Is
It Wrong To Charge Interest?
By
Isaac Aluochier
All scripture quotations are from the World English Bible published at http://www.ebible.org/Bible/WEB/.
Lending To Yahweh's
People Who Are Poor
Exodus 22:25-27 reads,
22:25"If
you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not
be to him as a creditor; neither shall you charge him interest. 22:26If you take your neighbor’s garment as
collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, 22:27for that is his only covering, it is his
garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to
me, that I will hear, for I am gracious.
It should be noted that Yahweh's prohibition against charging interest or behaving as a creditor applies to those of his people who are poor. These verses do not impose a prohibition against charging interest or behaving as a creditor to those who are not poor. It would therefore appear that Yahweh allowed Israelites to charge others interest, provided those charged interest weren't poor.
How Does Yahweh Define A Poor
Person?
What is, in Yahweh's definition, a poor person?
In these verses it is observed that a poor person is one with only an item of garment, without a spare garment to sleep in. It appears that poor people have only the barest minimum they need for survival in reasonable comfort.
Deal With Yahweh's Poor People
On A Not-For-Profit Basis
Leviticus 25:35-55 reads,
25:35If
your brother has grown poor, and his hand fail with you; then you shall
uphold him: as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with you. 25:36Take no interest of him or increase, but
fear your God; that your brother may live with you. 25:37You shall not give him your money on
interest, nor give him your victuals for increase. 25:38I am Yahweh your God, who brought you
forth out of the
25:39If
your brother has grown poor with you, and sell himself to you; you shall not
make him to serve as a bond-servant. 25:40As
a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with you; he shall serve with
you to the year of jubilee: 25:41then
shall he go out from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his
own family, and to the possession of his fathers shall he return. 25:42For they are my servants, whom I brought
forth out of the
25:47If
a stranger or sojourner with you has grown rich, and your brother has grown
poor beside him, and sell himself to the stranger or sojourner with you, or to
the stock of the stranger’s family; 25:48after
that he is sold he may be redeemed: one of his brothers may redeem him; 25:49or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may
redeem him, or any who is a close relative to him of his family may redeem him;
or if he has grown rich, he may redeem himself. 25:50He
shall reckon with him who bought him from the year that he sold himself to him
to the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according to the
number of years; according to the time of a hired servant shall he be with him.
25:51If there be yet many years,
according to them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the
money that he was bought for. 25:52If
there remain but few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him;
according to his years shall he give back the price of his redemption. 25:53As a servant hired year by year shall he
be with him: he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight. 25:54If he isn’t redeemed by these means, then
he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him. 25:55For to me the children of Israel are
servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I
am Yahweh your God.
It should be noted from 25:36-37 that Yahweh not only forbids his people from charging interest to the poor of his people, but also lending other property for increase or profit. In other words, financial activities with the poor of Yahweh's people should be on a not-for-profit basis, whether money lending or the provision of other property.
Distinction Between Lending To
Brethren And Lending To Those Not Brethren
Deuteronomy 23:19-20 reads,
23:19You
shall not lend on interest to your brother; interest of money, interest
of victuals, interest of anything that is lent on interest: 23:20to a foreigner you may lend on
interest; but to your brother you shall not lend on interest, that Yahweh
your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land where you
go in to possess it.
Lending Upon Interest Isn't Intrinsically
Wrong
Israelites are forbidden from lending upon interest to their fellow Israelites. Nevertheless, Yahweh allows them to lend non-Israelites upon interest. Seeing that Yahweh allows Israelites to lend to non-Israelites upon interest, it appears that lending upon interest isn't intrinsically wrong. It is just that Yahweh imposes an obligation upon his people Israelites to treat the rest of his people Israelites on more favourable terms that they treat other people.
No Poor Person Should Be Charged
Interest
Seeing that Yahweh here forbids his people Israelites from lending upon interest to their fellow Israelites, it is irrelevant whether the fellow Israelite who is lent by another Israelite is poor or not. Provided the loan recipient is an Israelite, he should not be charged interest. Seeing that earlier on it was observed that Yahweh forbids his people from charging interest to the poor among his people, it appears to me that the poor, irrespective of whether they are Israelites or not, should not be charged interest.
Do Not Charge Excessive
Interest
Proverbs 28:8 reads,
28:8He
who increases his wealth by excessive interest
Gathers it for one who has pity on the poor.
The implication of this proverb is that those who charge excessive interest have no pity upon the poor. This suggests that such lend to the poor upon interest.
One who has pity on the poor should not lend to them upon interest. Also, one who lends upon interest to those who are not poor should not charge them excessive interest.
What is an appropriate level of interest for one to charge to another who is not poor?
It Is Abomination To Charge
Interest Within Israel
Ezekiel 18:1-20 reads,
18:1The
word of Yahweh came to me again, saying, 18:2What
do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on
edge? 18:3As I live, says the Lord
Yahweh, you shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
18:4Behold,
all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is
mine: the soul who sins, he shall die. 18:5But
if a man is just, and does that which is lawful and right, 18:6and has not eaten on the mountains, neither
has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither has defiled
his neighbor’s wife, neither has come near to a woman in her impurity, 18:7and has not wronged any, but has restored
to the debtor his pledge, has taken nothing by robbery, has given his bread to
the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment; 18:8he who has not given forth on interest,
neither has taken any increase, who has withdrawn his hand from iniquity,
has executed true justice between man and man, 18:9has
walked in my statutes, and has kept my ordinances, to deal truly; he is
just, he shall surely live, says the Lord Yahweh.
18:10If
he fathers a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood, and who does any one of
these things, 18:11and who does not
any of those duties, but even has eaten on the mountains, and defiled his
neighbor’s wife, 18:12has wronged
the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored the pledge, and has
lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination, 18:13has given forth on interest, and has taken
increase; shall he then live? He shall not live: he has done all
these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be on him.
18:14Now,
behold, if he fathers a son, who sees all his father’s sins, which he has done,
and fears, and does not such like; 18:15who
has not eaten on the mountains, neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of
the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor’s wife, 18:16neither has wronged any, has not taken anything
to pledge, neither has taken by robbery, but has given his bread to the hungry,
and has covered the naked with a garment; 18:17who
has withdrawn his hand from the poor, who has not received interest nor
increase, has executed my ordinances, has walked in my statutes; he shall
not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. 18:18As for his father, because he cruelly
oppressed, robbed his brother, and did that which is not good among his people,
behold, he shall die in his iniquity. 18:19Yet
say you, Why does not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son has
done that which is lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes, and has done
them, he shall surely live. 18:20The
soul who sins, he shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,
neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the
righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.
It should be noted that the words Yahweh spoke in Ezekiel 18 concern the land of Israel, and therefore the people of Israel inhabiting that land. It should also be noted that Yahweh calls an abomination, in 18:13, the lending upon interest within Israel. Israelites should therefore not lend one another upon interest. This message is consistent with Deuteronomy 23:19-20.
Unlawfully Charging Interest
Is Dishonest Gain
Ezekiel 22:1-16 reads,
22:1Moreover
the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 22:2You,
son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to
know all her abominations.
22:3You
shall say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A city that sheds blood in the midst of
her, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile
her! 22:4You have become guilty in
your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have
made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and are come even to your
years: therefore have I made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to
all the countries. 22:5Those who are
near, and those who are far from you, shall mock you, you infamous one and full
of tumult. 22:6Behold, the princes
of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood. 22:7In you have they set light by father and mother;
in the midst of you have they dealt by oppression with the sojourner; in you
have they wronged the fatherless and the widow. 22:8You
have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths. 22:9Slanderous men have been in you to shed
blood; and in you they have eaten on the mountains: in the midst of you they
have committed lewdness. 22:10In you
have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in you have they humbled her who
was unclean in her impurity. 22:11One
has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife; and another has lewdly
defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in you has humbled his sister, his
father’s daughter. 22:12In you have
they taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and
you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten
me, says the Lord Yahweh. 22:13Behold,
therefore, I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made,
and at your blood which has been in the midst of you. 22:14Can your heart endure, or can your hands
be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it,
and will do it. 22:15I will scatter
you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries; and I will
consume your filthiness out of you. 22:16You
shall be profaned in yourself, in the sight of the nations; and you shall know
that I am Yahweh.
It should be noted from 22:2 and 22:12 that Israelites who take interest and increase from their fellow Israelites commit abomination. This is greedy gain of one neighbours, and is oppression of one's neighbours! It is also dishonest gain! Yahweh punishes for such, by striking the dishonest and greedy gain at the hands of the greedy and the dishonest oppressors - those who commit abomination.
Yahweh Permits Giving And
Taking Interest On Investments
Matthew 25:14-30 reads,
25:14"For it is like a man, going into another country,
who called his own servants, and delivered his goods to them. 25:15To one he gave
five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his own
ability, and he went on his journey. 25:16Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded
with them, and made another five talents. 25:17In like manner he also who got the two gained another two. 25:18But he who
received the one went away and dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
25:19"Now after a long time the lord of those servants came,
and reconciled accounts with them. 25:20He who received the five talents came and brought another
five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have
gained another five talents besides them.’
25:21"His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many
things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
25:22"He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord,
you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents
besides them.’
25:23"His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many
things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
25:24"He also who had received the one talent came and said,
‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and
gathering where you did not scatter. 25:25I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth.
Behold, you have your own.’
25:26"But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful
servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t
scatter? 25:27You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the
bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest. 25:28Take away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him
who has the ten talents. 25:29For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have
abundance, but from him who has not, even that which he has will be taken away.
25:30Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness,
where there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.’
It should be noted that the kingdom of heaven is here compared to a man who gives his servants property that they may trade with them and gain increase. It is therefore not wrong for a person to deliver to his servants property for the purpose of making increase out of the property delivered.
25:27 shows that the wicked and slothful servant should have, at the very least, have deposited his master's money with the bankers in order to gain interest for his master. This shows that receiving interest on an investment, or giving interest to those who invest with one, is not wrong, and is indeed permissible.
The Poor Are Generally
Lean-Fleshed Relative To Those Who Are Not
Genesis 41:17-24 reads,
41:17Pharaoh
spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river: 41:18and, behold, there came up out of the
river seven cattle, fat-fleshed and well-favored. They fed in the reed-grass, 41:19and, behold, seven other cattle came up
after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I
never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness. 41:20The
lean and ill-favored cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle, 41:21and when they had eaten them up, it
couldn’t be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ill-favored, as
at the beginning. So I awoke. 41:22I
saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, full and good: 41:23and, behold, seven ears, withered, thin,
and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 41:24The thin ears swallowed up the seven good
ears. I told it to the magicians; but there was no one who could explain it to
me."
The poor cattle are contrasted with the fat-fleshed and well-favoured. The impression is that poor are those who are ill-favoured and lean-fleshed, relative to those who are not poor.
Exodus 23:10-11 reads,
23:10"For
six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase, 23:11but the seventh year you shall let it rest
and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they
leave the animal of the field shall eat. In like manner you shall deal with
your vineyard and with your olive grove.
The poor of the people of Israel are those who do not have their own land to sow or to gather in its increase. Yahweh's plan for the children of Israel was for each family to have their own land to sow and gather in its increase. Therefore the poor are those who have lost their inherited land for a period of time, and have no resources by which to support themselves with respect to obtaining food.
A Poor Person Can't Afford To
Buy Or Possess Even Three Lambs
Leviticus 14:10-22 reads,
14:10"On
the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe
lamb a year old without blemish, and three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for
a meal offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. 14:11The priest who cleanses him shall set the
man who is to be cleansed, and those things, before Yahweh, at the door of the
Tent of Meeting.
14:12"The
priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer him for a trespass offering,
with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. 14:13He shall kill the male lamb in the place
where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the
sanctuary; for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass
offering. It is most holy. 14:14The
priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest
shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on
the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 14:15The priest shall take some of the log of
oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. 14:16The priest shall dip his right finger in
the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his
finger seven times before Yahweh. 14:17The
priest shall put some of the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of
the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand,
and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering. 14:18The rest of the oil that is in the
priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, and the
priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh.
14:19"The
priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be
cleansed because of his uncleanness: and afterward he shall kill the burnt
offering; 14:20and the priest shall
offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall
make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
14:21"If
he is poor, and can't afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a
trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an
ephah of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil; 14:22and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons,
such as he is able to afford; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the
other a burnt offering.
Whereas a person who is not poor can afford three lambs, a poor person can afford only one lamb and two turtledoves or two young pigeons. In other words, a poor person is one who can't afford to buy or possess even three lambs.
The Poor Lack Resources From
Which To Generate Their Livelihood
Leviticus 19:9-10 reads,
19:9When
you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of
your field, neither shall you gather the gleaning of your harvest. 19:10You shall not glean your vineyard, neither
shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for
the poor and for the sojourner: I am Yahweh your God.
Just as the sojourners in Israel do not have land from which to reap harvest, so also the poor. The poor are therefore the landless or those who do not have resources from which to generate livelihood.
Leviticus 23:22 reads,
23:22When
you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of
your field, neither shall you gather the gleaning of your harvest: you shall
leave them for the poor, and for the sojourner: I am Yahweh your God.
A Poor Person Lacks The
Resources To Retain In Or Buy Into His Possession Some Land
Leviticus 25:23-28 reads,
25:23The
land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine: for you are
strangers and sojourners with me. 25:24In
all the land of your possession you shall grant a redemption for the land. 25:25If your brother be grew poor, and sell
some of his possession, then shall his kinsman who is next to him come, and
shall redeem that which his brother has sold. 25:26If
a man have no one to redeem it, and he be grew rich and find sufficient to
redeem it; 25:27then let him
reckon the years of the sale of it, and restore the surplus to the man to whom
he sold it; and he shall return to his possession. 25:28But if he isn’t able to get it back for himself, then
that which he has sold shall remain in the hand of him who has bought it until
the year of jubilee: and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return to
his possession.
A poor person is one, if he has some land in his possession, is forced to sell it that he may have sustenance for his life. Having sold his land he is not in a position to purchase it while he is poor.
A rich person is one who is capable of buying land not in his possession, irrespective of whether he had, prior to that purchase, a possession of land.
Poor People Sell Themselves As
Slaves To Others
Leviticus 25:39 and 47 reads,
25:39If
your brother has grown poor with you, and sell himself to you; you
shall not make him to serve as a bond-servant.
25:47If
a stranger or sojourner with you has grown rich, and your brother has grown
poor beside him, and sell himself to the stranger or sojourner with you, or
to the stock of the stranger’s family;
A poor person is one who, in order to survive, sells himself as a slave to someone else, seeing he lacks resources to sustain himself while he has his freedom.
The Poor Cannot Afford The
Stipulated Payment Of Vows To Yahweh
Leviticus 27:1-8 reads,
27:1Yahweh
spoke to Moses, saying, 27:2Speak to
the children of Israel, and tell them, When a man shall accomplish a vow, the
persons shall be for Yahweh by your estimation. 27:3Your
estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even to sixty years old,
even your estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of
the sanctuary. 27:4If it be a
female, then your estimation shall be thirty shekels. 27:5If it be from five years old even to twenty
years old, then your estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for
the female ten shekels. 27:6If
it be from a month old even to five years old, then your estimation shall be
of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female your estimation shall be
three shekels of silver. 27:7If
it be from sixty years old and upward; if it be a male, then your estimation
shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 27:8But if he be poorer than your estimation,
then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him;
according to the ability of him who vowed shall the priest value him.
The poor within Israel are those who cannot afford the estimated values for payment of vows for their age and gender category.
Deuteronomy 15:1-11 reads,
15:1At
the end of every seven years you shall make a release. 15:2This is the manner of the release: every
creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor; he shall not
exact it of his neighbor and his brother; because Yahweh’s release has been
proclaimed. 15:3Of a foreigner
you may exact it: but whatever of your is with your brother your hand shall
release. 15:4However there shall
be no poor with you; (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh
your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it;) 15:5if only you diligently listen to the
voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command
you this day. 15:6For Yahweh
your God will bless you, as he promised you: and you shall lend to many
nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall rule over many nations, but
they shall not rule over you.
The Poor Borrow For Their
Needs
15:7If
there be with you a poor man, one of your brothers, within any of your gates in
your land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not harden your
heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother; 15:8but
you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient
for his need in that which he wants. 15:9Beware
that there not be a base thought in your heart, saying, The seventh year, the
year of release, is at hand; and your eye be evil against your poor brother,
and you give him nothing; and he cry to Yahweh against you, and it be sin to
you. 15:10You shall surely give him,
and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him; because that for this
thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work, and in all that you put
your hand to. 15:11For the poor
will never cease out of the land: therefore I command you, saying, You
shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor,
in your land.
The poor are those who borrow for their needs. Those who are not poor do not need to borrow for their needs. If and when such borrow, it is for purposes not connected with their needs.
The Poor Lack Spare Clothing
Or Sleeping Garments
Deuteronomy 24:10-15 reads,
24:10When
you do lend your neighbor any manner of loan, you shall not go into
his house to get his pledge. 24:11You
shall stand outside, and the man to whom you do lend shall bring forth the
pledge outside to you. 24:12If
he be a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge; 24:13you shall surely restore to him the pledge
when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless you: and it
shall be righteousness to you before Yahweh your God.
24:14You
shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he be of
your brothers, or of your sojourners who are in your land within your gates:
24:15in his day you shall give him
his hire, neither shall the sun go down on it; for he is poor, and sets his
heart on it: lest he cry against you to Yahweh, and it be sin to you.
A poor person has only what he needs for his sustenance. For example, he doesn't even have an extra garment to sleep in.
The Poor Can't Afford To
Survive Without Their Daily Wages
A poor person is one who cannot afford to sustain himself if he doesn't receive his daily wage. In other words, a poor person has no savings and needs his daily income to sustain himself.
Yahweh's Law For Poor People
Doesn't Distinguish Between Israelites And Non-Israelites
It should be noted that Yahweh treats all poor people in Israel the same, without making a distinction between Israelites and non-Israelites. All poor people, without distinction, must therefore be treated with compassion.
Yahweh Permits Israelites To
Charge Interest To Non-Israelites Who Are Not Poor
It should also be remembered that Yahweh forbids Israelites from charging interest to their fellow Israelites, but doesn't so forbid them with respect to non-Israelites. Yahweh also forbids Israelites from charging interest to their poor brethren. Seeing that Yahweh treats all poor alike, he also forbids them from charging interest to the poor of the non-Israelites among them. Therefore the only non-Israelites that Israelites should charge interest, if they so choose to do, are those who are not poor!
A Poor Man Whose Only
Possession Was One Lamb
2 Samuel 12:1-4 reads,
12:1Yahweh
sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men
in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 12:2The rich man had very many flocks and
herds, 12:3but the poor man had
nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It
grew up together with him, and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank
of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him like a daughter. 12:4A traveler came to the rich man, and he
spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring
man who had come to him, but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man
who had come to him."
Consistent with what was seen earlier on in Leviticus 14, a poor man is one who can't afford to buy or possess even three lambs. In this case the poor man could afford to buy and possess only one lamb.
The Poor Don't Have Surplus
Resources
Job 24:9-10 reads,
24:9There
are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge of the poor,
24:10So that they go around naked
without clothing.
Being hungry, they carry the sheaves.
The poor are those who have only the clothes that they need, and only the food that they need to survive on. They do not have any surplus.
The Poor Lack Adequate Food
And Clothing
Job 31:16-23 reads,
31:16"If
I have withheld the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
31:17Or
have eaten my morsel alone,
And the fatherless has not eaten of it
31:18(No,
from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
Her have I guided from my mother’s womb);
31:19If
I have seen any perish for want of clothing,
Or that the needy had no covering;
31:20If
his heart hasn’t blessed me,
If he hasn’t been warmed with my sheep’s fleece;
31:21If
I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,
Because I saw my help in the gate:
31:22Then
let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade,
And my arm be broken from the bone.
31:23For
calamity from God is a terror to me,
By reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
The poor are those who don't have sufficient food to eat, or sufficient clothing to wear.
Psalm 132:15 reads,
132:15I
will abundantly bless her provision.
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
The poor are those who lack sufficient food.
Proverbs 22:9 reads,
22:9He
who has a generous eye will be blessed;
For he shares his food with the poor.
The poor are those who lack sufficient food.
The Poor Lack Food, Clothing
And Shelter
Isaiah 58:6-8 reads,
58:6Isn’t
this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the
bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every
yoke? 58:7Isn’t it to deal your
bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your
house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide
yourself from your own flesh? 58:8Then
shall your light break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring
forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh
shall by your rearward.
The poor are those who are hungry, not having sufficient food, and are homeless, needing to be housed, and are naked, needing to be clothed.
Jeremiah 39:10 reads,
39:10But
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, who had
nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same
time.
The poor are those who lack possessions of lands.
The Poor Are Sold Into Slavery
Amos 8:4-6 reads,
8:4Hear
this, you who desire to swallow up the needy,
And cause the poor of the land to fail,
8:5Saying, ‘When will the new moon be
gone, that we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat,
Making the ephah small, and the shekel large,
And dealing falsely with balances of deceit;
8:6That
we may buy the poor for silver,
And the needy for a pair of shoes,
And sell the sweepings with the wheat?’"
The poor are those who are so destitute that they sell themselves as slaves, in order to sustain themselves.
Matthew 19:21 reads,
19:21Jesus
said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell
what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;
and come, follow me."
The poor are those who need possessions, for the lack them.
Matthew 26:6-13 reads,
26:6Now
when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 26:7a woman came to him having an alabaster
jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at
the table. 26:8But when his
disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? 26:9For this ointment might have been sold
for much, and given to the poor."
26:10But
Jesus, knowing this, said to them, "Why do you
trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for me. 26:11For you always
have the poor with you; but you don’t always have me. 26:12For in that she
poured this ointment on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 26:13Most assuredly I
tell you, wherever this gospel will be preached in the whole world, what this
woman has done will also be spoken of for a memorial of her."
The poor are those in lack, who need money or other provisions for their sustenance.
Mark 12:41-44 reads,
12:41Jesus
sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the
treasury. Many who were rich cast in much. 12:42A
poor widow came, and she cast in two lepta,
which make a quadrans. 12:43He called his disciples to himself, and
said to them, "Most assuredly I tell you, this
poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury, 12:44for they all gave
out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had
to live on."
The poor widow had only a quadrans, or about 1/64 of the average daily wage for a labourer! She was indeed very needy.
The Poor Lack High Quality Clothing
James 2:1-4 reads,
2:1My
brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,
with respect of persons. 2:2For if a
man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your assembly, and there
come in also a poor man in filthy clothing; 2:3and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine
clothing, and say, "Sit here in a good place;" and you tell the poor
man, "Stand there," or "Sit by my footstool;" 2:4haven’t you shown partiality among
yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
The poor don't have fine clothing, but make do with whatever quality of clothing they have.
In essence, Yahweh forbids the children of Israel from charging interest to their fellow Israelites. Nevertheless, he allows them to charge interest to non-Israelites. Yahweh also forbids his people from charging interest to the poor, irrespective of their nationality. His people are to show compassion upon the poor and needy, wherever these are found. The poor and needy are those who lack possessions such as land, houses, and even lack adequate food and clothing. Even those who cannot afford to buy even three lambs are poor. Those who are so destitute that they have to sell their possessions, and cannot afford to own possessions such as land and houses, are also poor, as are those who sell themselves as slaves, that they may have sufficient to live on.
With respect to investments it should be noted that Yahweh allows his people to both charge and receive interest. These must exclude poor people, in order to be compliant with Yahweh's law.
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© 2001, Isaac Aluochier, All rights reserved. Published by Servants of Yahweh, P O Box 44848, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya. E-mail: servantsofyahweh@serveyahweh.org. Permission is hereby GRANTED to reproduce this and other publications in the Servants of Yahweh web site, http://www.serveyahweh.org, unless otherwise stated.