I want to talk to you for a little while about the question of ‘Why is slavery included in the Bible?’ Short answer: it’s an awesome picture of the sovereignty of God AND the love between Jesus and mankind. Let me explain.
The first thing that we are going to look at is the sovereignty of God. I believe that you would agree with me when I say that God owns everything that exists, and absolutely nothing happens without God either allowing it or causing it. Many people make the mistake of believing that everything, even the bad (childhood cancer, drive by shootings, etc) is God’s fault; that He caused that bad thing to happen. But the first two chapters of the book of Job tell us that, although God has to allow it for it to happen, He doesn’t CAUSE it. You have to accept that we 1) live in a fallen world where real things with really bad outcomes happen sometimes, and 2) this world is ruled by an entity that hates God and, therefore, anything that God loves. And even though he must ask permission to do anything bad, God, in His sovereignty, allows him to cause bad things to happen at times.
Now that we have established exactly who is responsible for the bad that happens, and that God is sovereign even through the bad, let’s get back to the issue at hand: slavery in the Bible. Most people (at least where I am in the United States), when slavery is mentioned, automatically think about the evil that caused the Civil War in the 1860’s, but that is not the same thing as slavery in the Bible. I’m sure that there were episodes of abuse and mistreatment of slaves in the early biblical days, but overall, slaves were treated as servants or employees rather than simply as property. (You can read the biblical account and rules of slavery in Exodus 21:2-11 and Leviticus 25:39-55.) Totally different than what was occurring in the United States prior to the Civil War and throughout history in other places throughout the world. (As a side note, this is typical of the devil: he takes something that God established for good and twists and diminishes the value of it so that it is totally unbiblical and evil.)
You may be saying, ‘That’s all nice and good, but where is the love in slavery?’ THAT boils down to the obedience of the Israelites concerning the treatment of the slaves (the ‘bondservants’) they were responsible for. If they were obedient to follow the rules governing slaves and the system of slavery, it was a perfect picture of the love of Jesus toward us. Let’s look at that in scripture.
Exodus 21:5-6 (KJV)
“[5] And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
[6] then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.”
There are servants of Jesus that have pledged their EVERYTHING to Him. Then there are the those who serve Him just because they know that they should, and there are also many people who go to church, etc, with resentment against being there. The final group are those who openly rebel and run from God. On the flip side, the love of Jesus can be seen in the rules governing the ownership of slaves, both the Gentiles who were forced to become slaves due to being conquered in war AND the Israelites that became bondmen to other Israelites for whatever reason. The Gentiles were allowed to live their lives rather than being killed (a picture of the mercy of God), while the Israelites sold themselves as slaves to their fellow Israelites for two reasons. 1) There was outstanding debt that they couldn’t pay, etc., and 2) they were governed by strict rules concerning their slavery and future release.
God has set forth rules concerning existence AND rules governing faith in Jesus and being reborn as followers of Jesus that we know will NEVER be broken. THE most powerful rule governing faith is that anyone and everyone who repents and believes the gospel is going to receive salvation, just as any ‘slave’ (resident of earth) can choose to willingly serve the ‘Master’ (the Lord Jesus Christ) and become a Christ-follower. Another thing (this is not a ‘rule’, but rather, one prevalent ‘condition’, if you will) is that, just as most slaves in biblical times never developed the love for the master that a few did, most people never repent and believe the gospel. This is clearly seen in Matthew 7:13-14. Let’s look at that scripture passage.
Matthew 7:13-14 (KJV)
“[13] Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
[14] because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
This passage tells us plainly that most people don’t choose the narrow path, just as few actually chose to stay as ‘bondservants’.
I hope that you have been enlightened and encouraged by this article. Remember that I love you guys and I’m praying for you.