Some of the Christian faith have a peculiar habit of trying to be God's defense attorney for the crime of Hebrew slavery.
Trust me, He doesn't need your legal advice and their really is no need to defend this practice which was more or less normalized in ancient culture. I'd like to offer a different perspective that suggests the God of the Bible did not endorse slavery but like divorce was instead tolerated.
God suffered the ancient Israelites to do things due to the hardness of their own hearts and this is no exception.
Matthew 19:3-9 KJVS
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? [4] And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, [5] And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? [6] Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. [7] They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? [8] He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. [9] And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
For instance, He permitted them to put away their wives but not for any reason. He explicitly said it was only permissible in the case of adultery. This is not to suggest the course was in any way the ideal because the God of Israel hates divorce.
In like fashion, God knew the Israelites would subject their conquered foes to forced labor / forms of servitude. Because He knew they would do this thing, there were requirements so they would be treated humanely.
This is is stark contrast to other ancient civilizations of the time that engaged in slavery like the Assyrians who were most brutal. I recently read an article about their practices to flay the skin of many prisoners of war.
We don't have to vindicate the Hebrews for their deeds in the OT. The narrative itself demonstrates how wayward they were as a people.
Seeing their failures reflects our own in any attempt at keeping the laws of Moses. No matter what we do. Our efforts our tainted by the imputed sin of our federal head Adam.
Note: When one considers obedience to the law of Moses aka the Decalogue or more commonly the "Ten Commandments" from a Old Testament perspective, it may seem a trivial thing to keep said laws but the Scriptures reveal that it is not so simple nor easy.
For example, does it mean all we have to do is not simply not murder to keep the fifth commandment "Thou Shall Not Kill"? On the contrary, Christ teaches us that obeying the letter of the law is not enough and that the law even extents to the thoughts of our heart. If we hate our fellow man, we are then murderers at heart.
How many times in a moment of anger have your wishes ill upon someone? It doesn't matter how much of a jerk that person was that cut you off in traffic when it comes to Mosaic law obedience. /Note
We fail even to the slightest degree and we are then transgressors of the law. Remember, the biblical standard for morality is absolute and perfect just like His justice which must be satisfied by blood (death) according to the Scriptures.
Ezekiel 18:20 KJVS
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
This is why we needed a savior not born of man, who was able to keep the law to perfection and offer the sacrifice suitable to atone for the sins of His people via the righteousness that is imputed through His death on the Cross.
In case you didn't know, in addition to coding and tech, I also engage in a bit of armchair theology. Just another facet of my person but hope I help others to think in a different way concerning the popular conception of this thing we call the gospel.
SolideoGloria!
This post was created using the @eSteem Mobile Android App.
They also have a referral program that promotes users to onboard to our great chain. Sign up using my referral link to help support my efforts to improve the Steem blockchain.
Ditch Partiko and get eSteem today!
| PlayStore - Android | Windows, Mac, Linux |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| AppStore - iOS | Web |
 |
 |