If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. Exodus 21:2
People who falsely claim that the Bible supports the institution of slavery should read – and reread – today’s text. And then read the rest of the Scriptures regarding this issue. Rather than endorsing slavery, the Scriptures introduce a system whereby Israelites could support and protect each other. The Bible is the world’s best authority on social justice.
Our text speaks of a case where a Hebrew servant is bought. This is not referring to buying a slave, although a few Bible versions mistranslate the word ‘servant’ as ‘slave’. They are wrong, as is made very clear in Leviticus 25:39-43. Such a servant is not to be treated as a bondservant or slave, but as a hired servant, presumably for wages. And he is specifically not to be treated harshly. And he is to serve only until the year of Jubilee, no more than six years. The reason for such a sale was to provide his impoverished family with money to live on when the poor man was destitute. That system worked far better than today’s welfare systems.
In the Bible, you and I have a perfect guide as to how we should conduct every aspect of our lives. We learn how to handle all of our personal relationships with our parents, our spouse, our siblings, and our children. We learn the way God wants us to treat each member of our Assembly, including respect and honour for the aged, support and care for the younger, and submission to the oversight. We learn the proper attitude toward our neighbours, our employer or employees, and the government. We also learn godly principles in financial management, among many other things.
Read your Bible; as a guide book, you will find none better. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/PCAR_rVARgM