The Stain of Slavery

One of the greatest pains in my heart over the history of the church is the fact that many "Bible-believing" Christians used the Bible to promote, continue, and enable slavery in America's past. It may have happened elsewhere, but I'm an American, and I know it happened here. Then, some repeatedly make the claim because of a tiny amount of verses where God informs Israel on how to take slaves, it means the Bible is a pro-slavery document. How absurd. The overarching narrative of the Bible is that God sets the slaves free. The second book testifies to this part of God's character. 

Getting to Jeremiah's day, one of the reasons Israel's nation was handed over to exile was because they enslaved each other. This attitude was so engrained into the culture of Israel that they had a hard time giving up slavery even in the face of national catastrophe. 

In Jeremiah 34, the king is promised that he will die in Babylon, but he will die in peace.

Jeremiah 34:3–5 (ESV) You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ 4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” ’ For I have spoken the word, declares the LORD.”

A few verses later, we see a national revival taking place. The people covenant with the Lord to obey and set free their slaves.

Jeremiah 34:8–10 (ESV) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, 9 that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. 10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free.

Yet one verse later, they were at it again. 

Jeremiah 34:11 (ESV) But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.

Jeremiah receives a word from the Lord instantly. They have forsaken the covenant and profaned His name. Therefore, terrible judgment is inevitable. 

Jeremiah 34:17–19 (ESV) “Therefore, thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the LORD. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf.

God hates when we abuse each other for our own gain. The people of Israel showed the world that liberty for you should inevitably lead to liberty for everyone around you. 

Which brings me to our own day. Are there people you're not letting go in terms of forgiveness? Are there people you still harbor ill will against for what they've done? It's time to for forgiveness before the bitterness of that sin destroys your own soul. 

God set you free to set free countless others. The world is counting on us. Let's begin.