In the Bible, slavery often refers to the practice of servitude where individuals serve others, which could include economic debt, war captives, or voluntary servanthood. While laws in the Old Testament regulated slavery, emphasizing humane treatment and the possibility of freedom, the New Testament encourages love and equality among all people, transcending social status.
Scripture
1 “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them.”
2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.
3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone.
5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’
6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
7 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.”
8 If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.
9 And if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter.
10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
11 When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.
Understanding Slavery in the Bible
In the Bible, the concept of slavery is multifaceted, encompassing economic, social, and moral dimensions. In the Old Testament, servitude was often a consequence of debt or disaster, but the Mosaic Law laid out specific regulations that aimed to protect the rights of slaves (Exodus 21:2-6). For instance, the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:10) mandated the release of slaves every fifty years, promoting the idea of restoration and economic equity. Moreover, scriptures such as Deuteronomy 15:12-15 emphasize that Hebrew slaves should be treated with dignity and released every seven years, reflecting a profound concern for justice and the humane treatment of individuals in servitude. These laws were designed to mitigate the harshness of slavery and encourage a culture of compassion and respect among the Israelite community.
In the New Testament, the focus shifts toward the inherent worth of every individual, regardless of their social status, as seen in the teachings of Jesus and the Apostle Paul. In Galatians 3:28, Paul asserts that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This verse underscores a radical equality that transcends traditional social hierarchies, suggesting that spiritual unity in Christ dismantles the very foundations of societal divisions, including slavery. Additionally, the letter to Philemon illustrates the transformative power of love and forgiveness, as Paul encourages Philemon to receive his runaway slave Onesimus not merely as a servant but as a beloved brother. Therefore, while the Bible acknowledges the reality of slavery in ancient times, it ultimately points toward a vision of mutual respect, love, and liberation that calls believers to live out the principles of justice and equality in their communities.
The biblical treatment of slavery also reveals a broader ethical framework that emphasizes the importance of compassion and the value of human life. For instance, throughout the narrative of the Old Testament, we see manifestations of God’s concern for the oppressed. The laws set forth in the Mosaic Covenant encompass protections not only for Israelites but also for sojourners and foreigners, advocating for fair treatment and mercy. This is particularly evident in passages where the Israelites are reminded of their own experience in Egypt, urging them to empathize with those who are marginalized and enslaved. The remembrance of their past serves as a powerful reminder of divine justice that calls the faithful to uphold the dignity of all individuals, reinforcing the moral imperative to act justly.
Furthermore, the New Testament encourages a re-examination of societal norms through the act of servanthood depicted in Christ’s own life. Jesus, in His servanthood and teachings, flips conventional understandings of power, illustrating that true greatness lies in humility and service to others. This notion is echoed in the teachings that call followers to love one another selflessly and to seek the welfare of others. In this light, the dynamics of power and submission within relationships can be understood as opportunities for manifesting God’s kingdom, where love supersedes societal labels and divisions. The extension of grace through Christ invites a reformation of how believers engage with one another, promoting a community of support and collective liberation that transcends the historical reality of slavery. Ultimately, the biblical narrative advocates for a vision wherein the foundations of human dignity and social responsibility flourish, fostering environments where justice and equality thrive.
Historical Context of Slavery
In the biblical era, slavery was a common institution that served various social and economic functions. It was often a result of war, debt, or poverty, and individuals could become slaves for a variety of reasons. The Bible reflects this historical reality, providing regulations and guidelines that governed the treatment of slaves. This context highlights the complexities of slavery, as it was not merely a system of oppression but also a means of survival for some individuals and families. Understanding this historical backdrop allows for a more nuanced interpretation of the biblical texts related to slavery.
Spiritual Metaphor of Bondage
Beyond its literal interpretation, slavery in the Bible often serves as a metaphor for spiritual bondage. The concept of being enslaved to sin or to worldly desires is prevalent throughout scripture, illustrating the struggle between spiritual freedom and moral captivity. This metaphor emphasizes the need for redemption and liberation through faith, suggesting that true freedom is found in a relationship with God. The spiritual implications of slavery invite believers to reflect on their own lives and the areas where they may feel trapped or constrained, encouraging a pursuit of spiritual emancipation.
Ethical Considerations and Social Justice
The biblical discourse on slavery also raises important ethical questions and considerations regarding justice and human dignity. While the texts may reflect the norms of ancient societies, they also contain principles that advocate for the fair treatment of all individuals. The call for compassion, mercy, and justice can be seen as a challenge to the institution of slavery itself. This ethical dimension encourages modern readers to engage with the implications of slavery in their own contexts, advocating for social justice and the inherent worth of every person, regardless of their circumstances.
How to Embrace Freedom through Faith and Action
Embracing freedom through faith and action is a transformative journey that invites us to live out our beliefs in tangible ways. As we deepen our relationship with God, we begin to understand that true freedom is not merely the absence of constraints but the ability to act in love and service to others. This means stepping out of our comfort zones, whether it’s volunteering in our communities, reaching out to those in need, or simply sharing our faith story with others. Remember, faith without action is like a tree without fruit; it may stand tall, but it doesn’t fulfill its purpose. So, let’s take bold steps, trusting that God equips us with the strength and courage to make a difference. In doing so, we not only experience personal liberation but also inspire others to find their own freedom in Christ.
Bible References to Slavery and its Meaning:
Leviticus 25:39-55: 39 “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave.
40 They shall be with you as hired workers and sojourners. They shall serve you until the year of the jubilee.
41 then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.
42 For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
43 You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.
44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you.
45 You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property.
46 You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.
47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan,
48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him,
49 or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him or, if he grows rich, he may redeem himself.
50 He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years.
51 If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price.
52 If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years.
53 He shall be with him as a yearly hired worker, and he shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight.
54 And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee.
55 For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 15:12-18: 12 If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed.
14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.
15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.
16 But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you,
17 then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same.
18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.
Ephesians 6:5-9: 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
Colossians 3:22-25: 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
1 Timothy 6:1-2: 1 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.
2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.
Philemon 1:8-21: 8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required,
9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus—
10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.
11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.
12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.
13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel,
14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.
15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,
16 no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.
18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.
20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
1 Peter 2:18-25: 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.
19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Genesis 9:20-27: 20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.
21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,
25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
26 He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.”
27 May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”
Exodus 21:20-21: 20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged.
21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
Deuteronomy 23:15-16: 15 “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.”
16 “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.
Jeremiah 34:8-22: 8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them.
9 that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother.
10 They had set free their male servants and female servants, according to the word of the Lord, and had made a covenant in their presence in the house of the Lord, to set them free.
11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.
12 Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
13 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,”
14 ‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.’ But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.
15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,
16 But you recently turned and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,
17 “Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the Lord. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.”
18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts—
19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf.
20 I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
21 Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you.
22 Behold, I will command, declares the Lord, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”
Galatians 3:26-29: 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
1 Corinthians 7:20-24: 20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.
21 Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)
22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.
23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.
24 So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
Reverend Ogunlade is a seasoned Church Minister with over three decades of experience in guiding and nurturing congregations. With profound wisdom and a serene approach, Reverend Ogunlade has carried out various pastoral duties, including delivering uplifting sermons, conducting religious ceremonies, and offering sage counsel to individuals seeking spiritual guidance. Their commitment to fostering harmony and righteousness within their community is exemplified through their compassionate nature, making them a beloved and trusted figure among the congregation.