Servants, be subject to your masters…

1 Peter 2:18

Before we examine the meat of Peter’s instruction to slaves in verses 18-25, let’s first deal with the question many have about this passage and others like it such as Ephesians 6:5-8, Colossians 3:22-25, 1 Timothy 6:1-2, Titus 2:9-10, and the numerous passages about slavery in the Old Testament.  The question, of course, is whether the Bible condones slavery.

Before the Civil War, pro-slavery southerners would cite the Peter passage above and the others as proof that God permitted and even encouraged chattel slavery.  Today, atheists and skeptics cite passages which mention slavery as proof of the falsity of Christianity’s claim that a God of love inspired the Bible.  Some go so far as to blame the Bible, and thus Christianity, for the oppression of slaves throughout history.  However, a closer examination of the totality of all that Scripture says about these matters reveals otherwise (cf. Ps. 119:160).

For example, in many cases during biblical times slavery was not how we typically define it today.  Granted, there were many cases of people being kidnapped and forced into slavery back then, and one should note that the Bible condemns such actions (cf. Matt. 7:12).  “Enslavers” (andrapodistes, kidnappers such as those who kidnapped Africans and sold them into bondage in the American slave trade centuries ago) are specifically cited as sinful (Ex. 21:16; Deut. 24:7; 1 Tim. 1:9-10).  However, there were also frequent cases in which slavery fell more in line with an employer/employee relationship than that of an owner and slave.  The Greek and Hebrew terms translated “slave” (doulos, ebed) were also used in a more generalized way to refer to servants.  Those servants were often in a mutually beneficial and mutually trusting relationship with those who were over them (cf. Gen. 14:14-15; 15:2-3; 24:2).  In some cases, they had put themselves into indentured servanthood in order to pay off large debts and would be free once that debt had been paid off (Ex. 21:22; Lev. 25:39-43; Deut. 15:12-15, 18).  Some were treated so well that they decided to forgo their freedom and remain servants in that household (Deut. 15:16-17).

Along these lines, the divine regulations for the treatment and protection of slaves and servants in the Old Testament were far better than the standards of the world both then and in many places today (cf. Job 31:13-15).  It was a sin to return a slave who had run away from his master (Deut. 23:15-16), thus showing divine protection for those who were enslaved against their will and/or were suffering cruelty from an evil owner.  An Israelite who killed a slave would pay with his life (Ex. 21:20-21); mutilating a slave would automatically result in that slave’s emancipation (Ex. 21:26-27).  Slaves were mandated a weekly Sabbath rest like their masters (Ex. 20:10) and were also required to observe the Feasts of Weeks and Booths alongside their masters, thus basically having two assigned weeks off per year (Deut. 16:9-17).  God also required that all be emancipated every 50 years (Lev. 25:10).

Let’s also think about what our society does to convicted criminals.  We throw them in jail, which basically means that we take away their freedom.  In a sense, they become slaves of the State as punishment for their crimes.  If the crime is especially monstrous, we take away their freedom for many years, perhaps even the rest of their lives.  It is just and right that we do this.  With this in mind, we see that slavery – taking away one’s freedom – was a government-regulated punishment for crimes such as stealing in the Old Testament (Ex. 22:1-3).   Also consider that Old Testament Israel was surrounded by pagan nations who were extremely evil.  To give just one of many examples of their depravity, they would sacrifice their own children to their gods (cf. Lev. 18:21, 24; cf. 20:2ff; Deut. 18:9-10).  God used Israel to punish some of these nations by conquering their land.  Would the punishment of taking away one’s freedom be morally appropriate for those who had murdered their own children in such a heinous way?  Of course, the answer is yes.  We have prisons today for this very reason.

Lord willing, we’ll continue this study later in the week.

— Jon