Slavery

Israel in Bondage - Exodus 1:1 – 1:14 (commentary)

Exodus records Israel’s birth as a nation. During their time in Egypt, one Hebrew family of seventy persons rapidly multiplies. This small group of people develops into an infant nation numbering between two and three million who God protects, feeds and nurtures. The key fi …

Moses First Confrontation With Pharaoh - Exodus 5:1 – 5:9 (commentary)

After Moses and Aaron (both in their eighties) had talked with the Jewish leaders, they went to Pharaoh and asked him to let the people go (v. 1). In those days Pharaoh was the most powerful king on earth. He must have been very surprised that anyone would dare to speak to him th …

Joy Was Replaced by Sadness And Mourning - Lamentations 5:7 – 5:18 (commentary)

Judah’s forefathers, now dead, grievously disobeyed God and passed on to their descendants the penalty of their transgressions (v. 7). Although the people now are not innocent they do recognize the previous generations’ sins and their effect. Babylon appointed cruel taskmasters w …

Slavery Was Common in The Early Church - Colossians 3:22 – 3:25 (commentary)

In the early church slavery was an established institution and the Christian owed complete obedience to his master. In fact, servants were to strive to do a better job because they were Christians (v.22). At least half of the people were slaves. Many of them carried great respon …

Living Under Authority - Ephesians 6:5 – 6:9 (commentary)

Paul is this Ephesian passage is telling servants to be obedient because they are really serving Christ and because doing a good job is the will of God (vv. 5-7). Slaves played a significant part in this society. There were probably over 6 million slaves in the Roman Empire in th …

The Principles of Slavery - Deuteronomy 15:12 – 15:23 (commentary)

Moses teaches Israel the principles of the Hebrew bond- slave and the conditions for setting him free (vv. 12-18). The Lord had previously made it clear that six full years of a person’s life were enough to have to work as a slave for defaulting on a loan (Exodus 21:2). At the end of that time ...