Dr. Mike Jones

what does the bible say about slavery?

Q: Dr. Mike, we’re witnessing the ‘spirit of hatred’ at an alarming rate in the country: what does the Bible really say about Slavery?

A: Thank you for your [very] serious question. Several close friends have recently asked me [basically] the same question, but with a twist: ranging from, If God is Holy and ‘just’, why did He permit one group of people [from His creation] to enslave another?” “How could a group of people, who professed to know God, use the Bible to justify the enslavement of another group, who looked to the same God for their deliverance?” Etc. And the questions go on-and-on.

There are more noted theologically minded writers, than ME, who have devoted serious time and effort, in research and writing books addressing this issue of ‘SLAVERY’ – particularly here in the United States. My intent in this brief essay, is to address the core of the question of slavery, that’s outlined, throughout sacred Scripture – Old and New Testaments.

One of the first major issues of slavery that appeared in Scripture, is found in the Old Testament book of law – Deuteronomy 15, which was the command to release slaves every seventh year.

In verses 12-15, we read, “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 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 thing today.”

We can see by these verses, that just as debts were to be canceled every seventh year, so were slaves to be freed. The slaves that are mentioned in this section of the Bible, are [Israelite] men and women that for one reason or another, had to sell themselves into slavery because of their debt, or they were serving on behalf of some family member. So, we can see from this example, that worst that could happen is the person(s) would have to serve in that capacity without pay for at least, six years. The conclusion of the matter was this: They were NOT to go away ‘empty-handed. The Lord commanded that the person(s) were to be given enough substance, to assist them in starting a new life. [Note: With this in mind, we can understand why there’s been a call for ‘REPARATION’ – the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.]

To sum up the biblical understanding of SLAVERY: In the ancient world there were basically three types of slavery … the one indentured and debt slavery, that I just covered; Then you had slavery as a form of punishment for evildoers, as outlined in 2 Kings 17:1-18, concerning the Nation Israel. In this chapter, God’s patience has run out, and so He permitted one of the most brutal armies in existence, [the Assyrian army] to capture Samaria, which was the capital of the Northern kingdom of Israel. As an instrument of judgment, the Assyrians literally took thousands of the Israelites into captivity.

The third form of slavery found in sacred Scripture, dealt with prisoners of war. For example, in Deuteronomy 20:10-11, “When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.”

For the Israelites, this was the normal battle procedure, given by God to His people, so that they wouldn’t have to fight, unless it was necessary. The conquered city would be subservient to the Nation of Israel. And if you’d read throughout the Old Testament, you’d discover that the Nation of Israel never captured and sold humans as did other waring nations, such as the Phoenicians and Philistines.

With this in mind, we seriously want to avoid the trickery of  reading too much into some Bible verses [like many people have], in terms of modern day slavery. 

Remember, the Bible says in Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Therefore, the application is the same, concerning slavery that occurred here In America. As you can see from this text, that it was condemned by God in the Old Testament, concerning the Nation of Israel, and was punishable by death, according to Deuteronomy 24:7, “If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.” It is thus, obvious that kidnapping in the ancient world had to do with selling the ones abducted to slavery, just as the sons of Jacob sold their brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt, although, it was in God’s providence, because He had a greater plan for Joseph’s life, concerning the children of Israel. 

I’ll conclude by touching a little more on the impact that early effects of slavery are [still] having on our society.

During the early period of slavery in America, most slaveholders considered themselves ‘Christians’, and used two text from sacred Scripture, to justify having slaves – one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

The first one was Genesis 9: 18-27, “The sons of Noah who came out of the boat with their father were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.) ¹⁹ From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth. ²⁰ After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard.²¹ One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers. ²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they would not see him naked.

²⁴ When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. ²⁵ Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham: “May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.” ²⁶ Then Noah said, “May the Lord, the God of Shem, be blessed, and may Canaan be his servant!
²⁷ May God expand the territory of Japheth! May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.”

The trouble with using this text to justify slavery, is that people that want to be prejudice see the descendants of Canaan as ‘BLACK’ [African descent]. The sad part is that Blacks did NOT originate from Canaan, who was the father of those of middle-eastern descent, that included parts of modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordon, many of whom were conquered by Joshua, when Israel took the Promised Land.

The second text that many slaveholders used was taken from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians 6:5-7, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. ⁶ Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.⁷ Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”

 I like what the Apostle Peter said about Paul’s writings: “Remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—¹⁶ speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.” (2 Peter 3:15-16)

When we look at TV news, on a daily bases, and see the level of wickedness all around us, we normally find ourselves saying [self-consciously], “Man, some people are wicked to their core!” However, we don’t think of that particular person(s) being born-again. Nevertheless, we’ve also seen/heard of situations whereby some have professed Christ, and yet, brought shame upon the Body of Christ.

You and I both know, that before we received God’s Salvation, the heart was the ‘SEAT OF SIN’ and depravity. The mind of the flesh could not please God, therefore, the heart was thoroughly corrupt, according to Galatians 5:19-21, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

So, until that appointed time, we’re warned in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” [Meaning: if we’re not careful of what we permit in, our heart can still deceive us and lead us astray. But, as true believers, walking upright before God, and sensitive to the leading of the Spirit, it’s hard to be deceived nor led astray.]

[Note: As spiritual beings, we must ‘NEVER’ forget that spirits don’t die: when those in the early periods of slavery, that were determined to see that slavery was a staple in America history, passed from this life to the next, to await punishment at the Great White Throne of Judgment, the wicked and deceitful demonic spirits that controlled them, did NOT die, but found others to enter into to do their bidding. And this has been going on from generation to generation.