How could a loving God allow slavery in the Bible?
The Devotional Answer
The devotional answer requires us to understand the nature of God’s interaction with a fallen world. God did not introduce slavery; it was an ingrained, harsh, and universal reality in the ancient Near East, rooted in human sin and greed (Question 22).
God's response was not to abolish the institution overnight (which would have collapsed the economies and structures of the time and endangered the newly freed Israelites), but to radically regulate and transform it.
The laws concerning servitude in the Old Testament (OT) were designed to be counter-cultural and remedial, aiming to protect the servant and ultimately lead to abolition.
The fact that God explicitly commanded Israel to remember their own slavery in Egypt and treat their servants with love shows His ultimate heart is for freedom and dignity. The Bible moves toward abolition, culminating in the New Testament's call for spiritual equality and mutual love.
The Simple Answer
The term "slavery" in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament Law, often refers to a system of regulated, temporary indentured servitude—which is fundamentally different from the brutal, racially based chattel slavery seen in later history.
Here is the key distinction:
Chattel Slavery (Forbidden by OT Law): Treating a person as mere property, with no rights, bought and sold permanently. The OT Law required the death penalty for kidnapping a person to sell them into this kind of slavery (Exodus 21:16).
Hebrew Servitude (Regulated): A temporary arrangement, often by choice, to pay off debts, avoid starvation, or gain a livelihood. This servitude had strict time limits (six years for a Hebrew, Exodus 21:2), required freedom upon expiration, offered legal rights, and demanded humane treatment.
God was using the Law to introduce justice and humanity into an already existing, corrupted practice.
The Deeper Dive
The biblical regulations concerning servitude were designed to place a strong moral leash on the practice.
1. Protection and Rights
The Law granted many rights to servants that were unheard of in surrounding cultures:
Time Limit: A Hebrew could only be held for six years (Exodus 21:2).
Legal Protections: If a master permanently injured a servant (knocked out a tooth or caused blindness), the servant had to be set free immediately (Exodus 21:26-27).
Jubilee: Every 50 years, all debts were canceled, and all indentured servants were set free (Leviticus 25:10). This prevented a permanent underclass.
2. The Command to Flee Servitude
The Bible contains a crucial command regarding runaway servants from other nations that undermines the institution of property-based slavery:
"Do not hand over to their master a slave who has taken refuge with you. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them." — Deuteronomy 23:15-16 (NIV)
This law directly subverts the logic of ownership by commanding the Israelite to protect the runaway, effectively preventing the continuation of chattel slavery.
3. New Testament Abolitionist Principles
The New Testament, while not issuing an immediate political decree, lays the moral and spiritual groundwork for the abolitionist movement centuries later.
Spiritual Equality: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Mutual Obligation: Paul commands masters to treat their servants as brothers, recognizing they have the same Master in heaven, who shows no favoritism (Ephesians 6:9). He tells a runaway servant (Onesimus) to return, but tells the master (Philemon) to receive him "no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother" (Philemon 16). This elevates the person to full brotherhood, making the concept of ownership meaningless.
God's Assurance
God assures you that His ultimate will is always freedom, justice, and the dignity of the human person, created in His image.
"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing." — Deuteronomy 10:18 (NIV)
You are assured that God's heart is always on the side of the oppressed, and He uses His Word to move humanity toward greater justice.
Your Takeaway Thought
Do not confuse God's tolerance of a deeply rooted cultural practice (which He regulated severely) with His endorsement of it. Understand that the Old Testament laws were a crucial step in a moral direction, teaching dignity and rights.
The New Testament completes the picture by setting the spiritual standard—that all believers are equals in Christ—a truth that eventually fueled the abolition of institutional slavery.
