Slavery….

This may come to as a shock to many, but I have not found a place in scripture that condemns or condones slavery. It was a way of life. Maybe it’s just misapplication of the concept, slavery, or just the misinterpretation of the word that’s the issue. Slavery was an economic practice. It was a political practice. It was a social practice. The thing that God condemns is evil practices. How we treat others is what matters to God. Slavery was both, in some instances, acceptable (allowed) and unacceptable (not allowed). When it involved voluntary mutual agreement, it worked and benefitted both parties (called bond servants). When it was through oppression and evil, it was eventually punished (nations capturing other nations and making them slaves). An example of this would be Egypt and the Israelites. Another would be here in Amos. God says He would punish the people of Gaza. They sold entire villages as slaves to Edom. This would fall under the oppression and evil category of slavery. Again, this just shows you, what the world sees and interprets as evil, may not always be 100% accurate. God has established boundaries and procedures, and sometimes things that are considered “wrong” by the world, fall within these boundaries, and are permitted. On the opposite end of this, is the fact that God doesn’t tolerate evil behavior very long. He punishes it. The way we treat people with the power we’ve been given is the real issue. I wish people could see this in their confusion of trying to interpret the world without God.

6 This is what the Lord says: “The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sent whole villages into exile, selling them as slaves to Edom. Amos 1:6