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Is it okay to beat your slaves or even have slaves in the first place?

Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property. (Exodus 21:20–21)

This question is without doubt one of two or three difficult questions in the Bible. I mean proper difficult, not assumed difficult like most of the others which Bible sceptics like to use which are generally easy to deal with.

So my point here in saying this is if this is as hard as it gets in the attack against the Bible then if this passage can be explained then this shows there is nothing to fear from any of the other assaults against the Bible.

Let us look at a few details around the subject of slavery before we address the question of beating your slaves.

Firstly slavery in the Bible is not the same as we see slavery today. Today we see slavery as someone who is kidnapped against there will and then forceable sold to some one else or forced to serve the kidnapper. This is actually condemned in the very chapter that we are looking at in verse 16 which says “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession”

Also slavery has also become to be of a racial nature where people of a black skin were/are considered to be a lesser being and thus were considered to have less human rights.

Secondly it is Christian organisations that have been the champions of fighting slavery. When it was made illegal in the UK, it was brought about by the work of an MP called William Wilberforce who had converted to Christianity earlier in his life. There are many more examples that can be given of Christians leading the fight against slavery.

Thirdly the Old Testament law does touch on the issue of slavery, including several laws about it. Most of these laws were actually proscriptive (imposing restraints or restrictions). Because slavery was a common part of life at that time, it would have been only natural for God to make rules on how slaves were to be treated.

For the Jewish culture people became slaves by two causes. One was as a result of war and the other was because someone had fallen on hard times and had become destitute.

If someone was destitute they could sell themselves into slavery to get money to pay off their debts. This would last for 6 years and then as it says in Exodus 21:2 they were released “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything.”

So to the question – what does Exodus 21:20-21 mean?

Could Masters Harm Their Slaves?

Again, these laws against harming slaves are proscriptive. Most (if not all) other nations had no such laws (until the time of the Greeks and Romans) regarding slaves, viewing them merely as property. In the minds of most ancient cultures, it appears that if slaves were abused, mistreated, and even killed, there were no consequences.

But in Israel, if you hit a slave and knocked his tooth out or damaged his eye, you had to set him free (Exodus 21:26–27). Clearly you were not to harm your slaves, and this is the context of the passage mentioned above:

Rather than focusing solely on the second part of the verse, let’s examine the first part. The slave owner would be punished if he beat his slave to death. If the Mosaic Law is followed, this could include the death penalty for murder (Exodus 21:12). Do you not think this was a severe incentive to make sure that people did not beat their slaves? Again, the law in this was proscriptive meant to make people think of the consequences of their actions and impose penalties on violation. To imply that this encourages masters to restrain their beating only to the point that the servant didn’t immediately die is nonsense.

While this may seem scandalous to our modern Western mindset, until quite recently, corporal punishment was the norm, even in the military for those who were insubordinate to authority. However, if the slave owner did permanent damage (i.e., damaged an eye or tooth), the slave walked away free, so there was certainly incentive for a master to not be overly harsh in his punishment. Now, again, think of these laws as boundary laws that God instituted in a civil society so that people could not attain the depths of depravity that the surrounding nations practiced. It was God putting a limit on mankind’s evil propensities and punishing cruelty and greed, not God condoning slavery.

Interpret Scripture with Scripture

And, as always, we must interpret Scripture with Scripture. The New Testament letters are full of admonitions to both masters and slaves. In fact, one of the New Testament books is written to a slave owner (Philemon) with instructions on how he should treat his runaway slave (Onesimus) when they met again. Masters are commanded to treat their slaves justly and fairly, without threatening them, remembering that they themselves are slaves of a heavenly Master (Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1). Likewise, they are to remember that believing slaves are fellow brothers (Philemon 1:16).

Slaves are to obey their masters (Colossians 3:22), just as they obey Christ (Ephesians 6:5), even if their masters are harsh or unjust (1 Peter 2:18) – note with this verse that we may get a beating even when haven’t done anything wrong. They are to do this “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive” (Titus 2:9–10) and because, if their master is a fellow brother, they benefit from their work as beloved brothers (1 Timothy 6:1–2). If a Christian was a slave when he was saved, he is not to be concerned about that, though if he can gain his freedom he is to do so (1 Corinthians 7:21). But believers must remember that we are all equal in our standing before Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, or slave or free (Galatians 3:28).

All of Us Are Slaves

There’s a reason many of those who fought vehemently against slavery here in the West, and many of those who still fight against modern slavery and trafficking, were and are Christians. The gospel and God’s Word speak of our equality, brotherhood, and unique status as image bearers of the Creator (Genesis 1:27). Indeed, although the New Testament does not prohibit slavery, it made it much harder for a believing master to continue to own a slave who was a Christian brother or sister. A logical progression for a believing slave owner would be to question whether God wanted him to own another Christian as property, particularly in light of such passages as Galatians 3:28–29; Ephesians 6:8; and Colossians 3:9–11. And since Christ commanded the gospel to be preached everywhere, a slave owner who owned non-Christian slaves would be compelled to tell them of Christ and to act Christlike toward them, which would likely mean improving their slaves’ ability to sustain themselves and/or setting them free as they were able. Slavery, especially how we know it today, goes against the very heart of the gospel, and Christians should oppose it and seek to help those who are victims of trafficking.

God’s Word talks about another form of slavery, a slavery that brings death. That is slavery to sin (Romans 6:17). Every one of us, apart from Christ, is a slave to sin, deserving of death (Romans 6:23). But Jesus didn’t leave us in our destitute condition. He stepped into history and paid the price for our redemption by his death on the cross (Galatians 3:13). When he stated, “It is finished!” on the cross (John 19:30), he was saying the sin debt had been paid and redemption had been purchased. Praise God the sin debt we could never pay has been paid by the precious blood of Jesus (1 Peter 1:18–19). Those who trust in him are freed from slavery to sin (Romans 6:18).

The message of the gospel—and its reminder that we were all once slaves—should make us want to spread the gospel and fight against modern, physical slavery. The ultimate answer is not just in societal reform or making it harder for traffickers to kidnap and traffic their victims (though we should certainly try to do so). The ultimate answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ that frees people from slavery to sin and changes hearts and lives for eternity.

But! There is more – there is always more in God’s word than we see at first.

As stated above we are all slaves but that was referring to being slaves to sin (unless Jesus has set us free). If we are no longer a slave to sin then we are a slave to God. Bob Dylan sung in the late 1970s a song called “Gotta serve somebody.” In this song he sings “it may be the devil or it may be the Lord but you gotta serve somebody” and this is so true. We are either serving God or we are serving the Devil. If we come to God through Jesus then we become his property “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthian 6:19-20).

The book of Job is considered to be the first book of the Bible written, even before Moses wrote the book of Genesis and in there we read this “The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”” Does that not sound like the verse in Exodus 21? Job who was a good man and doer of good works suffered terribly at the hands of Satan. He lost everything accept his wife and his life and why. So that God could give us through his story the book of Job. Spoiler – he got it all back and more at the end of the book.

We are his property so he can do exactly what he wants with us. If we are disobedient he can beat us with a rod – I have been beaten with a rod (not literally a rod) by God for my own good. On other occasions I haven’t even though it would have been the just thing for God to do. God’s ways are above our ways and he acts with us as he sees fit.

If you are a Muslim reading this you will know that if you become a Christian, that life could become very difficult for you and it could cost you your life. I know of an Iranian man who became a Christian and managed to escape to the UK but he had to leave his family including his wife behind. His brother also became a Christian but he didn’t escape. He was hung from a crane in an Iranian prison as an apostate. Do they have regrets – of course. Would they make a different choice if they could go back – definitely not. You can read this in John 6 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.(verse 67)”

I can not leave it like this!

The purpose of this website is not about exposing the lies and deceit of your particular belief and then leave with no hope and nothing to believe in and no purpose in your life. While it may be a good thing to realise it if you have been lied to too or deceived, this does not mean there is no truth out there.

There is truth and something that you can believe in and commit to and it will change your life – not just for now but for all eternity. Now I am not saying all your problems and troubles will disappear while you are alive in this present world but what you can have is a peace that is greater than your worldly problems. I want to be clear on this – for some people, becoming a Christian could make your life a lot harder. But despite all this, you can have a purpose in your life despite what circumstances you find yourself in. You can have a real fellowship with the living God and actually have God himself dwelling inside you by His Holy Spirit. No one ever regrets becoming a Christian. In the end we will spend eternity with Jesus in paradise. As Paul said “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17). If you read the book of Acts and see what Paul went through, it is remarkable that he would describe them as “light and momentary troubles.”

The good news is that free and available to all of mankind. You don’t have to be clever or rich or gifted or be from a certain family or country. Anyone can receive it.

The Bible tells you all you have to do is “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” That is taken from Acts 16:31. One of the most famous verses from the Bible has the same message, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

There are actually a lot of Bible verses that have the same message about salvation being free and simple but I will quote just one more on this which is Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

It is a very important principle to grasp that we can bring nothing to our salvation. It is a gift from God by His grace and we can not add any of our own works to it.

So what to do now?

Of course you can simply just commit your life to Jesus by asking him to forgive all your sins, and asking Him into your life as your Lord. Making Him your Lord will mean that you allow Him to be the Lord of all your life, which means you seek his will in all you do. On occassions you will fail to obey him, but "If we confess our sins,he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1John1:9)." If you feel you are not ready to take that step but would like to know more, I would recommend getting hold or download the Bible and start reading it. I would suggest starting in the New Testament but all of the Bible is good for you. It would also be helpful for you to find a good church and go along and ask all those questions that you would love to get answers to.