“All you Christians who are servants must respect your owners and work hard for them. Do not let the name of God and our teaching be spoken against because of poor work. Those who have Christian owners must respect their owners because they are Christian brothers. They should work hard for them because much-loved Christian brothers are being helped by their work. Teach and preach these things” (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLV).
As we complete our look at the topic of slavery in the Biblical era, we should recognize that God may have allowed the ancient Israelites to acquire slaves from among the surrounding nations to help secure a positive end result. While this may seem counter-intuitive, there is Biblical and practical support for this idea.
For instance, consider the way Joseph, the well-known Biblical personality, responded to an injustice that had once been committed against him: “…you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive…” (Genesis 50:20). By permitting and regulating the practice of slavery among the people of Old Testament Israel, God may have taken a similar approach. (1)
You see, a foreign slave among the Hebrew people would meet the acquaintance of Israel’s God, something that might otherwise be unlikely to occur. He or she would be also be permitted to take part in Israel’s spiritual observances (Exodus 12:43-44) and thus have an opportunity to find the salvation offered by the God of Israel. In this manner, God may have utilized an unjust institution to provide a beneficial result. That benefit comprised an introduction to the one true God and the salvation He offered.
One commentator expands upon this idea with the following insight…
“God’s self-disclosure and direction to his elect nation often accommodated existing cultural aspects. While such accommodation reflects God’s way of dealing with his creation, it does not necessarily imply his ideal will. Slavery is accepted in the Old Testament as part of the world in which Israel functioned. It is not abolished but regulated.
The legal codes for that regulation (Exod. 21; Lev. 25; Deut. 15) and the numerous texts that reflect Israel’s development in this domain indicate an increasing humanization of slavery in contrast to the rest of the ancient Near East. The Hebrew slave was more protected than those of other nationalities. The Old Testament raised the status of the slave from property to that of a human being who happened to be owned by another person…” (2)
(1) See here for a more extensive discussion regarding the manner in which God may utilize evil in pursuit of a greater good.
(2) Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. (1996). In Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.