Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. – 1 Kings 9:21

Today's Scripture Reading (December 2, 2025): 1 Kings 9

Maybe one of the more disturbing developments in the past 50 years is our willingness to walk back into a slave state. Slavery has a different look in the 21^st Century, but it is still slavery. It is one of the reasons why there is a tremendous amount of turmoil over the existence of illegals in contemporary culture. The problem is not necessarily the Illegals themselves, but that they are a source of cheap labor that we do not want to give up. Some might want to convince you that they are all criminals, but very few fit that description. What the Illegals among us have become are the poster images for modern-day slavery. But it doesn't just stop there. Income inequality and massive personal debt load on people existing in the lower economic strata have essentially developed a new class of enslaved people. We may not serve just a single slave master, but that doesn't mean that we aren't enslaved. For many of us in various parts of the world, getting sick for any extended period means the end of our dreams and the repossession of our assets. If we stop playing the game, then we might as well die. Too many of my friends have given up on dreams like retirement because they can't afford to stop working. The upper classes thank us for our persistence; our work and our money make their extravagant lifestyle possible. Essentially, that is just another picture of modern-day slavery. We work, but not for our own advancement. Today, we are enslaved by low wages and high debt. And the fruit of our labor goes to someone else. It is a story that many don't want to hear.

Slavery has been a constant in human history, basically because it is to the advantage of someone in power. And so, the rich and powerful work to keep enslaving the poor and weak. It is an interesting perspective on our current illegal immigration debate. The real reason why some don't want to do anything about it is that these individuals are, or their friends and constituents are, essentially, the enslavers. They don't want anyone to take away their cheap labor.

Solomon enslaved thousands of people. Originally, he conscripted them to build the Temple. But when the Temple was complete, he refused to release them. They became servants and waiters for the wealthy. They were the enslaved of the culture.

James Burton Coffman, among others, has argued that this was Israel's real longing for centuries afterward: to return to the days of Solomon, when Israel had her slaves. And it was one of the fundamental reasons why Jesus's message was ultimately disregarded. Jesus was not going to work toward that goal. In fact, everything that Jesus and the Early Christian Church did worked against that goal and toward a recognition that we are all equal, regardless of skin color or any other difference we might use to separate ourselves. This radical equality was the real power behind Paul's words: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

The divisions don't exist. We are still all one.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 2