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The Bible
speaks many times about usury, making one of the first questions
needing to be answered: "what is usury?" Before doing so,
consider that it must be quite important as the Psalmist's
description of a believer, or righteous man, includes lending money
without usury...
Psalms 15
A psalm of David. LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live
on your holy hill? 2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is
righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander
on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on
his fellowman, 4 who despises a vile man but honors those who fear
the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, 5 who lends his
money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken. (NIV)
[Note that
some later English translations have completely removed the word
"usury" in favor of the word "interest". Part of
our consideration here is whether that is a fair substitution.]
Context is
everything in Scriptural interpretation. Sometimes the immediate
vicinity of a passage provides all we need to understand what is
being conveyed; other times the writer assumes prior knowledge of
earlier Scriptures, as is the case here. David was one who knew and
meditated on God's law (Psalms 1:1-2; Psalms 119:97, 105-106), so his
casual reference to a subject taught in the law presupposes an
understanding of that foundation.
I find it
interesting that the NIV translation leaves the word "usury"
in this passage in Psalms, while elsewhere translating the same word
as "interest." As such, this double standard makes it
difficult for a casual reader to understand that these various texts
are in regards to the same subject. The Hebrew word is "neshek
(neh'-skek)" which comes from a root word mean to strike, or
bite, with a sting (chiefly of a serpent). Literally, that makes
usury "something bitten off." While this description does
apply to the general idea of charging interest - that a piece of what
was owned is bitten off in payment for the loan - it is not all of
what is in focus in the law. Consider the introduction to this
subject found in Exodus...
Exodus
22:25-27 "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is
needy [afflicted and/or humbled, through true poverty or need], do
not be like a moneylender [usurer]; charge him no interest [usury].
26 If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by
sunset, 27 because his cloak is the only covering he has for his
body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will
hear, for I am compassionate. (NIV)
The whole
subject of usurers and usury cannot be divorced from the primary
issue; the poor and needy. Adding more weight to its root word, that
earlier literal definition of this practice could be expanded to
"something maliciously bitten off." While God permitted His
people to loan money to those that were poor, God did not want any
item taken in long-term pledge (as was common practice on all loans
in that day) and He did not want any interest charged to them. As
such, this was God saying, if you can't give it to them, at least
don't profit from the poor.
Deuteronomy
15:7-8 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the
towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be
hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be
openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. (NIV)
When the
clarifications of our passage in Exodus are taken into account, we
can better define usury as "the act of charging interest, or
taking an item pledge, from someone who is poor," and a usurer
as one who does this. Once we understand this scriptural definition,
later passages that refer to this word or practice are much easier to
understand. For example:
Deuteronomy
23:19-20 Do not charge your brother interest [usury], whether on
money or food or anything else that may earn interest. 20 You may
charge a foreigner interest [usury], but not a brother Israelite, so
that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand
to in the land you are entering to possess. (NIV)
This
passage in Deuteronomy doesn't contradict the earlier one by now
saying that you can't charge interest to any other Israeli, it is
merely clarifying the earlier passage, making it clear that it was
permissible to charge interest to any foreigner. In fact, prior to
Deuteronomy, Leviticus also makes it very clear that usury was in
regards to poor countrymen.
Leviticus
25:35-38 "'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable
to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a
temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. 36 Do not
take interest [usury] of any kind from him, but fear your God, so
that your countryman may continue to live among you. 37 You must not
lend him money at interest [usury] or sell him food at a profit. 38 I
am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the
land of Canaan and to be your God. (NIV)
Again, the
restatement in Leviticus was not to contradict the earlier, it too
provided extra details, including that they couldn't take an end run
around this prohibition by making profit off of selling them food,
something they need to live. Leviticus still doesn't ban loaning
money to fellow Israelites, or expecting repayment of these just
loans. The verses which follow even allowed for repayment through
labor, not negating God's admonition that the lender must not oppress
and fail to care for their needy debtor.
Leviticus
25:39-40 ' If a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to
you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a
slave's service. 40 'He shall be with you as a hired man, as if he
were a sojourner; he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee. (NASU)
It appears
that by the time following the exile, the Israelites had long since
forgotten this aspect of the law pertaining to usury, even as their
failure to uphold the law had led to their captivity to begin with.
The poor who had returned to Israel, to resettle the land, had come
to Nehemiah to protest the actions of their wealthier brethren.
Nehemiah
5:1-10 Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against
their Jewish brothers. 2 Some were saying, "We and our sons and
daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we
must get grain." 3 Others were saying, "We are mortgaging
our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the
famine." 4 Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow
money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 Although
we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though our
sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and
daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been
enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards
belong to others." 6 When I heard their outcry and these
charges, I was very angry. 7 I pondered them in my mind and then
accused the nobles and officials. I told them, "You are exacting
usury from your own countrymen!" So I called together a large
meeting to deal with them 8 and said: "As far as possible, we
have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles.
Now you are selling your brothers, only for them to be sold back to
us!" They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say. 9
So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you
walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile
enemies? 10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people
money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop! (NIV)
This
passage tells us that even Nehemiah was lending money to these poor
people, something that was permitted. The issue was the exacting of
usury from these same people, making them pay interest and enslaving
them over time through their loss.
Proverbs
28:8 He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest [usury]
amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor. (NIV)
Using the
wording "exorbitant interest" doesn't do the original
wording justice, as any interest charged to a poor countryman would
be exorbitant. Today's New International Version (TNIV) does better...
Proverbs
28:8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the
poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor. (TNIV)
Ezekiel
also describes a righteous man, even as David did in Psalms...
Ezekiel
18:7-9 He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge
for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the
hungry and provides clothing for the naked. 8 He does not lend to
them at interest [usury] or take a profit from them. He withholds his
hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between two parties. 9 He
follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is
righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord. (TNIV)
While it
is true that these specific commands of the law were given to Israel
and are not binding on the church (having been fulfilled in Christ,
see Matthew 5:17 and Galatians 3:25), certainly the principle remains
to this day. God wants His people to be generous to the poor.
Galatians
2:9-10 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me
[Paul] and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized
the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles,
and they to the Jews. 10 All they asked was that we should continue
to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (NIV)
Paul took
his eagerness to help the poor beyond merely the physical poor, being
willing to preach the gospel to all (the spiritually poor) without
charge or burden...
1
Corinthians 9:18-19 What then is my reward? Just this: that in
preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make
use of my rights in preaching it. 19 Though I am free and belong to
no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as
possible. (NIV)
The bottom
line on this subject is - if I can use a play on words - take
interest in the poor. Let's continue to do good for all poor
(physically and spiritually), not out of obligation but out of
gratitude and love for the One who has saved us and holds everything
in His hands.
Proverbs
28:27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes
his eyes to them receives many curses. (NIV) |
