Market Economy
Do not require interest from loans to your countrymen, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings in the land that you are about to enter and possess. Deuteronomy 23:20
Interest – The Bible is a culturally-produced document. Let that sink in for a minute. That means that if we are going to understand what it says, we have to put the original words into the cultural context of the first audience. That also means that we must resist the tendency to make verses like this one into “spiritual” principles. When we try to apply them to all our business dealings, things don’t work out so well.
Let’s consider the context of this verse. Rabbi Jeffery Tigay points out that this belongs in an agrarian economy where monetary transactions were not common. The kind of loans that predominate Torah instructions are charitable loans, given to those who fell on hard times. When fellow countrymen were in trouble in an agrarian society that usually meant starvation. Therefore, the Torah makes it a moral obligation to assist without increasing the level of poverty by demanding interest. The Hebrew word here is neshekh. It is derived from the stem N-Sh-K and is associated with the word “bite” like a snake (N-Ch-Sh) bite. To take interest from the afflicted is like the poison bite of a snake.
Three things must be made clear. First, these are loans. They are not charitable gifts. They are expected, in fact, required to be repaid. Secondly, these charitable loans are not a form of welfare. There is nothing permanent about them. They are intended to restore the borrower to stability so that the borrower can re-enter the economy as a productive member. And thirdly, these loans are not the norm for commercial business. The principle here applies only to those who are in need within the community because they have been afflicted, not because they have been ruined by greed or other selfish endeavors.
Notice the result of fulfilling this obligation. God blesses you! You are blessed in all that you do. This is moral obligation with motivating reward. Amazing! It could have been just assigned as your duty, but God actually attaches personal gain to the act of unselfish assistance.
The world today is experiencing economic hardship. Most of it appears to be the result of greed, power and selfish desire. Nevertheless, the fallout affects those who are part of the community and, through no fault of their own, now face serious consequences. We, the ones who are able, have an obligation to assist without personal gain. That is the difference between a follower and a financier. If you know someone who is in trouble and you are able to help, perhaps God is asking you to receive His blessing. Like most blessings in the Bible, this one contains a condition. Just do it. And see what happens.
Topical Index: loan, interest, afflicted, neshekh, blessing, Deuteronomy 23:20
One of the governing principles of our “new life”, is “you cannot serve G-d and mammon. We now live under a new ruler and abide by the laws He has declared. One of the new rules is: “love one another as I have loved you.” This might also be referred to as the “law of love.” Skip has (rightly) defined love as: “benevolence toward another at cost to myself.” We see in the bellweather verse of John 3.16, “For G-d so loved that He gave..” “Give, and it shall be given unto you”, G-d’s book declares. Not only to give, but to give out of a heart of love and compassion in the same way our Father (daily) gives to us. We truly need to “learn and relearn” -how to live “down here” with the open hand. 1 John 3.17 states “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” The love of G-d flows one way. It flows outward only. G-d gives. He is a giver and He is a Lover. The world we live in has no shortage of people who are broken and are in need. How did our Master live? He went about doing good. We who claim to be his disciples today must live in the same way. Is the student greater than the Teacher? Our prayer should daily be, LORD, break my heart with the things that break your heart, then cause me to be awake and aware of opportunities in the common round of life to minister help and healing wherever we are sent by our Sovereign G-d. To be used by YHWH, and to do His will (or what pleases Him), will be a delight to us, His servants,stewards, and sons.
I am in one accord with you, Carl. Thanks for your kind and tender reminder along with Skip!
hello dear skip
what a blessing this devotion was today. you know when i first spoke with you..that day i was in my camaro heading down the country roads of PA and you were ready to jump on a flight in florida..you gave to me a gift…the lord has since blessed me with not having to work 2 jobs and turning a second job into a dream job and now i work in the office and the pay is not excellant but really good, when i pray about finances i tell the lord “please just help me make enough that i can help my dad next door”. he has emphasema and thru no fault of his own after my mother died he learned hardship. God makes it so that i never miss the money we help my dad out with NEVER. for that i am most grateful to the Lord. my dad says he prays the Lord just keeps blessing me because im such a blessing to him and i know the Lord is answering his prayers too.and I so owe this site a gift which i will do today when i come home from work. i work many days in a row..sometimes 19 sometimes 28, but im grateful some dont even have jobs and wish that they could complain about working so many days straight.
thank you skip. just being here to be able to see how the Lord has expanded here has been a major blessing just to watch.
take care friend…much luv too you
your friend
carolyne
“we must resist the tendency to make verses like this one into “spiritual” principles. When we try to apply them to all our business dealings, things don’t work out so well.”
Just to play the Devil’s Advocate while Skip is Down Mexico Way, I think we have two issues here.
1. Psalm 15.5 says if you want to dwell with God, NOT to loan your money at INTEREST.
2. I think Skip’s Historicism is a dialectical methodology; to be meaningful, an event must first be understood in terms of the objective historical context of the writer, but then it must be also be interpreted in terms of the sbjective experience of the reader.
My point in plain English is that the meaning of the text is dependent in part upon the experience of the reader.
On a spiritual level:
Jesus lost his temper a couple of times that I can recall.
In Mark, He gets angry with his followers on the boat who are afraid of the storm.
In Matthew, He throws the money changers out of the Temple.
From Psalm 15
15:1 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
15:2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart.
15:5 HE DOES NOT loan his money at INTEREST…
Skip down in Mexico says:
Context helps us understand the biblical instructions, but it does not nullify the commandment. Yeshua certainly recognized that taking advantage of those who came to worship by forcing them to accept an artificial exchange rate that included profit was an anathema to the Lord (worshippers who wanted to buy sacrifices were required to use a “temple currency” that was controlled by the Saduccees.
The Bible certainly allows loans at interest for business and commercial purposes. But these commandments are about taking care of those who are in need and must be RESTORED to full participation within the community. To charge them interest is to exacerbate their burden and to act against the character of God.
Loans to the poor (as above) are considered loans to the Lord – and He promises repayment. His interest rate is heavenly but He does NOT specify the time frame for repayment. Wait on the Lord.
A community that practices godly character in its financial transactions knows that profit it good because it comes from God’s blessing AND it is to be used to bless God by caring for others. That is not the same as enabling, nor the same as personal accumulation. As much as I like Ferraris, I don’t think there is any way to justify having one in a world in need. It is NOT my money.
Read Jacque Ellul, “Money and Power” – now out of print but available in its entirely on line.
Dr. Moen since Ellul’s book is out of print I would like to take the opportunity to recommend Ronald J. Sider’ book, ” Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity”
Product Description (From amazon.com)
Do you want to make a true difference in the world? Dr. Ron Sider does. He has, since before he first published Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger in 1978. Despite a dramatic reduction in world hunger since then, 34,000 children still die daily of starvation and preventable disease, and 1.3 billion people, worldwide, remain in abject poverty. So, the professor of theology went back to re-examine the issues by twenty-first century standards. Finding that Conservatives blame morally reprehensible individual choices, and Liberals blame constrictive social and economic policy, Dr. Sider finds himself agreeing with both sides. In this new look at an age-old problem, he offers not only a detailed explanation of the causes, but also a comprehensive series of practical solutions, in the hopes that Christians like him will choose to make a difference.
Sider’s book is very good. But Ellul attacks a different issue – the issue of the power of money and what a Christian must do to desacralize money. It is more than an exposition on the relationship to need. It is about the whole topic of how money is used and abused. And it is available on-line in the Ellul library.
Jacques Ellul
I haven’t found Money and Power yet, but I did read what I could access from several Jacques Ellul books on the internet.
In the chapter, The Questions of My Life, from Perspectives On Our Age, I found myself saying “that was exactly my experience” and “that’s exactly how I think about these things.”
His comments on the dialectical nature of Christianity, and in particular Paul’s mode of thought, were very interesting to me.
Hello!!!
This is capitalism, my dears brothers and sisters. This is capitalism. God’s way is different from our economic system. They are mutually exclusive. This is like trying to speak in English in a place where the residents just speak in, for example, Mandarine.
IGS
“If you know someone who is in trouble and you are able to help, perhaps God is asking you to receive His blessing.” Almost at the end we find this declaration by Dr. Moen. In it we can find two crucial elements: 1) “if you know” and 2) “and you are able to help.”‘ This is very simple. We must act if we know (personal knowledge) and if we have the capacity to bring help. If these two elements are not present in your case, then we must ask ourselves if I’m the person selected by God to bring help to the person in neccesity. Of course that this type of analysis require a great deal of awareness and honesty.
Blessings,
IGS
It appears that the body has a greater need than that of using money/materials/resources to help others. The issue here seems to be the attitude and intents of the heart. The act of giving is relative to the desire attached to the act. Where is the focus? Is it because we are being conformed to the image of Christ or is it because we are expecting a ROI (a return of investment)? Are we scared not to give because we are afraid of the angry “hammer of God” dropping on our house?
Are we “freely”giving because it has been freely given to us? Or have we worked so hard for it we are holding back because we “deserve” it?
I am amazed at the ability of God to touch our hearts through the active work of compassion. Compassion is the work of God’s Spirit that moves us to give as Christ gave to us! And, having been touched by God, we are changed! CHANGED=NO LONGER THE SAME=HALLELUJAH!!!
For Ellul, try this
Jacques Ellul, Money & Power, out of print but available at http://www.jesusradicals.com/library/ellul/money/money.html