Essay On Slavery In The Bible

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Recommended: The difference between ancient slavery and modern slavery

Slavery in the Bible is a difficult topic to discuss because our paradigm or idea of slavery is influenced for the most part by the enslavement of Africans in the 17th-19th centuries. This, however, is not the type of slavery that is mentioned in the Bible. Slaves in recent history were more than likely tricked/kidnapped and forced to work. They received no pay and they had no human rights—they were the property of another person, no different than an animal or tool.

In an ideal world, slavery would be neither an option nor a necessity. Because of the socioeconomic situation of Old Testament Israel, God did allow slavery, but He allowed it for a simple purpose: to help the poor survive. A person could sell himself into slavery (similar to indentured servitude) in order to pay off debt or to provide for their basic needs. God did not intend for Israel to have poverty (Deut 15:4), but sin made it inevitable (Deut 15:5), and therefore God allowed slavery to deal with that reality.

Like I said earlier, the biblical concept of slavery is much different than what would have been seen in the 1700’s and 1800’s. The OT records different types of slaves however none of these are the same as the slaves in the last few hundred years. There were two basic types of slaves in biblical times: foreigners and debtors. …show more content…

You see, as the story of God develops, we begin to notice that God is not primarily aimed first and foremost at social reform. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a GOOD THING—however it is not God’s primary goal. Jesus is ushering a kingdom that cannot be shaken and in this kingdom slavery is eradicated. However, first Jesus is working on kingdom people. Before he redeems the whole world and ushers in a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21) he first is ushering in a new people—Christians…and you see, the social reform this world desperately needs is enacted BY Christians who have first been redeemed

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