If there was a system of permanent slavery in Old Testament Israel -- and clearly there was (Lev. 25:44-46) -- then on what basis can the Christian today maintain that the abolitionists were morally correct in their vision, though not always with their tactics? Are we wiser than God was in the Old Testament? If the Reconstructionists' hermeneutic (principle of interpretation) is correct -- that Old Testament laws are still in force unless abrogated in the New Testament -- then how can we escape the accusation of being defenders of slavery? And if we cannot find such an "escape hatch", then how can anyone take seriously the hermeneutic of the Reconstructionists?

The answer is found in the proper understanding of the jubilee land tenure laws (Lev. 25), in the middle of which the Old Testament's permanent slave laws are found.