Sex Trafficking in the Bible
One of God’s very first gifts to mankind was partnership. Genesis 2:18 lays this out for us when it says, “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” God then created a wife for Adam, and He determined at that point that “they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (Gen. 2:24-25).
Just one chapter later, sin entered the world, and all of God’s good creation became perverted. Adam and Eve, who were once naked together and unashamed, had their eyes opened “and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness” (Gen. 3:7). This was the beginning of sin, and soon to follow was the beginning of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and sex trafficking. There are several Scriptures that clearly allude to this reality, though some require some reading between the lines. Take, for instance, the earliest allusion to sexual abuse in the Bible. In Genesis 12, Abram and Sarai were on their way to Egypt when it dawned on Abram that because his wife was very beautiful, Pharaoh may decide to kill Abram and take Sarai for himself to add to his harem. Abram feared Pharoah’s entitlement as king to take and do as he wanted with anyone he chose. To avoid this, Abram instructed Sarai to lie and say that she was not his wife, but his sister. Sure enough, “when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai’s beauty… and Sarai was taken into [Pharaoh’s] palace” (v. 14-15). This is not where the story ends, though, as the LORD intervened, sending “terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household” (v. 17), and Pharaoh returned Sarai to her husband and sent them on their way.
Or, take the men of Sodom: in Genesis 19, Lot welcomed into his home two angels disguised as men. “But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” (v. 4-5). As was custom in this culture hinged on honoring guests above even family, Lot refused to allow any of the men of Sodom to touch the angels, but he instead offered up his two daughters for their pleasure: “I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection” (v. 8). In this case, Lot protected his guests from sexual exploitation and homosexual relations, but his daughters did not receive his same protection. Again, though, the story does not end here. The two angels saved Lot from the rioting men and instructed him to flee the city with his wife and daughters. In this case, neither the angels or Lot’s daughters suffered the trauma of sexual abuse intended by the men of Sodom, because God rescued them.
In 2 Samuel 13, prince Amnon fell in love with his half sister Tamar, and he devised a plan to trick her into coming to his bedroom. There, “he grabbed her and demanded, ‘Come to bed with me, my darling sister.’ ‘No, my brother!’ she cried… But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her. Then suddenly Amnon’s love turned to hate… ‘Get out of here!’ he snarled at her” (v. 11-15). After this, Tamar tore her virgin robes, put ashes on her head, and “with her face in her hands, she went away crying” (v. 19). She then ran and sought refuge with her brother Absolom, who offered her safety and peace.
In Matthew 14:6, Herodias’ daughter “danced” for King Herod and his company and “greatly pleased them.” This was likely a provocative dance and overall scene, and because Herodias’ daughter is later referred to as a “girl”––a term that insinuates she was much younger than the already-young age of what their culture deemed “woman”––it is also likely that this was an instance of child exploitation and child sex trafficking.
There are many other instances of sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking throughout the Bible, and then furthermore throughout history and to our present day. We are fighting an age-old fight, one that sprouted when the first man and woman became ashamed of their nakedness.
So why fight?
While the Bible is littered with stories of pain, hurt, abuse, and exploitation, all of this is redeemed in the name of Jesus Christ.
For every story of pain, there is one of God’s promise fulfilled in Jesus.
He rescued Sarai and Lot’s daughters, avenged Tamar, and used Herodias’ daughter to further expose King Herod’s debauchery. He used Rahab the prostitute as a place of refuge, Gomer the prostitute as a love story, and Queen Esther as a voice for every exploited woman of her kingdom. He is not done freeing the sexually exploited and trafficked; their stories are meant to be sanctified and redeemed.
At Rescue America, we hear and empathize with every survivor’s past of hurt and abuse, but we also get to walk with them in love, felt safety, and our eyes set on the promises of the LORD. He says that He is “near to the brokenhearted” (Ps. 34:18), “encamped around those who fear him” (Ps. 34:7), freeing captives and prisoners (Is. 61:1), “making all things new” (Re. 21:5), overcoming the world (Jn. 16:33), restful, gentle, and lowly (Mt. 11:28-29), among many, many more good things.
We fight for survivors in this age-old fight because the LORD fought for us with the blood of Jesus Christ. He has not given up on His people, and we will continue to be His hands of Rescue.
If you feel a call to get involved and serve survivors of sexual exploitation across the country, click here to learn how you can.
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