Today’s Daily Bread ~ Slavery?

2 Peter 1:1a – This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.

There are some parts of the bible that are tough to understand.  I think it’s safe to say that, to some degree or another, I’ve been an “ala-carte Christian” through much of my walk with Christ.  Focusing heavily on the love and mercy of Jesus, but leaving judgment and wrath alone.  Reading more about heaven and less about hell.

The Holy Spirit is chiding me.

I’ve had two conversations lately, with newer believers.  Both of them uncomfortable with the thought of evil, both of them uncertain that a God of love would close the gates of heaven to those who reject Him.  I know many seasoned, lifelong believers that feel the same way.  There is a small problem with that.

The Bible is the Word of God.  2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that His teachings are true, we can’t pick and choose the ones we like.  If we believe in grace without justice, we’re questioning the validity of the entire Bible.  It was that realization that sent me onto a year-long journey into the study of apologetics – defending the faith.

I believe with all my heart and soul that the Bible is the Word of God – written by man and inspired by the Holy Spirit.  I believe that the teachings of Jesus were accurately and beautifully preserved from four different, but supporting, points of view.  And I believe that when you study the context in which the Scriptures were written, you discover that the harder teachings of Christ are not so hard.

This is a passage from an atheist website called “Evil Bible” ~ 

Except for murder, slavery has got to be one of the most immoral things a person can do.  Yet slavery is rampant throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments.  The Bible clearly approves of slavery in many passages, and it goes so far as to tell how to obtain slaves, how hard you can beat them, and when you can have sex with the female slaves (if I may insert quickly, there are many, many Scriptures and laws forbidding sex outside of marriage, rape or deviant sexual behavior).

Many Jews and Christians will try to ignore the moral problems of slavery by saying that these slaves were actually servants or indentured servants.  Many translations of the Bible use the word “servant”, “bondservant”, or “manservant” instead of “slave” to make the Bible seem less immoral than it really is.  While many slaves may have worked as household servants, that doesn’t mean that they were not slaves who were bought, sold, and treated worse than livestock.

Unfortunately, our friendly author has not bothered to study slavery, as defined in Biblical times. 

Historical slavery leading up to the Civil War was a horrific, distorted version of what the Bible describes.  God did permit people to keep slaves, but strictly prohibited them from mistreating them.  Deuteronomy 15:12-15 – “If an Israelite man or woman voluntarily becomes your servant (slave) and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.  When you release a male servant (slave), do not send him away empty-handed.  Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress.  Share with him some of the bounty with which the LORD your God has blessed you.”

A slave during the time which this letter from Peter was written was properly clothed and fed, often educated and given esteemed positions in the household.  Certainly some were mistreated and abused, but slavery was often something the Jews sold themselves into to escape poverty.  And sometimes, they chose to stay.

In the NASB, (New American Standard Bible – considered the most accurate word-for-word translation by most scholars) Peter calls himself a bondservant.  The Greek word is doulos – and also translated as slave.  This is how the bible defines a bondservant – Deuteronomy 15:16-17 – “But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he is well off with you.  In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door.  After that, he will be your servant for life.”

A bondservant was a position chosen by the individual at the end of the six year period, when the Jew was required to set him free.  He/she wore a gold earring to signify their position.  They had bonded themselves to their owner for life, and their owner could not, by Jewish law, sell or trade them.  These servants were trusted with more of their master’s affairs than other servants, and often considered part of the family.

Peter, Paul, James, Jude and John all considered themselves to be bondservants to Jesus.  Willingly choosing to stay, serving in joyful obedience.  The word (doulos) is also applied to Moses in Revelation 15:3.  Jesus is beckoning us, as well.

Matthew 20:25-28 – But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them.  But among you it should be quite different.  Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave.  For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”  The original word in this text for servant is diakonos, which is where we get the word deacon.  The word for slave in this passage is doulos – indicating bondservant.  Being a Christian isn’t just a “now and then” kind of then.  When we choose Christ, when we choose salvation, we must willingly bond ourselves to Him forever.  And in return, we know that we have the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us, the full armor of God as protection, and a Heavenly guarantee that Jesus will never leave us forsake us.  We are adopted into God’s family as His sons and daughters, and given a glorious inheritance.

Dear Heavenly Father, please grow our faith.  Please help us to take the step you are waiting for us to take, and commit our whole lives to You.  Bond us to You, Lord, and never let us go.  Make us immune to the lures of this world.  Help us to put nothing before You.  We also ask that You make clear our paths, Lord.  Some of us are struggling with decisions, and some of us are just struggling.  Make Your will known to us, and give us the courage to follow it.  We love You so much, and we ask these things in the beautiful, precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.