A Redemptive Movement to Emancipation
One of the bitter-sweet chapters of the Bible is Leviticus 25. Here we find about the Jubilee celebration, which was to be an annual fifty-year holy day, when Yahweh’s people would return to their properties, cancel debts, and rejoice in all the divine blessings bestowed upon them (vv. 1-22). The poor who had to sell part of their property to escape poverty were for the most part able to have a kinsman redeem back what was lost (vv. 25-34). The Israelites were to take care of those who fell into hard times (vv. 35-43). All this was done because all things ultimately belonged to Yahweh (v.v. 22-23). Then, Moses makes this proclamation:
One way of dealing with this Bible difficulty that I found helpful comes from Paul Copan’s Is God a Moral Monster? He contends that Bible readers need to keep in mind the redemptive movement in Scripture. What we find in Scripture is Yahweh entering into a covenant relationship with a people who were deeply affected by the fall. Yahweh met them where they were at, and did not impose legislation that they were not ready for, but introduced changes incrementally, making notable improvements in the immediate, but still moving the community the ideal. God essentially met them where they were at.
When compared to slavery in other Ancient Near Easter (ANE) cultures, the OT law actually had notable improvements. The children of Abraham were not to be bought and sold as slaves. As mentioned, God made laws concerning the treatment of slaves. So the Lord was moving the Israelites towards a better understanding of human dignity but that was not the ideal. It was only a movement toward the idea.
In the New Testament, God moved the Christian community to an even greater understanding of human dignity. Paul declared slaves equal to their masters (Gal 3:28), and encouraged Christian slaves to seek their freedom (1 Cor. 7:20-22). But even this was a movement toward the ideal.
We have a glimpse of the ultimate ideal at the creation in Genesis 1:26-27 “God’s image-bearers live and work together harmoniously and are fairly, graciously treated; they are viewed as full persons and equals; and genuine humanness is restored in Christ, the second Adam/the new man” (Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? 63). Glimpses of the ideal are seen with the emancipation of slaves in Great Britain through the work of William Wilberforce, and Abraham Lincoln in the United States. Still, the ideal has not come for God’s universe, as there are still many dark places in this world where slavery or human trafficking persists. There shall come a time when the Lord Jesus Christ appears a second time, the dead shall be raised, and the cosmos shall be set right—the paradise lost shall be restored. There is still yet to come a new heaven and new earth indwelt with righteousness.
As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. Then, too, it is out of the sons of the sojourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain acquisition, and out of their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. You may even bequeath them to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with severity over one another (vv 44-46).How could the Law of God permit the ownership of slaves? It is true that slaves in Israel were also to bear the identifying mark of circumcision as their masters (Gen. 17:10-14, 27), they could participate in the sacred festivals (Exod. 12:44; Deut. 16:11, 14), and they were also to receive a Sabbath rest (Exod. 20:10, 23:12); still, the thought is unsettling for twenty-first century readers.
One way of dealing with this Bible difficulty that I found helpful comes from Paul Copan’s Is God a Moral Monster? He contends that Bible readers need to keep in mind the redemptive movement in Scripture. What we find in Scripture is Yahweh entering into a covenant relationship with a people who were deeply affected by the fall. Yahweh met them where they were at, and did not impose legislation that they were not ready for, but introduced changes incrementally, making notable improvements in the immediate, but still moving the community the ideal. God essentially met them where they were at.
When compared to slavery in other Ancient Near Easter (ANE) cultures, the OT law actually had notable improvements. The children of Abraham were not to be bought and sold as slaves. As mentioned, God made laws concerning the treatment of slaves. So the Lord was moving the Israelites towards a better understanding of human dignity but that was not the ideal. It was only a movement toward the idea.
In the New Testament, God moved the Christian community to an even greater understanding of human dignity. Paul declared slaves equal to their masters (Gal 3:28), and encouraged Christian slaves to seek their freedom (1 Cor. 7:20-22). But even this was a movement toward the ideal.
We have a glimpse of the ultimate ideal at the creation in Genesis 1:26-27 “God’s image-bearers live and work together harmoniously and are fairly, graciously treated; they are viewed as full persons and equals; and genuine humanness is restored in Christ, the second Adam/the new man” (Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? 63). Glimpses of the ideal are seen with the emancipation of slaves in Great Britain through the work of William Wilberforce, and Abraham Lincoln in the United States. Still, the ideal has not come for God’s universe, as there are still many dark places in this world where slavery or human trafficking persists. There shall come a time when the Lord Jesus Christ appears a second time, the dead shall be raised, and the cosmos shall be set right—the paradise lost shall be restored. There is still yet to come a new heaven and new earth indwelt with righteousness.
Comments
Post a Comment