them... the evil came from human hearts! The Pharaoh was not around anymore (outside)... God was giving them a mirror, how cruel they were treating their brothers like that, in spite of God doing a lot of work wanting to remove them from Egypt, they should've come to realization that Egypt was in their midst (human heart). This is why Jesus said, some things Moses allowed them for the hardness of their hearts, not because God wanted it. I thought that this was plain and that I didn't need to explain with many disclaimers, that evil originates from the hearts of men, people just always look for someone outside to blame.

 

[CS1]

Wow, I think you completely misread my post... like 100%... where did I indict God?
My point was that they were physically removed from Egypt yet Egypt came to them... the evil came from human hearts! The Pharaoh was not around anymore (outside)... God was giving them a mirror, how cruel they were treating their brothers like that, in spite of God doing a lot of work wanting to remove them from Egypt, they should've come to realization that Egypt was in their midst (human heart). This is why Jesus said, some things Moses allowed them for the hardness of their hearts, not because God wanted it. I thought that this was plain and that I didn't need to explain with many disclaimers, that evil originates from the hearts of men, people just always look for someone outside to blame.

here is your comment:

"Pay attention at God taking pity upon Balaam's donkey that was struck? Does it make sense to anyone here that God has pity for animals, but has no pity for human persons?"

Where does evil really come from, and who is to be blamed when there is no Pharaoh around?

Where does evil come from? The Bible is clear God is not evil. The devil and free will given to angels and men to defy the living God.

you also said :

"You will either believe that God is immoral, or someone who has a plan, and that's up to each individual to decide. Jesus submitted Himself to many beatings so at least He's not a hypocrite.
It doesn't look to me that God is focused upon social status or social injustice as appalling as it may look to us. He uses it, working within it and seems to me He is only interested into our spiritual status."

Human reasoning is the cause for such statements, however, God is focused on social injustice, He expects HIS People to stand against. The "social injustice" coined by those of today are not moral but carnal and perverted. God hated the killing of children to the god Moloch. If you were speaking as you say I did not see it clearly.

 

[Lanolin]

I think you guys are talking past each other...

maybe a parable of the unforgiving servant Jesus told in Matthew 18:21-35 might enlighten you both, on how someone can make someone else a slave. God of course, doesnt like this at all.

 

[SoulWeaver]

@CS1 I was making a point with Balaam's donkey, that if God has that much pity on an animal, how will He not have pity on a human? That would make no sense...? So this was not me claiming God lacked pity, but I was intentionally being poingnant as to how little sense that makes knowing His character. Any believer knows the character of God so I was making argument from our common standpoint, I really didn't think I'd be taken that way as a professed Christian. I believe God was giving them a mirror so they would realize they were becoming like Egypt all over again because of their cruelty. Secondly, I was making a point about God's character, that the explanation for these verses cannot be lack of compassion and that God had His, other, reasons to say that. I'm too small to say anything against God, even if I wanted/tried to, so no need for strong reaction. You might've misunderstood me, but neither should I play victim about it, nor should you keep persisting when I already clarified myself. Misunderstandings happen. I understand that a lot of people wouldn't agree with me on God not being about social justice (to clarify, when I say social justice in this context I refer to slavery and similar social institutions). Not being about, doesn't mean God doesn't have compassion for people but I mean that's not His Focus - otherwise He would've fixed that first when Jesus came but it looks to me that Jesus is fixing the cause rather than focusing on fixing the consequence. I think all justice happens by itself once people listen to God. So listening to God comes first and social justice second. People are only ever prompted to fix that, because they listened to God first. Paul returned a slave to his master - why? Is anyone able to explain why Paul did that to me, without maligning Paul? It led me to the conclusion that Paul thought honoring one's bond was the right thing to do as he didn't give preeminence to freeing the man, like a lot of people would get upset about to the point of denouncing Paul as apostle and kicking his writing out of the Bible, as you must be aware some are doing, they believe Paul was a false apostle. Christians are told to submit even to the froward masters. It is upsetting, but it's not me who said that. I think it's not "submit because I don't care that you suffer" but more like "submit because I have a plan". So it's not just a cut and dry issue like people want it to be. I think He might have had the goal to convert the masters because these servants might be the only Christ they will ever see. But what if they didn't get converted? Surely in some cases they were, but not in all. Was it supposed to be a spiritual battle, generation into generation, until all are freed? Probably. Likely. But my point is, it was not commanded to free the slaves instantly, God has His own way of operation.