Why did God allow slavery?

[TonyChanYT]

Was slavery in the Bible indentured servitude?

Yes, in some cases when an Israelite voluntarily sold himself to a master for a specific period. ESV, Exodus 21:

2 When you buy a Hebrew slave [H5650], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.

War captives could be made permanent slaves. The Israelites could also purchase foreign slaves. Israelite slavery was different from the modern kind of slavery, Exodus 21:

16 Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.

These were serious offenses: capital punishment. According to this Moses law, the Americans who stole black human beings from Africa should be executed and those who bought them and worked them on the US soil should be executed. The Bible does not condone this kind of slavery.

Paul condemns this kind of slave trader in 1 Timothy 1:

8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

Even when an Israelite acquired a slave legally, there was a way out for the slave, Deuteronomy 23:

15 You shall not give up to his master a slave [H5650] who has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

If a slave didn't like his master, he could try to run away. Moses' law was on his side.

Why didn't they all run away?

Working for their masters wasn't so bad. The masters provided food, clothing, lodging, and, in some cases, wives. There were reasonable masters. Also, if they ran away, they risked being caught by their master and punished. ESV, Ex 21:

20 When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.

When you had a bad master, some would try to run away even if they had to die for it. But not everyone did. The system was tolerable for some slaves.

Was slavery in the Bible indentured servitude?

The Hebrew slaves were, but the non-Hebrew slaves were not. Neither of them were of the type of colonial slaves in the 18th century. The Bible did not condone colonial slavery.

Why did the Bible allow any form of slavery at all?

Slavery was part of the ancient system of economy. The Bible focused on the redemption story, obedience, and righteousness. Jesus' concept of freedom was deeper, John 8:

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The Jews thought Jesus was talking about outward freedom.

33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

The opposite of freedom was not slavery but sin. Jesus focused on a deeper meaning of freedom. If a slave believed in Jesus, he was free indeed.

Further, I suspect that God would reward many of the slaves with eternal life while many of the ungenerous slave owners would be punished, Luke 16:

25 But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

Ultimately, God is just when justice is considered from the eternal perspective.

 

[Wrangler]

Slavery was offered to Joseph as the only economic justification for the people to live.

 

[Pearl]

Same reason he 'allows' all bad things. And nobody has a complete answer to that.

 

[Jericho]

Slavery is the kidnapping and selling of men and women, as with the African slave trade. That kind of slavery is explicitly condemned in the Bible:

You shall not steal. (Exd 20:15)

He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death. (Exd 21:16)

If a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; and you shall put away the evil from among you. (Deu 24:7)

There are many reasons why people became slaves, and it wasn't always a black-and-white issue. In the Old Testament, slaves were more akin to indentured servants. People would sometimes sell themselves as slaves if they were unable to provide for themselves or couldn't repay their debts (Lev 25:39–40). In some cases, servants pledged lifelong servitude to their masters by piercing their ears with an awl (Exd 21:5–6). In other cases, people would become slaves as a punishment, and thieves would be sold into slavery if they could not pay for restitution (Exd 22:3). However, being a slave was not always a permanent situation. Servants could buy their freedom, and Hebrew servants who were bought were free to go after seven years, unless they chose to stay, as some did (Exd 21:2).

Servants also had to be treated in an ethical manner. A female servant was guaranteed food, clothing, and marriage rights. If her master did not provide these things for her, she would be free to go (Exd 21:10–11). If a man beat his servant to death, he would be punished for it (Exd 21:20). If a man struck the eye of his servant or knocked out a tooth, the servant was free to leave (Exd 21:26–27). Slaves that ran away from their masters, presumably from mistreatment, could seek asylum in other towns without being punished for it (Deu 23:15).

It was ultimately Christian values that helped put an end to slavery in America. In fact, many of the abolitionists were Christian. We often look at history through the lens of 21st-century ethics. But the ancient world was a very different and harsh place. Becoming an indentured servant was sometimes the only way they could survive.

 

[Pearl]

Slavery is the kidnapping and selling of men and women, as with the African slave trade. That kind of slavery is explicitly condemned in the Bible:



There are many reasons why people became slaves, and it wasn't always a black-and-white issue. In the Old Testament, slaves were more akin to indentured servants. People would sometimes sell themselves as slaves if they were unable to provide for themselves or couldn't repay their debts (Lev 25:39–40). In some cases, servants pledged lifelong servitude to their masters by piercing their ears with an awl (Exd 21:5–6). In other cases, people would become slaves as a punishment, and thieves would be sold into slavery if they could not pay for restitution (Exd 22:3). However, being a slave was not always a permanent situation. Servants could buy their freedom, and Hebrew servants who were bought were free to go after seven years, unless they chose to stay, as some did (Exd 21:2).

Servants also had to be treated in an ethical manner. A female servant was guaranteed food, clothing, and marriage rights. If her master did not provide these things for her, she would be free to go (Exd 21:10–11). If a man beat his servant to death, he would be punished for it (Exd 21:20). If a man struck the eye of his servant or knocked out a tooth, the servant was free to leave (Exd 21:26–27). Slaves that ran away from their masters, presumably from mistreatment, could seek asylum in other towns without being punished for it (Deu 23:15).

It was ultimately Christian values that helped put an end to slavery in America. In fact, many of the abolitionists were Christian. We often look at history through the lens of 21st-century ethics. But the ancient world was a very different and harsh place. Becoming an indentured servant was sometimes the only way they could survive.

Slavery is still going on today with women and girls being used in nail salons controlled by their 'masters.' or as sex workers trafficked for such evil purposes. Why does God 'allow' it?

 

[Jericho]

Slavery is still going on today with women and girls being used in nail salons controlled by their 'masters.' or as sex workers trafficked for such evil purposes. Why does God 'allow' it?

That gets into the whole question of why God allows evil. That would probably take a whole book to answer. But I think a lot of it comes down to free will. With free will comes choice and the ability to choose to do good or evil. God could stop someone from doing evil before they did it, but then we really wouldn't have the freedom of choice. We would just be puppets, with God pulling our strings. God wanted us to have free will, but with choices also come consequences, and we will all have to account for our choices one day.

There may be other reasons, of course, but we also have to look at it from God's perspective. This time that we are living in, where evil is allowed to express itself, is temporal. In eternity's past, there was perfection, and in eternity's future, there will be perfection. We are living in the interim between those two points, and God is working to bring all things back to perfection again. He could just do it instantly, but I think he has to let things play out as an object lesson of sorts. We are witnessing the expression of our will, apart from God's, and all the consequences that it brings. How else could we learn why sin and rebellion are bad if we do not see their repercussions? There are many other things that we can learn from living in this fallen world, such as faith, perseverance, and courage. In a way, this world is like a training course. The lessons we learn here will serve us well into eternity.

 

[quietthinker]

Any kind of slavery is exploitation.
Many things in Israel's history were concessions. Why?, because they would have engaged/ practiced them irrespective.

Insisting on having a King as the Nations around them was another one. It was never intended that way. They copied many of the customs of the nations around them.

The hierarchical way of seeing they were accustomed to, eclipsed the liberation God had in mind for them.

That hierarchical way is intrenched in our culture also; in its paradigms, its treatment of others, its interpretation of scripture.......and we are mostly oblivious to it; we defend it; we love it!