We are in still in Exodus chapter one with our word for today. עָבַד till, toil, work, serve, make someone work, work as a slave. It is used 287 times in the Old Testament, 5 times in our chapter. The basic meaning of our word is to till or work the ground like we see at the beginning. Genesis 4:2 Cain a עֹבֵ֥ד worker of the ground. Work is not a bad thing in and of itself but when someone is forced to work as a slave then it becomes an evil thing. Exodus 6:5-6 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as מַעֲבִדִ֣ים slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם slavery to them. This is how our word is used in our chapter today. Exodus 1:13-14 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel וַיַּעֲבִ֧דוּ work as slaves and made their lives bitter with בַּעֲבֹדָ֣ה hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of עֲבֹדָ֖ה work in the field. In all their עֲבֹ֣דָתָ֔ם work they ruthlessly made them עָבְד֥וּ work as slaves. Even after God frees his people from slavery to the Egyptians we still find it among God’s people. Leviticus 25:44-46 Your male and female וְעַבְדְּךָ֥ slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy עֶ֥בֶד slaves. This instruction from God is not easy for us to understand or explain from our perspective. We have to realize that we are separated by thousands of years and their culture was different than ours. And we also need to consider that God is working with us as sinful people. He starts where we are at and then moves us to where he wants us to end up. There are a lot of things in the Bible that are not God’s heart for us but because he loves us he gives us direction for our life in our current circumstances that are less than ideal. The good news is that even though slavery was a reality in the Old Testament God through the church changed it.
Ephesians 6:7-9 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Did you catch what God just said right here? Both masters and slaves are to serve wholeheartedly just like you were serving the Lord. This is revolutionary it turns everything on its head. Instead of attacking slavery head on he goes to the heart of it and says we should serve each other like we were serving the Lord. In other words, like we were both servants of God or we were like brothers in Christ instead of master and slave. God does the same thing when speaking through Paul in his letter to Philemon. Philemon 8-16 I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul...a prisoner of Christ Jesus...I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains... no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother...a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. Instead of hitting slavery head on again Paul talks about making his appeal out of love instead of commanding him to do it from his position as an Apostle of Christ. He instead appeals to him as a brother and encourages him to also see Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother in Christ. This approach is what changed slavery in the first century. It was the church transforming society through loving each other regardless of roles and titles. God has always been against forcing someone into slavery against their will. We see this clear teaching in 1 Timothy 1:9-11 For slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. So we see that slaver traders or other versions say man stealers in the list of what is against the gospel, against God’s will.
