What Does the Bible Say About Abuse? Probably More Than You Think

I could tell this conversation would be difficult.

A church elder—I’ll call him John—had called, complaining about a young woman my wife and I were assisting. John was certain her reports of childhood abuse were greatly exaggerated, that she was inventing problems to injure her “fine” family. John didn’t trust secular psychology, which he believed had made me harmfully alarmist. In his view, abuse was exceedingly rare, not a prevalent problem.

The irony is that John belonged to a church that was doggedly committed to the authority of Scripture. The tragedy is that he, like countless other church leaders, was blind to all that Scripture says about abuse.

Yet as a young pastor, I was no different. I’ve since discovered hundreds of passages in Scripture about abuse. Abuse is woven throughout Scripture, offering rich teaching on what abuse is, how it affects us, and how God responds to it.

What is abuse?

Abuse is a dark topic. But it can only be rightly understood against a positive backdrop: Abuse, at its core, involves the diabolical corruption of God’s very good creation.

Genesis 1–2 recounts the magnificent way God made humans, male and female, in his image and likeness. That image gives us innate dignity and worth. Abuse attacks and distorts—though it does not eliminate—this. It strikes at the very essence of who we are as image bearers.

God entrusts his image bearers with power. Abuse inverts this: Power is used to exploit and harm.

Abuse is also always a misuse of our God-given power. In the creation account, the second command given to the man and woman involves having dominion over all of creation (Gen 1:28). God entrusts his image bearers with power—physical, relational, sexual, economic, etc.—to be used positively for others and the world around us. Abuse inverts this: Power is used to exploit and harm. As the writer of Ecclesiastes observes, “power was on the side of their oppressor” (Eccl 4:1; cf. Mic 2:1).

That Scripture addresses abuse so repeatedly and forthrightly is itself significant. It tells us that in a fallen world, it is a frequent and tragic reality which the people of God must reckon with and address.

1. Sexual

Sexual abuse is essentially any nonconsensual sexual activity.¹

Scripture addresses sexual abuse in dozens of passages—and harshly condemns it without exception.² For example, under Mosaic law, rape was a capital offense: The rapist was to be put to death, while the victim faced no penalty since she “has committed no sin” (Deut 22:25–26). Scripture recounts and condemns attempted homosexual rape (Gen 19:4–5), incestuous rape (2 Sam 13:11, 14), fatal gang rape (Judg 19), and rape as a weapon of war (Lam 5:11; Zech 14:2).

Most often, rape in Scripture involves brute physical force (e.g., 2 Sam 13:11, 14). But in other instances, it appears to involve different forms of power (political, spiritual, etc.) used to coerce and compel someone into unwanted sexual relations. Bathsheba’s “power rape” is the classic example (2 Sam 11).³ David was king when he sent soldiers to bring Bathsheba to him. She had no choice. Eli’s two evil sons’ sexual relations with women serving in the temple likely fit this same category of spiritually coercive abuse (1 Sam 2:22; 3:13).

2. Physical

Physical abuse is the use of physical violence against another person. Physical abuse can also involve the threat of violence, a common tactic among abusers (1 Kgs 19:1–2; Ps 73:6, 8; Acts 4:21).

Scripture documents hundreds of instances of physical abuse, again suggesting how tragically common it is and how seriously God takes it. It is instructive that the first instance of fatal physical abuse, the murder of Abel by his brother Cain (Gen 4:8), appears immediately after the fall. By Genesis 4:23, we have the first recorded act of domestic violence: Lamech threatens his two wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me … I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.” Then just two chapters later, God declares, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence” (Gen 6:11).

Throughout the rest of Scripture, physical abuse is described and condemned. It’s perpetrated by professing believers (2 Sam 11:14–25), pagans (Exod 2:11), political leaders (1 Sam 22:11–19), powerful men and women (Matt 14:1–11), and spiritual leaders (Jer 26:8; Hos 6:9; Matt 23:31–35).

3. Neglectful

Neglect is the failure of a parent or guardian to provide for the needs of those under their care (minors or vulnerable adults).

In the creation account, God gives humans the privilege and responsibility to cultivate the ground and care for the plants and animals he created (Gen 1:28; 2:5). How much more essential is it for parents to care properly for the children God has entrusted to them (cf. Ps 127:3)?

This explains why God’s condemnation of neglectful parents is so severe, declaring they have denied the faith and are worse than pagans (1 Tim 5:8).

4. Spiritual

Spiritual abuse involves the misuse of spiritual authority (leadership, the church, traditions, Scripture) against others. It typically involves forcing people to do that which does not align with Scripture, illegitimately elevating human rules on a par with it (Mark 7:6–13). But spiritual abuse is not only seen in the demands that are made, but also in how they are made. Thus, Scripture admonishes elders to not “lord it over” the flock entrusted to them (1 Pet 5:3).

Scripture is replete with examples of spiritual abuse. Old Testament priests were often condemned for misusing their spiritual power to take advantage of the people (Ezek 34:2–4; Zeph 3:3–4). The most notable spiritual abusers in the New Testament were the scribes and Pharisees who created human traditions which violated Scripture (Mark 7:8; cf. Jer 5:31). They crushed the people through their harsh, domineering exercise of authority (Matt 23:4; John 9:13–34). The early church also experienced abusive spiritual leaders who delighted in arrogantly weaponizing their authority over others (3 John 9–10).

5. Verbal

Verbal abuse involves using words to manipulate, belittle, deceive, or attack others (Pss 10:3–10; 64:2–5; Prov 26:28).

This is one of the most well attested forms of abuse in Scripture. It can also be just as harmful as other types of abuse. Reckless words can cut like a sword (Prov 12:18). A perverse tongue crushes the spirit (Prov 15:4). Abusive speech is like a hellish conflagration which destroys everything in its path (Jas 3:6). It is worth noting that of the seven sins listed as those God particularly hates, almost half are verbal (a lying tongue, a false witness, one who spreads dissension among brothers; Prov 6:16–19).

Verbal abuse often co-occurs with one or more other forms of abuse (Ps 140:1–5; Isa 59:2–4; Jer 9:3–8).

How does abuse affect us?

The psalmist states that abusers’ victims “are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength” (Ps 10:10). Since abuse strikes at the core of who we are as image bearers, it’s not surprising that abuse proves exceedingly harmful.

Scripture attests to its wide range of devastating effects.

1. Body

Modern scientific research reveals a robust biological basis for the effects of trauma.⁴ Yet, despite being written in a pre-scientific age, it is striking how so many of Scripture’s descriptions of abuse’s impact are also somatic (bodily), harmonious with current scientific findings. These descriptions include: heart palpitations, muscle trembling, quivering lips (Hab 3:16; Nah 2:10), nightmares and shaking (Job 4:13–14), reduced blood flow resulting in pale skin (Dan 5:6; Nah 2:10), and muscle weakness and dry mouth (Ps 22:15).

2. Mind

Abuse often causes great psychological harm, including an overwhelming sense of grief and loss (2 Sam 13:16–19; Lam 1:1–2, 12), hopelessness and depression (Lam 1:16; 3:4–7; Ps 88:8–18), and crushing fear and anxiety (Ps 55:2–5).

3. Relationships

The triune God created us in his image as relational beings (Gen 1:26–27). We are made for relationship with God and each other. Thus, some of the most devastating effects of abuse are often relational.

Abuse creates distrust and fear of others (Ps 116:3, 11). It often estranges us from our community (2 Sam 13:20). Because of the abuse he suffered, the psalmist complains,

I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends—those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten as though I were dead. (Ps 31:11–12)

4. Shame

One of the most common and destructive effects of abuse is toxic shame, an overwhelming sense that one is irredeemably defective, dirty, and broken. David prayerfully articulates this shame:

You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. (Ps 69:19–20)

Tragically, abuse victims typically feel the shame that in fact is due their abusers (2 Sam 13:11–19).

Want to explore what Scripture says on topics like abuse? Try Logos’s Smart Search today.

What is God’s response to abuse?

Given its devastating impact, this picture of abuse so far is quite bleak. So we must place abuse into its larger redemptive context. Throughout Scripture, God declares not only that he will heal and redeem abuse, but in the greatest of all ironies, he will use abuse as the ultimate means of redemption and cosmic restoration (1 Cor 1:18–25).

Throughout Scripture, God redeems that which is evil. God used the abuse and suffering of Joseph as the means of saving his family and the future Jewish nation (Gen 50:20). God transformed Saul, one of the most aggressive persecutors of the early church, into its greatest evangelist and theologian. God chose to use Paul’s own sufferings, especially at the hands of his abusers, as a means to spread the gospel (Acts 9:15–16).

But the quintessential way God has used evil to conquer evil is the abuse of Jesus, namely, his death leading to resurrection. Crucifixion in the ancient Roman world was far more than a hideous form of torture. It was the ultimate form of humiliation and permanent shame. But God chose to use this most extreme form of degrading abuse to break the power of death, destroy Satan, and to redeem humanity (Isa 53:1–12; Col 2:13–15; Heb 2:14–15). Abuse is hideously destructive—but evil doesn’t have the last word!

Since abuse victims often feel that God has abandoned them or, at best, has failed to see and address their suffering (Pss 10:1; 44:23–24), let’s briefly consider how Scripture describes God’s response to abuse.

1. God sees abuse

In contrast to the church’s and society’s all-too-frequent denial of abuse stands Scripture’s emphasis on God’s recognition of abuse.

In contrast to the church’s and society’s all-too-frequent denial of abuse stands Scripture’s emphasis on God’s recognition of abuse.

Abusers carry out their abuse as if God doesn’t see or care (Ps 10:11; Ezek 9:9). However, nothing escapes his sight (Ps 10:14). God sees every instance of abuse and hears every survivor’s painful cry (Exod 3:7). Furthermore, he compassionately grieves over human suffering (Exod 3:7; Isa 63:9; Hos 11:8).

2. God hates abuse

God detests abuse and unrepentant abusers (Pss 5:6; 11:5). For instance, Ezekiel 18:10–13 states that physical violence as well as oppression against the poor are “abominations.” They are so odious to God, he declares that those who do these things are to be put to death. It is worth noting that some of Jesus’s harshest words were directed at those who harm children:

If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. (Matt 18:6)

Yet God desires that abusers turn from their evil ways. He desires that they repent and find life (Ezek 18:23).

3. God will judge abuse

Sadly, many abusers do not repent but continue with seeming impunity to harm others. This travesty of justice will be rectified.

There are many accounts in Scripture of God judging abusers within the scope of biblical history (Ezek 22:27–31; Nah 3:1–7). But the ultimate judgment of abuse is still future, as Scripture repeatedly testifies to God’s final judgment of the unrepentant. God promises one day to bring complete justice to this unjust, broken world (Rev 21:1–4; 22:1–5, 15).

4. God heals abuse

Not only will God judge unrepentant abusers, but he delights in healing every evil they have perpetrated. Jesus came to “bind up the brokenhearted,” to “comfort all who mourn,” and replace ashes with beauty (Isa 61:1–3). In our several decades of service to abuse survivors, we have repeatedly seen God heal and redeem the worst abuses imaginable.

We take great comfort in Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians that God “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Cor 1:4). This is a magnificent promise. God wants to comfort us so that we can extend his comfort to others experiencing similar pain.

Only the God of the resurrection could bring healing and redemption out of evil—and he delights in doing this.

A word of hope

God cares deeply about abuse because he is a God of justice and mercy. Thus, Scripture has robust teachings on the nature and effects of abuse. Thankfully, Scripture unequivocally declares not just God’s hatred of abuse but his commitment to bring justice and to heal and redeem. As followers of the crucified and risen Jesus, we can offer God’s hope filled response to abuse to a world in desperate need of healing.

Steven Tracy’s suggested resources on abuse

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