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God ordained slavery?
Question:
Doesn’t the Old Testament indicate that God ordained slavery? How can this be justified with a just God?
Answer:
Rules governing slavery in Leviticus cannot indicate that God ordained the practice, because the Jews had experienced 400 years of slavery before the Law. The question intended is probably to ask how God can condone slavery--he did not establish it.
The concern is understandable if one equates all incidences of slavery. But the slavery experienced by Jews in Egypt was very different from the slavery mentioned in the Law (Exodus, Leviticus). And the slavery mentioned there is very different than the slavery experienced by Afro-Americans. Afro-American slavery was justified by denying the basic humanity of the black people. It is a tribute to man’s depravity. The slavery regulated in Leviticus puts restraints on a socio-economic system already in place before the giving of the Mosaic Law. It also granted slaves rights that were never granted by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, etc. The “slavery” spoken of involved the economic option of servitude to pay a debt and a penal option for providing restitution (1 Kings 4:1; Ex. 22:2-3). “Slaves” were not to be treated as sub-human but were to be included in the worship life of their master (Ex. 12:44). Trafficking slaves was clearly forbidden (Ex. 21:16).
Man’s abuse of man is a testimony to his own sinfulness. In the Law God called the Jews to be different (holy)--even in how they dealt with the matter of financial obligations. We cannot blame God for our failure to measure up.
Answer:
Rules governing slavery in Leviticus cannot indicate that God ordained the practice, because the Jews had experienced 400 years of slavery before the Law. The question intended is probably to ask how God can condone slavery--he did not establish it.
The concern is understandable if one equates all incidences of slavery. But the slavery experienced by Jews in Egypt was very different from the slavery mentioned in the Law (Exodus, Leviticus). And the slavery mentioned there is very different than the slavery experienced by Afro-Americans. Afro-American slavery was justified by denying the basic humanity of the black people. It is a tribute to man’s depravity. The slavery regulated in Leviticus puts restraints on a socio-economic system already in place before the giving of the Mosaic Law. It also granted slaves rights that were never granted by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, etc. The “slavery” spoken of involved the economic option of servitude to pay a debt and a penal option for providing restitution (1 Kings 4:1; Ex. 22:2-3). “Slaves” were not to be treated as sub-human but were to be included in the worship life of their master (Ex. 12:44). Trafficking slaves was clearly forbidden (Ex. 21:16).
Man’s abuse of man is a testimony to his own sinfulness. In the Law God called the Jews to be different (holy)--even in how they dealt with the matter of financial obligations. We cannot blame God for our failure to measure up.
