The simple answer is God does NOT make either slavery or polygamy lawful. We will shortly see how slavery was tolerated as an institution and polygamy was outright wrong in God’s eyes.
First Slavery. The slavery of the Bible was different then our modern conception of it. There were in fact three kinds of slaves in the Bible and it is important to understand their distinctive. 1) An Israelite could voluntarily become a servant (slave) to another Israelite to ward off poverty. These types of slaves were guaranteed by law to be able to observe the 7th year sabbatical and the fiftieth-year jubilee release (Ex. 21:2-6; Lev. 25:10, 38-41. The 2nd) form of slavery was when an Israelite took a non-Israelite as a slave by purchasing them or capturing them in war. These slaves were protected against oppression and did not participate in the Jubilee year or the 50-year jubilee release (Lev. 25:8-17, 44-46 and Ex. 22:21; 23:9). 3) An Israelite might sell themselves to a non-Israelite as a security against a debt. In this category a slave could be redeemed at any time by a relative and were mandatorily freed in the jubilee year (Lev. 25:47-55). Conversely all the slaves in each of these three categories had the Sabbath day off and could participate in the religious festivals.
Slavery was much different in the past. In many ways it was more of being an indentured servant and the laws did protect against cruelty, even to foreign slaves.
Paul tells us In Gal. 3:28 that we are all one in Christ, neither free nor slave. Unfortunately, slavery was a part of the Roman Empire and under the Romans slaves had no rights of any kind. The Roman system was cruel and was meant to be cruel. The Roman system of slavery was vastly different than the Old Testament rules and regulations which were set for ancient Israel. The early church had to work within the legal system of the time.
For us we know our freedom comes from Christ (I Cor. 7:22) and whether bond or free we are one in Christianity (I Cor. 12:13). It is Christ who will set us free.
Paul wrote a wonderful letter to Philemon, a Christian slave owner. Onesimus, a slave of Philemon had escaped, traveled to Rome and been converted to Christianity by Paul’s preaching. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon. It is one of the most fascinating books of the Bible and gives us insight to our slavery (servitude) to Jesus.
Polygamy. In the beginning God made one man and one woman to be married together. This example of one man and one woman begins the example of marriage we should be following today. Unfortunately, due to the hardness of the heart of mankind, men (and sometimes women) have decided to take multiple spouses even though God clearly condemns the practice.
There are numerous verses on marriage and multiple wives in the Bible. Polygamy is forbidden by God yet mankind practiced it anyhow. The following verses steer us into the correct direction for a marriage of one wife to one husband. See Deut. 17:17; Lev. 18:18; Matt. 19:4-6, Luke 16:18; I Tim. 3:2 & 12; Titus 1:6.
Polygamy was tolerated (Ex. 21:10), but why? The answer is found in the words of Jesus. Mark 10:2-12, paying close attention to verse 5 where Jesus says divorce was allowed because of the “hardness of your heart”. This is the same principle used concerning the practice of polygamy.
God made man and women to be married to each other just like the Church is to marry Christ at His return. Christ does not come back and marry multiple churches, He marries His church. Rev. 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife (Not wives, singular) hath made herself ready.”
God says in Pro. 18:22 “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
