ESCAPE TO FREEDOM

Brutal treatment has led many slaves to fight for freedom. In the first century B.C.E., the gladiator Spartacus and some 10,000 slaves staged an unsuccessful rebellion against Rome. In the 18th century, slaves on the  Caribbean island of Hispaniola rose up against their masters. The appalling treatment the slaves had suffered on the sugar plantations sparked a 13-year-long civil war that finally led to the formation of the independent nation of Haiti in 1804. 

The Israelite's Exodus from Egypt, however, must surely count as the most successful escape from slavery in all history.  Possibly three million people-an entire nation-were liberated from slavery in Egypt. They certainly deserved their freedom.  The Bible describes their life in Egypt a being under "harsh conditions in every form of slavery."  (Exodus 1:11-14)  One Pharaoh even launched a campaign of infanticide to control the growing Israelite population. -Exodus 1:8-22. 

The Israelites' release from their unjust treatment in Egypt was unique because God himself intervened.  "I well know the pains they suffer," God told Moses.   "I will go down to rescue them."  (Exodus 3:7, 8)  To this day, Jews everywhere celebrate the Passover each year to commemorate that event. -Exodus 12:14. 

Next time: THE FINAL ABOLITION OF SLAVERY

From the Watchtower magazine