Lend to Those In Need - Leviticus 25:35

"If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you." ~Leviticus 25:35-36~

from http://www.mylegaladvance.com/
how-lawsuit-cash-advance-works.htm

There are a number of popular misunderstandings about lending, and borrowing, that I think need to be revisited as we come to this portion of Leviticus.  I have heard, from a number of leading Christian Financial teachers, that borrowing is wrong because "the borrower is slave to the lender."  I have also heard some of these same teachers reverse that teaching and say that we shouldn't lend money to friends, or family because it ruins the relationship since "the borrower [becomes] slave to the lender."

While I understand what these financial teachers are trying to inspire, it's possible that they have gone too far in their teaching.  Notice what our opening verse says "if one of your brethren becomes poor... then you shall help him."  We are commanded to help our brothers who are in need.  I would point out that this could take the form of letting them "live with you" or it could be in the sense that you "lend them" what they need.  Notice this verse isn't a negative command against lending.  Rather, it is instruction on how to lend properly.  If you're going to lend, which is fine, lend to the person at 0%.

Notice also, that there is nothing here that condemns the person in need for borrowing the money.  It's true, "the borrower is slave to the lender."  However, that doesn't make it wrong, it just shows that borrowing has a high degree of responsibility!  I've heard fellow Christians say things like "you should lend with no expectation of getting it back."  I have always felt that this was a silly thing to say because lending with no expectation of repayment is, by definition, giving not lending.  I want us to read what the Bible says in the book of Exodus on this subject:

"If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down." ~Exodus 22:25-26~

There is absolutely nothing wrong with borrowing from a family member, or fellow believer, but there is something seriously wrong if you don't pay it back!  This verse doesn't say to the lender "lend without expectation of getting back."  It says to the lender, don't take interest, and it says to the borrower, give what was borrowed back!  I want to close with the very next verse in Exodus and a few closing thoughts:

"For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious."  ~Exodus 22:27~

There's is nothing sinful about lending to a fellow believer or a family member, nor is there anything sinful about borrowing from the same.  However, there are a couple of principles for lending and borrowing in these verses that I think we should keep in mind:

1) The Person Should Be In NEED
If you're family member or a fellow believer is behind on their $30,000 car, they don't need help making their car payment, they need to sell their car and get a bicycle.  A real NEED has to do with food, clothing, and a roof over their head.  Don't foot the bill for their entertainment or luxury!

2) The Lender Should NOT Require Interest
What this means is that the condition for borrowing ought not to be that the borrower must pay back w/interest.  If the borrower, grateful for the help, offers to pay back w/interest, then that's fine, but it shouldn't be the condition upon which our willingness to help a fellow believer or family member rests.

3) The Borrower MUST Return What Was Borrowed
I absolutely love the last verse we quoted.  Don't take advantage of your brother's generosity.  If you borrow $500 and you don't return it, that's not borrowing, that's stealing!

4) There MUST Be Some Sort of Agreement (preferably written)
If you're going to borrow money, or lend money, make sure both parties understand what is expected.  Notice that Exodus 22:26 says "If you ever take your neighbor's garment as a pledge."  Clearly it was understood that the garment would be returned by nightfall.  At least three things should be in the agreement: (1) what was borrowed, (2) how it should be paid back, and (3) when it should be paid back.  This agreement can either be verbal (with witnesses) or written with signatures.  This way if the loan is not paid back the matter can be taken before the church (see 1 Corinthians 6).

If these four Biblical principles govern the lending and borrowing among fellow believers and family members, so far from being sinful, it is actually the fulfillment of a holy command.  Isn't it much better that the we care for our own, rather than each of us paying exorbitant amounts of usury to the greedy heathen?  I have personally borrowed from family and a fellow believer.  In neither case has the relationship been fractured or even changed.  In fact, just the opposite has occurred.  I'm extremely grateful for their help, and even happier, in one case, to offer interest to a lender for his willingness to help me!

Plan to Take a Year Off - Leviticus 25:21

"Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years." ~Leviticus 25:21~

Can you imagine taking a year off of work?  How incredible would that be?  Soak it in.  How much better and harder would you work if your workplace promised you a YEAR OFF!  What if they said you could have one every seventh year!  How GREAT would that be!  As I was reading the laws concerning the sabbath of the seventh year and the year of jubilee I wondered if doing this would be possible today?  Would it be possible to save enough in six years so that you could pay all your bills for the seventh year?  I think many of you are saying in your head... NO WAY!

I think what our verse makes quite clear, is that a sabbath rest is needed, and we need to save for that rest.  It also shows that God will provide for that rest.  In Israel they were to work six days and rest on the seventh in a normal week.  Most work weeks in America consist of five-day, forty hour, weeks.  Also, most jobs (not all) pay overtime if you work more than five days or over forty hours. So let's do some math.  Suppose you get paid $8/hr and you work 40 hours per week.  There are 52 weeks in a year so you would be making $16,640/year.  (see below for math)

$8 (/hr) x 40 (hr/wk) = $320 per week.
$320 x 52 (wks/year) = $16,640

Now, suppose you decided to pick up another eight hours doing something else.  Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that you DON'T get paid extra for overtime.  In that one day you'd work eight hours at eight dollars an hour.  So, each week you'd save $64.  At the end of six years you would have saved $19,968!  That's MORE than you lived off of in the years you saved! (see below for math)

$64 x 52 (wks/year) = $3328
$3328 x 6 (years) = $19,968

What's the point of this little math lesson?  God's plan for saving works!  I know some will complain that I didn't account for taxes, or "No one can live off that!"  First, taxes are taxes.  The point is if you work six days a week, and save the income from one of those days, at the end of six years you'll have more to live off in that seventh year than you had in the previous six (taxes or not).  Second, in most families both mom & dad work.  Just double the numbers.  The point is, if you save one day's income a week, for six years, you can have a sabbatical year!

Why won't this work for many?  Many of us live outside of our means.  Don't feel bad, I've done it myself.  I'm in debt to my ears and can't wait to get out.  I should have planned ahead, and made better choices. Many of us have already eaten, entertained, or overspent our sabbatical years away.  We're working extra days to pay those off!  I would encourage you, wherever, and however you can, to plan for rest.  Not only short periods like a day here and there, but long periods.  Maybe it's six weeks a year.  Or maybe it's only one week a year.  Plan for rest!  If we do, we'll work better in those days leading up to the rest, having hope for the break, and we'll work better after the break having been refreshed.

from http://www.mandarinpictures.com/
matthewsilas/chickenscratch/

I'll close with the story of the old lumberjack and the young lumberjack.  One day a young, strong, lumberjack challenged an old lumberjack to a dual.  They would both start chopping at the same time, and they would go a full day.  At the end of the day they would count all the trees felled by each to see which was the better lumberjack.  As they began the young lumberjack got off to a blistering pace.  After collapsing a number of trees he glanced up to see how his much older opponent was fairing.  As he looked up a grin came across his face.  The old man was seated, in the distance, and as far as he could tell hadn't yet felled as many trees as he.  As the day came to a close the two men re-grouped and awaited the results.  Gasping for air, sweat on his brow the young lumberjack asked the old man how he faired.  The old man, showing little fatigue, said he thought he did just fine.

It was then that those counting the trees returned with surprising results.  The old lumberjack had out down his younger counterpart by a landslide.  Confused and a little frustrated the young man exclaimed "How could you possibly defeat me?  You neither worked as hard nor as fast as I.  And I never stopped to take a break!"  The old man replied with a grin on his face and said "You also never stopped to sharpen your axe!"

Plan some rest in your days, your weeks, and your years.  Let this rest be a time to build strength, and to sharpen your tools!  Surprisingly, when you do, you'll end up producing more than the one who never stops to take a break, or to sharpen his axe!

Watch Your Mouth! - Leviticus 24:14

"Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him". ~Leviticus 24:14~

Lets begin with a little background to our verse today.  Leviticus 24:10 begins the story of a woman named Shelomith and her son whose name is not mentioned.  Shelomith's son gets into a fight with a man of Israel.  It's possible the fight had something to do with the fact that Shelomith's son's father was "an Egyptian."  In the course of the fight Shelomith's son "blasphemed the name of the LORD and cursed."  The people take him into custody and wait for the Lord to speak on the matter.  Moses comes back with a sentence of death by stoning!

from http://huttshead.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/i_swear/

What comes out of our mouths, regardless of the circumstances, is serious business to God.  I have been shocked in recent years to find professing Christians using language that they feel they have the Christian liberty to use.  After reading this passage, I'm convinced that God is not a fan of their cursing.  What I find intriguing about these people is that when engaged in a debate on the subject, they often resort to crass humor or simply using their curse words to offend rather than to give actual support of their position.

Let me chime in on this debate: This is not a gray area!  God is not pleased by cursing, and it does not honor Him! Let me cite two passages that will make it quite clear...

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."   (Mat 12:33-37)

This first verse is a quote from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He says that a man speaks "out of the abundance of his heart."  What kind of words do you use?  Are they kind words, nice words, and loving words?  For those who feel it is their "Christian Liberty" to use curse/swear words: do you consider them to be "good" words?  I've heard the philosophical defense: "Words aren't good or bad in and of themselves, societies deem words good or bad."  Then they go on to say how in some culture somewhere such and such is consider a "bad" word or a "bad" action.  How does that argument justify their evil?  If a culture they know deems a word they use as evil, and they knowingly use it in an evil way, how does that, then, become good and pleasing to Christ?

Notice what Jesus says "...every idle word men may speak, they will give account."  Jesus wasn't just concerned about "bad" words, he was concerned about "idle" words.  The Greek word means useless, or lazy.  Any word that you speak without purpose, and particularly a good purpose, you will give an account for!  Notice also this passage...

"But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks." ~Ephesians 5:3-4~

Notice that Paul cites "filthiness... foolish talking...[and] course jesting" as things that are "not fitting."  He then says that we should replace these things with "...giving of thanks."  Let me put it this way, would we use curse/swear words in our prayers the same way we talk with our buddies on facebook, twitter, or when we're just hanging out?  Can we give thanks using what are commonly known as swear/curse words?  If we go to another culture, and unknowingly say or do something that they consider a great offense, and we didn't mean it as such, that's innocent ignorance.  However, if we discover that it is a great offense, and we use it to offend, anger, and belittle in that culture, does that not offend our God?

The final argument I want to answer, in brief, contends that because we have been justified by faith in Christ, we are no longer under the Law, and we now have the liberty to speak as we please.  Paul answered this objection in Romans...

"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." ~Romans 6:15-18~

I leave us all with this challenge from the book of James:

"For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. ...But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so." ~James 3:2,8-10~

Fuel for the Light of the World - Leviticus 24:2

"Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually." ~Leviticus 24:2~

This morning I came to this passage and was immediatly reminded of Jesus' words in His great sermon on the mount:

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." ~Matthew 5:14-16~

From the_hel's Photo Stream

Naturally what stands out is the constancy of the lamp.  The people of Israel were commanded to "make the lamps burn continually."  In Matthew we're told that no one lights a lamp and puts in under a basket.  That defeats the purpose!  The point of lighting a lamp is so that the lamp can give light!  Right?  Yet many who proclaim to be the light of the world, followers of Christ, have missed that very point.

Notice what Jesus says the shining light looks like: "that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  The light is our good works which point people to Christ in us.  We were changed, we were indwelt by the Holy Spirit, so that we might do good works that would point beyond us to the work of Christ in our lives.  Letting our light shine is simply living out the Gospel, and following Christ openly in the world.  Doing good, Christ honoring, and Christ glorifying works is precisely the reason why we were saved...

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." ~Ephesians 2:10~

How many of us are walking around with a lamp (life) that is only burning when we feel like lighting it?  We show up on Sunday and we light our "christian" lamp so we look good for our church buddies.  Then, come Monday morning, we quickly stifle that flame because we have a different image to uphold at work, in our homes, or among our other group of friends.  We stop doing good works.  We stop glorifying Christ.  We put a basket over the light which Christ has lit in our lives.  I think many could say with confidence that the light of Christ in their life has faded since they were first converted.

That brings me to what really struck me about our passage today.  We all know we're supposed shine our light before men.  Many of us recall the children's song This Little Light of Mine in which we boldly screamed "Hide it under a bushel?  NO! I'm gonna let it shine!!".  However, simply knowing and singing about this truth doesn't tell us what's needed to make it happen.  This verse in Leviticus reminds us that in order to keep their lamps burning, the people needed to "bring pure oil of pressed olives for the lamps."

Fire needs fuel.  Light does not exist in a vacuum.  It needs a source of power.  If we are going to keep our lamps burning continually we are also going to have to bring some pure oil for them to feed off of.  So let me ask you this: What lights your fire?  What gets you burning brighter for Christ?  I came up with the following list in my own life:

1) Personal Daily Bible Study
2) Personal Daily Prayer
3) Listening to the Word Preached Regularly
4) Praising God in Song (individually & corporately)
5) Communing with the saints
6) Partaking in the Lord's Supper Regularly

There are more I could list, but I would encourage all of us to continually run through this check-list and determine if we're doing what's necessary to keep "pure oil" in the lamps of our lives.  If you feel like the "fire" of your life is being extinguished it is probably due to a lack in one of these areas.  It says in 1 Thessalonians five that we are not to "quench the Spirit."  One way to ensure that the Spirit isn't quenched, and the "lamp burns continually", is to make sure you're giving the Holy Spirit something to feed off of.

(note: if you need help with your personal daily walk "Diligence Applied Ministries" has produced an excellent resource entitled "Diligent Devotions."  To download it click here.)