christian slavery

Exodus 21:1-11

One could be very put off by the practices prescribed here. Why would the Bible, as it would seem, condone any slavery at all? And what’s this about a master keeping for himself women and children born to a male slave under him, when the slave is set free? How could a man sell his daughter as a slave, and why is it “she should not be free as menservants do” (verse 7)?

I think we have to see something of the overall direction here. Israel apparently adopted some of the practice of the surrounding cultures – including slavery. Kind of ironic, given what Israel was born out of. But with Israel there is provision for freedom, as part of the practice of the jubilee year. There are certain protections built in for slaves. And, it seems to me, there is a direction of things pointed to in the overall movement of Scripture with the practice of one being able voluntarily bind himself to a master. In the New Testament the word typically used for ‘servant’ (of the Lord) can also be translated ‘slave’ (doulos). Paul works with this word in various ways – contrasting being a slave to the law with the freedom of being a slave of Christ, and even to others for his sake. The Christian, one might say, chooses slavery to Christ and to others in service, which is a way of true freedom, especially in contrast to the ways of the world, which enslave in ways both obvious and subtle. In relation to Christ, slavery reaches a kind of critical mass that flips over into freedom.

Suggestion: God to BibleGateway.com keyword search. Put “slave” in the search box , and go down the page to the drop-down menu where you can limit the search. Limit the search to Pauline Epistles, and see what you come up with.

Prayer:
God, let me find perfect freedom in relinquishing all personal sovereignty to you, and in service to others. In Christ. Amen.