39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile.
41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.
46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
49 Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
55 For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 25: 39-55 KJV
See the links below for an interesting history and NT reference to slavery by John Macarthur:
I hope you took the time to read both of the above links; they were eye opening to me. When I wanted to disprove the significance of the Bible for myself, Leviticus seemed a place to turn to. Slavery seemed to be a system without reproach, in all of God's word, and why is that? Why didn't Jesus come out strongly against this institution? Was civilization, in my time, not more advanced and evolved? I mean, no one I know owns slaves, and it is illegal in this country.
Many slaves back then were servants of an occupying power; they were kept alive after war and became free labor for their captors. Some, as we see here, were fallen on hard times and sold themselves into bond in order to pay off debt or survive. They were also turned loose from their service in the year of jubilee, no matter how long they had served prior to that year.
It was a system, and some chose to stay slaves after their service was up, but why? Well, in Roman times slaves often held positions of respect, friendship with their masters and lived in the same dwelling. They were like contract, salaried employees, but shared the same roof, food, clothing and some money above that. Their families were taken care of for as long as they lived with the land owner and they supervised the day laborers. The day laborer was paid by the day he worked, and if there was no work then there was no pay. He had less security, but he was a free man. The problem with this system, as so many others, is that it relies on someone of a higher position doing what's right regarding those subject to him. I always prefer the system that looks well upon the rights of individuals, rather than trusting in the "inherent goodness" of my fellow man. Slavery, communism and socialism do not take enough into account the depravity of men. "Trust me or trust us, we have your best interest at heart. I am or we are the answer, just sign over your freedoms." They will attack a constitutional government and it's constitution, because a constitution recognizes that the majority can also be wrong. There is in the end no perfect system here, and a change of heart, humility, the love of God and wisdom are greater than any political promise.
Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you, but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. 22For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. 23You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men 1 Corinthians 7:21-23
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