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Today’s question is: Does the Bible
condone slavery? In this video I’ll
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answer that question from a biblical
perspective. Then afterwards, as always,
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I’ll share some helpful resources,
so stick around until the end.
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There is a tendency to look at slavery as
something of the past. But it is estimated
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that there are today over 27 million people in the
world who are subject to slavery: forced labor,
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sex trade, inheritable property, etc. As those
who have been redeemed from the slavery of sin,
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followers of Jesus Christ should be the foremost
champions of ending human slavery in the world
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today. The question arises, though, why
does the Bible not speak out strongly
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against slavery? Why does the Bible, in fact,
seem to support the practice of human slavery?
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Slavery in the Old Testament Law
-- Slave ownership was a common
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practice long before the time
the Mosaic Law was given. So,
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the law neither instituted slavery nor
ended it; rather, the law regulated it.
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It gave instructions on how slaves should be
treated but did not outlaw slavery altogether.
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Hebrews with Hebrew slaves. -- The law allowed
for Hebrew men and women to sell themselves into
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slavery to another Hebrew. They could only serve
for six years, however. In the seventh year,
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they were to be set free (Exodus 21:2). This
arrangement amounted to what we might call
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indentured servanthood. And the slaves were
to be treated well: “Do not make them work
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as slaves. They are to be treated as hired
workers or temporary residents among you”
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(Leviticus 25:39–40). The law also specified
that, “when you release them, do not send them
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away empty-handed. Supply them liberally from your
flock, your threshing floor and your winepress.
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Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed
you” (Deuteronomy 15:13–14). The freed slave
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had the option of staying with his master and
becoming a “servant for life” (see Exodus 21:5–6).
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Hebrews with Gentile slaves. -- When the
Israelites conquered the land of Canaan,
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they were to drive out or destroy all the former
inhabitants. However, that order was not fully
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obeyed, and many Gentiles remained in the land.
God allowed the Hebrews to take slaves from among
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that population: “Your male and female slaves are
to come from the nations around you; from them
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you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the
temporary residents living among you and members
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of their clans born in your country, and they will
become your property. You can bequeath them to
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your children as inherited property and can make
them slaves for life, but you must not rule over
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your fellow Israelites ruthlessly” (Leviticus
25:44–46). So, the law did allow for slavery.
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Several laws regulating slavery appear
in Exodus 21. These laws gave some basic
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rights to slaves and curtailed the actions
of masters in a historically unprecedented
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way. In the ancient world outside of Israel,
slaves had no rights. But God’s Law extended to
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slaves the right to keep a wife (verse 3), the
right not to be sold to foreigners (verse 8),
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the right to be adopted into a family by marriage
(verse 9), and the right to food and clothing
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(verse 10). The law also limited masters in their
use of corporeal punishment (verses 20, 26–27).
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Gentiles with Hebrew slaves. -- Under the Mosaic
Law, and if economic circumstances demanded it,
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a Hebrew had the option of selling himself
as a slave to a Gentile living in Israel
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(Leviticus 25:47). The law also provided
for the slave’s redemption at any time
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(verses 48–52). And the treatment of
the Hebrew slave was to be considerate:
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slaves were “to be treated as workers hired from
year to year; you must see to it that those to
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whom they owe service do not rule over them
ruthlessly” (verse 53). If no redemption came,
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the slaves were still released, with their
families, on the Year of Jubilee (verse 54).
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New Testament Instruction on Slavery
-- Even in the New Testament era,
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the Bible did not demand that every slave owner
immediately emancipate his slaves. Rather,
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the apostles gave instructions to slaves and
their owners on godly behavior within that
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social system. Masters were admonished on the
proper treatment of their slaves. For example,
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in Ephesians 6:9 masters are told, “Treat your
slaves in the same way [with goodwill]. Do not
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threaten them, since you know that he who
is both their Master and yours is in heaven,
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and there is no favoritism with him.” Elsewhere,
the command is, “Masters, provide your slaves with
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what is right and fair, because you know that you
also have a Master in heaven” (Colossians 4:1).
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Jesus and the apostles did not outright condemn
slavery. They didn’t need to. The effect of the
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gospel is that lives are changed, one by one, and
those changed lives in turn bring transformation
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to entire families, clans, and cultures.
Christianity was never designed to be a
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political movement, but, over time, it naturally
affected political policy. Alexander MacLaren
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wrote that the gospel “meddles directly with no
political or social arrangements, but lays down
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principles which will profoundly affect these,
and leaves them to soak into the general mind.”
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In nations where Christianity
spread and took firm hold,
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slavery was brought to an end through
the efforts of born-again individuals.
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The seeds of the emancipation of slaves are
in the Bible, which teaches that all men are
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created by God and made in His image, which
condemns those who kidnap and sell a person,
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and which shows that a slave can
truly be “a brother in the Lord.”
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Some criticize the Bible because it did not
demand an immediate overthrow of every ingrained,
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centuries-old sinful custom of the day.
But, as Warren Wiersbe pointed out,
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“The Lord chooses to change
people and society gradually,
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through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the
proclamation of the truth of the Word of God.”
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Want to learn more? Subscribe so you don’t
miss the next video! Visit GotQuestions.org
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for more great content. And check out
the details section below this video,
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there you’ll find one book I recommend, along
with links to several related questions. If
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subscribe to Bible Munch on YouTube,
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