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Loans
(Leviticus 25.1-7)
Moses said:
1-2Every seven years you must announce, “The Lord says loans do not need to be paid back.” Then if you have loaned money to another Israelite, you can no longer ask for payment. 3This law applies only to loans you have made to other Israelites. Foreigners will still have to pay back what you have loaned them.
4-6No one in Israel should ever be poor. The Lord your God is giving you this land, and he has promised to make you very successful, if you obey his laws and teachings that I'm giving you today. You will lend money to many nations, but you won't have to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they won't rule you.
7 After the Lord your God gives land to each of you, there may be poor Israelites in the town where you live. If there are, then don't be mean and selfish with your money. 8Instead, be kind and lend them what they need. 9Be careful! Don't say to yourself, “Soon it will be the seventh year, and then I won't be able to get my money back.” It would be horrible for you to think that way and to be so selfish that you refuse to help the poor. They are your relatives, and if you don't help them, they may ask the Lord to decide whether you have done wrong. And he will say that you are guilty. 10You should be happy to give the poor what they need, because then the Lord will make you successful in everything you do.
11 There will always be some Israelites who are poor and needy. That's why I am commanding you to be generous with them.
Setting Slaves Free
(Exodus 21.1-11)
Moses said to Israel:
12 If any of you buy Israelites as slaves, you must set them free after six years. 13And don't just tell them they are free to leave— 14give them sheep and goats and a good supply of grain and wine. The more the Lord has given you, the more you should give them. 15I am commanding you to obey the Lord as a reminder that you were slaves in Egypt before he set you free. 16But one of your slaves may say, “I love you and your family, and I would be better off staying with you, so please don't make me leave.” 17Take the slave to the door of your house and push a sharp metal rod through one earlobe and into the door. Such slaves will belong to you for life, whether they are men or women.
18Don't complain when you have to set a slave free. After all, you got six years of service at half the cost of hiring someone to do the work.
Reflect
There are ‘means’ and there are ‘ends’ and confusing the two can get you in trouble. Becoming ‘God’s people on the land’ meant that they had to get this basic social calculus right. The Bible is a profoundly relational book. And as one person said, “total love of God is the only adequate basis for the demanding social program laid out in Deuteronomy’s pastoral strategy.” (1) Moses is unfailingly clear that caring for people and caring for the land go hand in hand. God requires nothing less from us as he did from them.
Sometimes it is hard for us to recognize structural evil. Injustice creeps into every day practices and eventually into policy too. Never is this clearer, Moses says, than when we are dealing with our money. God has given the land to everyone, and this is a great blessing. But in the course of things some will have more and some less. Poverty and want are a reality. There is nothing inherently wrong with this temporary outcome. Money is a means to an end. But simply piling up money endlessly as if that is the goal is foolish. A just society somehow provides for the needs of many, not just the few. And here is where another gratitude test comes in. From time to time – every seven years in Israel’s case – loans are to be forgiven. It is time for another reset. There must be a time to level the playing field. Payday loans and piety can mix, but only with a pressure relief valve in place. Moses calls for a sabbatical, a time of rest. Both people and the land need a break from the relentless pressure to be productive. Everyone needs to remember that it is the Lord who provides. Not us.
(1) Wright, Christopher. New International Biblical Commentary: Deuteronomy.Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Peabody, Massachusetts, (1996).
Respond
Loving Lord and Saviour, you walk beside us every day. All we have is a gift from you. Give us open hearts to all we meet. Let us be generous and fair in every way. And help us forgive as we have been forgiven by you, our loving Lord and saviour.
John Wood
Dr. Wood is Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at The King's University and Dean of the Natural Sciences Faculty. His research is on urban ecology, campus sustainability and food insects. John was born in Japan, grew up on a clear-cut in western Washington State and attended North Park University in Chicago. He has written and spoken widely on caring for creation to church and campus groups. His recent publications include: How Then Shall We Eat? Insect-Eating Attitudes and Sustainable Foodways; Stewarding the gift of land: Christian campuses as land management models; and Sustainable Missions: Ethical Principles for Holistic Practice in a Broken World.