THE FINAL ABOLITION OF SLAVERY

"With Jehovah our God there is no injustice," says the Bible, and it assures us that he has not changed.  (2 Chronicles 19:7; Malachi 3:6)  God sent Jesus to "proclaim liberty to the captives . . . , and to send the crushed one away free."  (Luke 4:18) Did this mean freedom for every literal slave?  Apparently not.  Jesus was sent to liberate people from bondage to sin and death.  He later declared:  "The truth will set you free."  (John 8:32)  Even today, the truth that Jesus taught liberates people in many ways. 

Actually, God did help Joseph and Blessing to escape from slavery in different ways.you can find Joseph's extraordinary account in chapters 39-41 of the Bible book of Genesis. Blessing's quest for freedom was not less remarkable.

After being expelled from one European country, Blessing went to Spain. There she met Jehovah's Witnesses and began to study the Bible with them. Determined to straighten out her life, she got a regular job and convinced her former madam to lower her monthly debt payments.  One day, Blessing got a phone call from the madam.  She want to pardon Blessings  debt and to ask for her forgiveness. What had happened? She too had started to study the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses!  "The truth sets you free in amazing ways," says Blessing.

Jehovah God felt grieved by the harsh treatment of Israelite slaves in Egypt; he must feel the same way about similar injustice today. True, to end all forms of slavery will require a huge change in human society. But God promises to bring about just such a change.  "There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell." -2 Peter 3:13. 

Next time: Is Celibacy a Requirement for Christian Ministers?

From the Watchtower magazine