Interest and Debt

Interest and Debt

God’s Law works to discourage indebtedness.

Deuteronomy 23:19, 20

“‘You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.’”

Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:1-7, 8-22, 35-38; Deuteronomy 15:1-6, 9, 10

Commentators differ as to whether what is meant by “interest” here is any interest at all or the exorbitant rates of usury. I tend to incline to the former understanding. God’s people were instructed to lend to one another without any expectation of return (Luke 6:30-36). Thus their lending would reflect the grace of the Lord, Who constantly gives to His people whatever they need.

It was, however, lawful to exact interest from foreigners, whether individuals or nations. The inability to charge interest routinely would be a discouragement to the creation of a debtor society. In our day, when credit cards are ubiquitous and just about anyone can get a loan, we have accumulated such a mass of debt, both personal and national, that it seems unlikely we shall ever be able to pay it off. The borrower is the servant of the lender in such a situation, and justice cannot easily be served.

It’s not difficult to see the wisdom of this statute, and it’s also not difficult to see the folly of refusing to abide by its teaching.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.