Jeremiah 34:9 Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.
Exodus 21:2-4 21:2 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.
21:3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him.
21:4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
Deuteronomy 15:12 If any of your peopleHebrew men or women sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free.
Leviticus 25:39-4525:39 If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.
25:40 They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee.
25:41 Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors.
25:42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves.
25:43 Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.
25:44 Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.
25:45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.
Deuteronomy 15:15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.One of the final new commands from God in Jeremiah is the renunciation of slavery (Jer. 34:9). The Law of Moses required Hebrew slaves to be set free after six years of service (Exodus 21:2-4, Deuteronomy 15:12). Adults could sell themselves, and parents could sell their children, into servitude for six years. After that they must be released (Leviticus 25:39-46). In theory, it was a more humane system than the serfdom or chattel slavery known in the modern era. But it was abused by masters who simply ignored the requirement to set slaves free at the end of the term, or who continually re-enrolled slaves into a lifetime of consecutive six-year terms (Jer. 34:16-17).
Lesson
Jeremiah is remarkable because it called for an immediate release of all slaves, without regard to how long they had been enrolled. And more dramatically, it provided that “No one should hold slaves, so that they would not be enslaved again. In other words, it was the abolition of slavery, at least with respect to Jews having Jewish slaves. It is not clear whether this was meant to be a permanent abolition, or whether it was a response to the extreme circumstances of impending military defeat and exile. In any case, it was not enforced for long, and the masters soon re-enslaved their former slaves. But it is a breathtaking economic advance — or it would have been if it had stuck.
From the beginning, God had prohibited life-long, involuntary slavery among Jews because “you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you” (Deuteronomy 15:15). In other words, Our Heavenly Father does not approve of any slavery of any kind. How did Our Heavenly Father keep slavery from happening again. But in Jeremiah 34, God added a new factor: “granting a release to your neighbors and friends” That is, the humanity of the slaves — referred to by terming them “neighbors and friends” — demanded that they be released. They deserved freedom because they were — or should have been — beloved members of the community. This went beyond religious or racial classification, for people of different religions and races could be friends and neighbors to one another. It had nothing to do with being descendants of the particular nation — Israel — that God set free out of Egypt. Slaves should be set free simply because they were humans, just like their masters and the communities around them.
This underlying principle still applies. The millions of people still enslaved in the world urgently need to be released simply because of their humanity. Moreover all workers — not just those bound to their work in slavery — should be treated as “neighbors and friends.” This principle applies as strongly against inhumane working conditions, violation of workers’ civil rights, unjust discrimination, sexual harassment, and the host of lesser ills as much as it does against slavery, per se. Anything we wouldn’t subject our neighbors to, anything we wouldn’t tolerate happening to our closest friends, we shouldn’t tolerate in our companies, organizations, communities and societies, either. To the degree Christians shape the environment in our workplaces, we are under the same mandate as the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s time.
Comment: We hope all those who read this are thankful for the slaves, most of them built the united states, many do not know this. We are so thankful to the lord that everyone is free to be in the free world.
Closing prayer: Heavenly Father we thank you for freeing all the slaves or having them freed, and we thank you for this celebration day. We pray all who read it understand it. That they will honor those that have been slaves before them, if they are still around. We pray this in the name of Our lord and savior.
Prayer for salvation; Lord Jesus; Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and I know you will answer my prayers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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