Why Did God Allow Slavery in the Old Testament and Barely Says Anything About It in the New Testament?
1) Direct answer
God never endorsed cruel, man-stealing slavery. In the Old Testament He stepped into a fallen world and put strict limits, mercy, and release into a system already present, pointing Israel toward redemption and brotherly love. In the New Testament He went to the root—changing the heart by the new birth—so the gospel dissolves slavery from the inside by making master and slave brothers in Christ. The Scriptures address it, but the aim is salvation and holy conduct, not political revolt.
2) Scriptural explanation
- God forbids man‑stealing and trafficking:
- “He that stealeth a man…shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:16; cf. 1 Timothy 1:10).
- Israel’s servitude was tightly regulated and tempered with mercy:
- Release for Hebrew servants in the seventh year with generosity (Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:12-15).
- “You shall not rule over him with rigor; but shall fear your God” (Leviticus 25:43).
- Protection for the vulnerable and the stranger; do not oppress, love him as yourself (Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 10:19).
- An escaped slave was not to be returned or oppressed (Deuteronomy 23:15-16).
- When Israel refused to release servants, God rebuked and judged them (Jeremiah 34:13-17).
- God’s purpose was redemption, not bondage:
- Israel was redeemed from Egypt’s slavery (Exodus 20:2), and God says, “They are my servants…you shall not rule over him with rigor” (Leviticus 25:42-43).
- The New Testament plants the freedom principle in Christ:
- “There is neither bond nor free…all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
- If you can be made free, rather use it (1 Corinthians 7:21-22).
- Masters must give what is just and equal, knowing they have a Master in heaven (Colossians 4:1; Ephesians 6:9).
- A slave is received “no longer as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved” (Philemon 15-16).
- The Lord’s program is liberty: “He hath sent me to preach deliverance to the captives” (Luke 4:18). “If the Son…make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Now notice: God met people where they were, in a hard world, and fenced in the existing system with justice, time limits, generosity, and protection. That is not approval of oppression; it is restraint and guidance toward mercy.
- You see, the law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). As with divorce, certain concessions existed “because of the hardness of your hearts,” but from the beginning it was not so. God’s heart is redemption and brotherhood.
- In the New Testament, the Church does not wield the sword of the state; it wields the Word and the Spirit. So the Lord dealt with the root—sin in the heart. When a master and a servant are both born again, fear and force give way to love and equality in Christ. You cannot rightly enslave the one you now recognize as your brother for whom Christ died.
- If God approved of cruel slavery, why is man‑stealing a capital crime (Exodus 21:16)? Why command love to the stranger (Leviticus 19:34)? Why require release and generosity (Deuteronomy 15:13-15)? The answer is clear: God was moving His people from bondage to freedom, both naturally and spiritually.
4) Reinforcing statement
The Old Testament restrained a fallen practice; the New Testament removes its roots. The gospel sets men free—first in the soul, then in their relations—until love fulfills the law.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Jehovah-Jireh
56-1209E §23
So, I said... He kept on saying different things. I said, "Well, now, brother, I want to ask you something." I said, "Will you believe that, (leaving aside---or---the atonement), do you believe it was in the Word? Like Mark 11:24, 'Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray believe.'" Oh, he said, "It's in the Word." That's when he hung himself, see. He said, "It was in the Word." I said, "But, not in the atonement." "That's right." I said, "Oh, brother. You mean that God put it in the New Testament here that "wha...
What house will you build me?
65-1121 §9
And now, if the Old Testament had to be drove from ... the writer had to be drove from his people into the wilderness, to get inspiration to write the Old Testament; and in the New Testament the writer was drove by the Author into a desert place to get the inspiration to write the New Testament; and the books are sealed with seven seals, it would also require the same, I believe, in these days to open those Seven Seals. To leave what you hold dear, to what you cherish, a little home that was given me by the people,...
Going beyond the camp
64-0719E §68
Jesus of the New Testament was Jehovah of the Old. Exactly right! I believe, as I was telling you here now, sometime ago or somewhere in a meeting; it might not have been here, Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New. You remember the when I was going squirrel hunting that morning, and there it was, them three big stems run into one out there, right on the mountain, we standing there looking at it. And I drew up close and took off my hat, laid down my rifle. Got up there, and a voice shook the woods, said,...
Israel and the Church: Israel at the Red Sea, part 2
53-0327 §7
Now, I believe I'm ... I like ... and have been accused of being, and which I am, a typologist, because I believe that all of the old things were a shadow of the things to come. The Scripture teaches that. And if we can have some vision, and look what the Old Testament was, we'll see what the Old Testament is ... or, what the New Testament is, rather. See, the type. They were for shadows and for examples, that we might know what to do. See how they fell, and how they rose, and what they did as they served God; and...
Hebrews, Chapter 4
57-0901E §3
Then we find out the real supreme deity of Jesus Christ. The whole Book here is just a revelation of Jesus Christ, and He come... We find that "in sundry times and in divers manners, God spoke to the fathers through the prophets; in this last days through His Son, Christ Jesus." He has revealed Himself. And the Book from Genesis to Revelation is nothing but one constant, perpetual revelation of the Lord Jesus. And we find out that He was the One that was in the burning bush. We find out that He was the One that was...