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.
God keeps His Word
57-0115 §42
And then he said... He got on talking like that. He said, "Jesus was a thief." And I said, " A thief?" He said, "Yes, sir. Your Scripture, what you call the New Testament, said He went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day, and stole corn, and give it to His disciples, wasn't even legal." Said, "You know that." And said, "They're so confused." He said, "He stole corn and give to His disciples and eat it Himself. That makes Him a thief in my way of seeing." I said, "Just a moment, rabbi, I'm surprised at you. Y...
The Resurrection
53-1205 §27
Now, before God sends a message to the earth, God sends Angels sometime as message--messengers to the earth to bring His message. Do you believe in that? God has Angels. Now, sometime ago someone called my hand on that, and said, "Brother Branham," a great fundamental brother, he said, "there's only one flaw that I can find with your message to the people." And I said, "What's that my brother? If it's not Scriptural, then I will get rid of it and repent." He said, "Well, you're always referring to an Angel, and sai...
Blind Bartimaeus
57-0301 §30
Then I read back in the Bible, and I see Joseph, many others in the Bible, that how that Spirit lived back in the Old Testament on men. I see how it lived in the New Testament. How Joseph would see visions, and the prophets would see visions, and how he'd interpret dreams, and the Spirit life of the prophet. I see it over on Paul, Peter, many of the others of the New Testament. And I believe that these two things that I know are the product of these two things I believe. God has sent Christ to the world. He died fo...
Sirs, we would see Jesus
61-1224 §15
The Bible is a history of what God was. So, the history of the Old Testament... The New Testament is a history of the New Testament, and The Nicene Council and Fathers, and Post-Nicene Council is the history of the church then. And now, history is making on, just as it was---which, this history will never be written. No, it's too close to the coming now. And God help a man in these days, people who try to seek human honor, men who try to make themselves popular among human beings. Don't you know that human being, w...
Abraham and his Seed after him
61-0423 §28
Notice. He told Abraham in the fifteenth chapter... You'll notice this, that He told him to take a heifer of three years old, a goat and sheep three years old and split them apart and offer them to Him. And Abraham taken these three animals of three years---as I told you, the three separations, the three like the trinity, and so forth, the three. Now we see that he cut these open and separated them. Then he put two---a turtledove and a young pigeon---in there. He never divided them birds, because from the Old Testa...