Slavery Discussion

Q: I need some biblical counsel. I’ve recently been rather shaken by the obstacle of slavery in the Bible.

I’ve always defended scripture rather relentlessly online, and I thought I had all the right answers, but even still, believing fully that God is opposed to slavery, why does the Bible not say this more clearly, so that such a deep level of theological understanding is not required to grasp the concept. Why did God allow such a practice in Israel when he as God would see the practice as evil. Why did Paul not condemn it either when he had the chance? It is left up to our own understanding to grasp the deeper idea, that to treat one another as I want to be treated and to love thy neighbor as thyself, means definitively, that God’s moral teachings is incompatible with slavery, but why does he not seem to say so in the text directly. 

Edit: Also if it's volunteered labor hen why did the plagues have to come upon pharaoh for him to let the people of Israel go?

A year ago I had a similar trouble grasping the roles of men and women in marriage and how we were different but also equals in God’s eyes. Yet that issue was much easier to resolve since there is more scriptural explination for that conversation than this - that I can see.  Can help me better understand this?

A: Scripture doesnt say God is oppoaed to slavery. But we have to understand it rightly to grasp it...

Theres a diff between 1. kidnapping and enslaving vs 2. putting yourself into slavery. In Bible times (generally) slavery was voluntary -- like a job and a boss situation. It's how they survived or paid off debts. But there were other kinds too. Not of kidnapping kind; which God said deserves death penalty. What Africa did by kidnapping and selling their people to nations in the world (Arab nations too, was wrong) just ask enslaving Irish was wrong. I am sure many Africans enslaved were criminals who were sold into slavery as a lifetime punishment, which would be legitimate judgment by courts just as hard labor or death penalty was. But we don't know who was who as far as that goes.  

The other kinds of slavery to look at are 3. Nations people were conquered and enslaved. Or 4. God sent the people to be enslaved as punishment, for a time. 

So were Hebrews stolen, conquered, sent away in judgment, or did they volunteer to be slaves due to a reason (such as famine, to survive)? Look at the story of Joseph. 

And after all those generations there in Egypt... Pharoah his nation were run by the lowly work of the Hebrews, but there was a later point where they were wrongly mistreated and wrongly treated harshly (for fear of them uniting and rebelling /leaving). But God was about to remove them from Egypt. All those years Pharoah & Egypt were greatly benefiting from them as a workforce ...and if they leave the nation would collapse. Their people enjoyed life and lived in comfort not having to do lowly jobs because of the Hebrew skaves. So he didn't want to lose them, and so chose to make them fearful to even think of leaving. He was basically kidnapping them to confine them and not treat them as a worker-boss relationship contract they orig. entered into. Things got worse there for the Hebrews near the end, till God forced Pharoah to let them go. And God punished Pharoah and Eygypt for the wrong done to the Hebrews (His people). 

Look at the videos here for more on this topic and history of world slavery.

Related points about slavery to be aware of. 

And the 1st 3 links here explain too.

This should provide the answer to your question.