Money (3) – Debt from the Bible

This topic was begun in “Money (1) – Anciently, Shekel Metal”, and continued in “Money (2) – Biblical Honest Weights, Usury”.   This Part 3 is the conclusion.  Most of the material presented in (1) and (2) won’t be repeated here in (3).

Part 2 ended with a discussion from scripture about usury or interest.  ‘Interest’ is where the lender demands from the borrower a return greater than the amount borrowed (distinct from a service fee).

In the Lord’s theocracy of ancient Israel, loans to Israelites at interest were forbidden.  The Hebrew root term for interest or usury is nawshák, Strongs h5391.  It means ‘to bite’!  De.23:19 “You shall not charge interest [h5391] to your countrymen; on silver [h3701], food, or anything lent upon interest.”  Charging any interest to one’s brother was wrong…not just inflated interest.  Ellicott Commentary Ezk.18:8 “In Scripture usury does not mean excessive interest, as often in modern legislation, but any interest at all.”  Gill Exposition De.23:19 “This takes in all sorts of usury.”  On food or grain too.

But God allowed Israel to charge interest to foreigners.  De.23:20 “To a foreigner [h5237 nokrée] you may charge interest [h5391], but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest [h5391]; that the Lord may bless you.”  JFB Commentary “The case was different with foreigners, who, engaged in trade and commerce, borrowed to enlarge their capital, and might reasonably be expected to pay interest on their loans.”  Or, as an economic sanction.  Interest existed in ancient Near East countries.  (see Part 2.)

The Lord gave (monetary) principles & guidelines for His people to obey.  De.28 describes blessings for obedience, and curses for disobedience.  De.28:1 “If you will diligently obey the Lord, being careful to do all His commandments….”  Then v.2-14 lists many blessings.  v.12 “The Lord will bless all the work of your hand; you shall lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.”  A measure of prosperity and the ability to lend are among the blessings for obedience.  We reap what we sow (Ga.6:7).

Then De.28:15-68 describes curses for disobedience.  De.28:15 “But if you will not obey the Lord, to do all His commandments….”  v.43-44 “The alien among you shall rise above you higher and higher. He shall lend to you but you shall not lend to him.”  In this sense, borrowing is a curse for disobedience.  It too reflects sowing & reaping, cause & effect.  God is just and fair.

The Lord gave injunctions to His people about debt, and for loans made among countrymen/brothers.  Guidelines about debt are seen in De.15.  Ideally, ancient Israel would obey the Lord; He would bless them.  And then, v.4-6 “There shall be no poor among you.”  Loans were a provision so that others wouldn’t lack.  God graciously made allowances for the poor and those who needed a loan in Israel.

Ancient Israel was an agricultural nation.  Yet the Lord said that in every 7^th year the land wasn’t to be sown or reaped.  Le.25:3-5 it would have a sabbath rest (and then produce more).  So there was no crop to sell from each 7^th year.  De.15:1-3 “At the end of every 7 years you shall make a release. If you’ve made a loan, don’t collect payment on the debt, because the time for suspending payments on debts has been proclaimed. Of the foreigner you may demand repayment.”  Crops weren’t harvested.  Repayment from Israelite countrymen was suspended for that year; lengthening the term of the loan by one year.  It was a suspension, not a cancellation, of debt.

JFB Commentary De.15:2 “Not an absolute discharge of the debt, but passing over that year without exacting payment. The relief was temporary and peculiar to that year during which there was a total suspension of agricultural labor.”  Matthew Poole Commentary “The word does not signify a total dismission or acquitting, but an intermission for a time, as Ex.23:11.”  Thereby the borrower too was able to better enjoy the land sabbath year.

De.15:7-10 lend even when the 7^th year of the land cycle is near, when no repayment would be made.  v.10 LXX “You shall lend [g1155, Greek] him according to his need; you shall not grudge in your heart as you give to him, because on this account the Lord shall bless you.”  A loan made in the 5^th or 6^th year of the cycle was an act of faith that God will bless the lender (though the repayment of the 7^th year will be delayed)!  They were to loan willingly.

The well-to-do will have less need for a loan, and may lend to others.  Ps.112:5 “It is well with the man who is gracious and lends.”  Also ref Pr.19:17 & Ps.37:25-26, the righteous lends (g1155).  Assuredly the borrower is expected to repay.  But Ps.37:21, “The wicked man borrows but doesn’t repay.”

Collateral from the borrower was held as a pledge that he’d repay the loan.  His collateral was to be returned upon repayment.  ref Ex.22:26, De.24:6, 10-12, 17, Jb.24:3, Ezk.18:7-8, 33:15.  The debtor’s collateral property signified his intent to repay.  Some property wasn’t to be used as term collateral.

Mt.5:42 Jesus said, “Give to him who asks of you, and don’t turn away from him who wants to borrow [g1155] from you”.  Don’t begrudge him who asks.  Lk.6:34 “If you lend [g1155] to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend [g1155] to sinners, to receive back the same.”  Loans to brethren were to be without receipt of interest/usury; gentiles charged usury.  Gill Exposition Lk.6:34 “The same again, as from their brethren the Jews; or usury, as from the Gentiles.”

Mt.6:12 “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”  Here debts are figurative for sins (cf. Lk.11:4).  Barnes Notes Mt.6:12 “Our sins have a resemblance to debts.”  Gill Exposition “To be understood not so much of pecuniary debtors.”  Yet can we expect God to forgive our ‘debt’ of sins, while we charge interest on a loan to brethren?!  (see Part 2.)

Unpaid debt could result in slavery or imprisonment.  2Ki.4:1-7 the widow wanted Elisha to somehow help her pay her deceased husband’s creditors, else her two children would face servitude (ref Le.25:39-41).  Wikipedia: Debt Bondage “Currently, debt bondage is the most common method of enslavement.”  (It occurs primarily in parts of Asia and Africa, for various reasons.)

Debt is metaphorically a form of slavery.  Mortgage debt with interest can be bondage for a family for years (cf. Ne.5:1-13).  Wiha Powell Debt – The New Form of Slavery “Whether it is the national debt, mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans…America has become a society of debt and the people are drowning in it.”  Credit card debt enslaves Americans.  (Ideally, pay off credit card bills in full each month to avoid interest charges.)  Our $20 trillion national debt is more than our economic output!

The USA is by far the world’s biggest debtor nation (summing all private and public debt it owes to nonresidents)!  The Largest Creditor Nation Controls the World (3/3/2016) “In the 1980s the United States crossed over from being a creditor nation to a debtor nation, and is currently the largest debtor nation in the world in aggregate and on a continuing yearly basis.”

Most of the developed Western world is insolvent.  The USA, UK, Western Europe, etc. are essentially bankrupt.  National debt is staggering!  Government (govt) debt has reached the point where they must borrow money just to pay the interest on money they’d previously borrowed!  From deficit spending.

Also, more than $250 trillion is owed from unregulated derivative contracts ‘bets’ of banks (with govt too)…that is, gambling done by big banking on anticipated market fluctuations.  It’s a huge bubble!

Our money system is problematic.  The Biblical standard is commodity money.  The “shekel of the sanctuary” was a weight of silver (h3701 kéhsef, Hebrew).  The Lord commanded His people to have just weights & measures, e.g. Pr.16:11, Ezk.45:9-12.  (see Part 2.)

The USA Constitution Article 1 “Congress shall have the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof.”  The Coinage Act of 1792 created the silver dollar as the monetary unit, legal tender.  It was = 371 grains of silver.  Silver was considered the money of the people, gold the money of the rich.  Silver and gold is commodity money.  (Commodity money and fiat money were discussed in Part 1.)

George Washington wrote in a 1787 letter, “Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice. If ever again our nation stumbles upon unfunded paper, it shall surely be like death to our body politic. This country will crash.”  An ominous warning!

Later in 1873, the USA went on a gold standard.  Silver was mostly de-monetized worldwide.  Gold became hoarded.  This later led to the paper money system.

In 1913, Congress abdicated its power to a private corporation of bankers, the Federal Reserve (FRB).  The Fed creates money out of nothing, and lends it to the govt at interest.  The Federal Reserve Board (seven members) is appointed by the President, not elected.

The Lord said to ancient Israel in Is.1:22, “Your silver has become dross”.  Wikipedia: Coinage Act of 1792 “Various acts have subsequently been passed affecting the amount and type of metal in U.S. coins, so that today there is no legal definition of the term ‘dollar’ to be found in U.S. statute.”

In 1971, the USA went off the gold standard (the system by which the value of currency was defined).  Dollars are no longer tied to gold or silver certificates (representative money).  Paper FRB notes are solely redeemable in other paper FRB notes, actually only worth the paper they’re printed on.

Interest and debt is now the basis of the world’s economic system.  Big banking cartels control the world via debt money.  Bob Livingston Money Is For Control (11/01/2017) “Money now equals debt, and debt equals control”.  The apostle Paul wrote in 1Ti.6:10, “The love of money is a root of evils”.  Money of itself isn’t evil; but the love of money and the wrong use of money is a cause of evils.

The IRS (Section 438) will actually impute ‘unstated interest’ to a real estate loan…making it illegal not to charge interest!  It’s the opposite of Christ’s commands for His people ancient Israel.

In contrast, Islamic banks buy property and sell it for a higher price on installments…but without usury/interest.  It seems that they are closer to the Lord’s word of scripture on this matter.

I’m reluctant to quote Osama Bin Laden (he shows a racial bias).  But he wrote in Letter To America (2002): “You are the nation that permits usury, which has been forbidden by all the religions. Yet you build your economy and investments on usury. As a result of this…the Jews have taken control of your economy…your media…and now control all aspects of your life, making you their servants….”

Islamic rogue nations not doing usury (or derivatives) are holdouts from world bank organizations, and are taken down (by the USA military)…Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan.  (N Korea and Cuba also are holdouts.)  Again, God forbad usury among ancient Israelites…ref De.23:19, Ps.15:5, Ne.5:7.

When the USA talks about promoting democracy worldwide, what’s usually meant is promoting capitalism with usury to benefit the elite!  The few wealthy oligarchs exercise a measure of control over the media and many of the politicians who are candidates.  This oligarchy isn’t really democracy.  Voting choices and the system are suspect.

World currency status is a CONfidence game.  Any nation’s paper money has value only as long as people think it has value!  Investopedia: Is Fiat Money More Prone to Inflation Than Commodity Money? “The value of money is based largely on public faith in the issuer. Commodity money’s value is based on the material it was manufactured with, such as gold or silver. Fiat money, therefore, does not have intrinsic value, while commodity money does. Changes in public confidence in a govt issuing fiat money may be enough to make the fiat currency worthless. Commodity money, however, retains value based on the metal or other material content it has. Fiat money is at risk of inflation and deflation because its value is not intrinsic.”  Silver & gold is commodity money, having other uses (see Part 1).

Bob Livingston The Dollar is Having its Worst Year in History (9/20/2017) “A standard by which paper money was redeemable is by gold and silver, which have always had universal value to people all over the world. When the currency must be redeemable by tangible, equivalent value the people themselves control their money, the economy, and the government. Both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were meant to ensure America operated this way forever. Yet, that ceased to happen. In 1913 the Federal Reserve was created; in 1933, gold was confiscated; and in 1971 the U.S. dumped the solution to the problems of paper money, the gold standard. At that moment, all our dollars became intrinsically worthless and only as strong as the confidence the people themselves had in them. And it is confidence alone that is holding the system together. The implications are scary…and you’re starting to see the effects right now. It is merely the confidence of the people…that gives any value to the dollar whatsoever.”  A sobering assessment of irredeemable fiat paper money.

Kevin Kerr Fiat Currency Failure “A study you might find intriguing was done on 775 fiat currencies by DollarDaze.org.  It determined that: ‘There is no historical precedence for a fiat currency that has succeeded in holding its value.’ The study showed that 20% failed through hyperinflation, 21% were destroyed by war, 12% destroyed by independence, 24% were monetarily reformed, and 23% are still in circulation and approaching one of the other outcomes. Not a pretty picture at all.”  Sad to say.

John R Wilsdon Why Paper Money Not Backed by Gold and Silver Breeds Less Confidence “Gold is the only metal central banks accept as payments of debts between government central banks. Gold has a pedigree no other metal has. So lacking some sort of backing of gold or silver, fiat currency raises issues of trust….fiat currencies (no metallic backing) have ended up hyper-inflated in the past.”

Inflation is an insidious form of theft.  So is deficit spending (govt spending in excess of revenue).  Thomas Massie “Deficit spending is theft. It’s just that most of the victims aren’t born yet.”

Over the decades it is becoming evident that the Kéynesian system of basing economies upon debt has grave shortcomings.  The nations are in debt to billionaire big bankers (and owners of multinational corporations).  We need a  ‘Debt Jubilee’ (cf. Lk.4:18-19, Le.25:35-37)!

Fiat money has a history of failure.  Joel Bauman What Does the Bible Say About Gold and Silver? “In the Bible, gold and silver are synonymous with money. Every Biblical passage that refers to ‘money’ is a unit of weight in gold, silver, or another metal. Silver was used for day-to-day purchases.”

Doug Newman Honest Money, the Bible and the Constitution “Biblical money isn’t fiat money that can be created at will. Biblical money is always tied to a specifically defined weight of precious metal.”

The framers of our Constitution understood the principle, and made the silver dollar the monetary unit.  Again, God had made the silver “shekel of the sanctuary” holy place the standard in His theocracy.

In this world, no monetary system has been perfect.  There have been problems with bimetallism.  Even commodity money may risk “large price fluctuations based on changing commodity prices.” (Investopedia).

Today there is a movement to remonetize silver.  Perhaps the day will come when silver or gold is the monetary unit worldwide?

Hag.2:8 “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”  The Bible mentions silver and gold nearly 700 times!  Barnes Notes “Silver and gold… which in utmost bounty He created, and in His most just government administers.”

The world’s present money system isn’t Biblical, and its effects are a huge economic problem.  Yet Paul wrote in Php.4:19, “My God shall provide all your need, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.  For both the rich and the poor.  2Co.9:8 “God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

Over and above the flaws of our money system, the Lord pours out His bounty to fulfill our every need.  Thank You, Lord!

 

Money (2) – Biblical Honest Weights, Usury

This topic was begun in “Money (1) – Anciently, Shekel Metal”.  This Part 2 is a continuation.  The material presented in (1) will be further developed & expanded here in (2).

Money functions as a: medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, commodity.

Part 1 defined forms of money…commodity money, representative money, fiat money.  It identified things used as money in ancient Mesopotámia and Egypt.  Silver money was the commercial standard in Abraham’s time (Ge.23:14-18), ca 2000 BC.  Part 1 ended with verses about God’s prescribed standard for ancient Israel, the “shékel of the sanctuary” (e.g. Le.27:25).  That shekel was a weight of silver.

Smith’s Bible Dictionary: Money “The shekel weight of silver was the unit of value through the whole age of Hebrew history, down to the Babylonian captivity.”  It was God’s standard, in the holy place.

Silver and gold were used as money in Israel and the Ancient Near East (ANE).  A few examples to illustrate:  De.22:29 a man who had relations with an unbetrothed virgin in Israel must pay her father 50 shekels of silver; she could become the man’s wife.  Jsh.7:20-21 in the Land of Canáan at Jericho, Achán coveted 200 shekels of silver (LXX Greek Strongs g694 “silver”) and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels.  1Sm.9:8 Saul’s servant had ¼ of a shekel (Hebrew Strongs h8255) of silver as payment.

Later, Mal.3:3 is the prophecy about Christ/Messiah the Judge as the figurative purifier of silver.

Silver is commodity money, having other useful purposes.  e.g. Ex.27:11 the curtains in the Lord’s tabernacle were to be hung on hooks overlaid with silver (g696 “silver metal”).  Silver is durable.

Money is a means of account and is used in measurement.  e.g. the Pound Sterling, the world’s oldest currency still in use, implies weight.  Historically in Great Britain, it was the value of a pound of silver.

There are several verses in the Bible where God commands honest weights & measures to be used.  Le.19:35-36 “Do no injustice in measures of length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and weights.”  Gill Exposition Le.19:35 “As money in former times, as well as various sorts of goods.”

The weight of the “shekel of the sanctuary” was prescribed by the Lord.  Le.27:25 “Every valuation of yours shall be set by the shekel [h8255] of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be 20 geráhs [h1626].”  Thus God specified the standard shekel.  It was basic to honest weights & measures.

Pr.11:1 “The Lord detests dishonest scales, but a just weight is His delight.”  Goods were weighed on balance scales to determine price/value.  The silver (h3701 kéhsef) shekel in the holy place (e.g. Ex.38:25) was a just weight.  Pulpit Commentary Pr.11:1 “The standard weights and measures were deposited in the sanctuary.”  Ezk.45:12 “The shekel shall be 20 gerahs. One miná [h4488] will equal 60 shekels.”  Stones of incremental weights (e.g. 2Sm.14:26), based on the shekel, were used for weighing in the balances.  Pr.16:11 “Honest scales and balances are from the Lord.”  The Lord, not man, had stipulated the basic weight for Israel!  Pr.20:23 “Double standards of weights are an abomination to the Lord.”  JFB Commentary Pr.20:10 “Various measures, implying that some are wrong.”

Honest weights & measures must be used for a society to function well in trust.  De.25:13-15 “You shall have a full and just weight…and measure; that your days may be prolonged in the land.”  For other warnings from the Lord about this matter, ref Am.8:4-7 and Mic.6:10-13.

Je.32:8-10 “I bought the field at Anathóth from my cousin Hanamél, and weighed out to him 17 shekels of silver [h3701]. I signed and sealed the deed, took witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances.”  (Thus Jeremiah himself kept the property in the family.)  Benson Commentary Je.32:9 “In ancient times, all money was paid by weight.”  Prior to coinage in Judah (before 500 BC).

But false weights are too often used today.  Jeremiah Project: Just Weights and Measures “On a national scale, false weights and measures are used to dominate and oppress whole classes of people. Wars and ‘bread and circus’ welfare programs are not cheap, and outright taxation has never been popular. As a way around this, dishonest rulers have sought to indirectly confiscate wealth by debasing money and issuing a decree that the money had to trade at full value. This is known as ‘fiat money’, it can either be a dishonest coin or something like a piece of paper that has no intrinsic value at all….Since ancient times, whenever a coin circulated through the treasury of an unjust ruler, he would either shave off portions of the coins, using techniques known as clipping or sweating, and mint more coins with the shavings. Or he would re-mint every coin, debasing it by mixing a less valuable metal with the precious metal. For example, at the time of Christ, the Roman denarius was about 97% pure silver. By 253 AD, it was [only] 35%. Their silver had literally become dross (Isa.1:22). Dross is a symbol of impurity.”

Is.1:22 dates from the 700s BC in Israel. “Your silver has become dross.”  Impurity was then the rule.  They’d replaced a silver shekel with silver-coated alloys, a shekel of base metals.  Barnes Notes “Dross – baser metal which is separated from the purer in smelting. It has little or no value.”  Andy Frith What Does the Bible Say About Sound Money? “Isa.1:22…This is a process that has occurred throughout history, where the state reduces the silver or gold content of the coins, and replaces it with base metal. Today, the same process takes place with the printing press and electronic money creation. All dilute the value of the currency.”  (Money and debt in our present day will be addressed later in this series.)

Let’s now address the concept of interest or usury.  Among the ancient Sumerians, loans were given with attached interest of 20% per annum (Interest Rates in Ancient Mesopotamia).  Tyndale Bible Dictionary: Debt “Clay tablets from Núzi in NE Mesopotamia indicate interest rates of even 50%.”

What is interest?  Wikipedia: Interest “The payment from the borrower to the lender of an amount above repayment of the principle sum (i.e. the amount borrowed). It is distinct from a fee the borrower may pay the lender or some third party. Interest differs from ‘profit.”  Interest used to be called usury.  Wikipedia: Usury “Originally, usury meant interest of any kind. Historically in Christian societies, and in many Islamic societies today, charging any interest at all would be considered usury.”  It demands a return greater than the borrowed amount.  A usurer (or ‘loan shark’) is a person who practices usury.

The word usury is from the Latin usura.  The Hebrew root term for interest/usury is nawshák, h5391.  It means ‘to bite’!  Interest can inflict pain on the wallet & budget of the payee, and cause much anxiety.  It’s been said, “Money is the lifeblood of civilization, and usury is the poison that kills it”!

Usury in the Ancient Near East “In general, interest was allowed everywhere in the ANE, except in Israel.”  Ancient Israel was the Lord’s theocracy.  But interest was practiced in ANE dealings.

In God’s theocracy, loans to ancient Israelites at interest were forbidden!  De.23:19 “You shall not charge interest to your countrymen; on silver [h3701], food, or anything lent upon interest [h5391].”  Charging any interest to one’s brother was wrong…not just exorbitant interest.  Ellicott Commentary Ezk.18:8 “In Scripture usury does not mean excessive interest, as often in modern legislation, but any interest at all.”  Gill Exposition De.23:19 “This takes in all sorts of usury.”  On food or grain too.

But God allowed for interest to be charged to foreigners.  De.23:20 “To a foreigner [h5237 nokrée] you may charge interest [h5391], but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest [h5391]; that the Lord may bless you.”  JFB Commentary “The case was different with foreigners, who, engaged in trade and commerce, borrowed to enlarge their capital, and might reasonably be expected to pay interest on their loans.”  Also, usury can be a form of economic sanction or penalty in dealing with unfriendlies.

“Interest” in Hebrew is néhshek h5392 (“usury”).  The term is seen in: Ex.22:25, Le.25:36-37, De.23:19, Ps.15:5, Pr.28:8, Ezk.18:8, 13, 17, 22:12.  (Also ref LXX: Ps.54:11 and Je.9:6.)

Ezk.18:11-13 “….He has lent upon usury [h5392] and taken increase. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done these abominable deeds he will surely die. His blood shall be upon him.”  Here, usury in Israel is related in terms of capital crime.  Matthew Poole Commentary Ezk.18:8 “Biting usury, which no doubt is prohibited because of the injury it does to the borrower, and the undue gain it brings to the lender.”  Pulpit Commentary Ezk.18:8 “Usury was altogether forbidden in loans to Israelites.”

Usury was unjust gain, and disallowed them.  Jeremiah Project: Just Weights and Measures “Ancient Israel had no lending institutions or banks in the modern sense.”  Je.15:10 KJV Jeremiah wrote, “I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury”.  Jeremiah himself wasn’t party to usury.

Especially the poor in Israel weren’t to be exploited by charging him interest.  Le.25:35-37 “Take no usury of him.”  The poor man often has more need to borrow; treat him with respect too.  Pr.28:8 YLT “Whoso is multiplying his wealth by biting and usury, for one favoring the poor doth gather it.”

The Lord said in Ex.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”.  Unlike most modern lending institutions.

Ne.5:1-12 reflects the bondage of mortgage interest.  v.4 returning Jews had borrowed upon their property to pay taxes, and were paying interest on the loan.  Nehemiah exhorted in v.7-10, “You are exacting usury, each from his brother….Please let us stop this usury.”  For today’s average American, mortgage interest is the most burdensome type of debt.  It can financially cripple a family for years.

Again, charging any interest (not just excessive interest) to your brother or countryman is wrong; but it was okay to charge interest to foreigners.  Pulpit Commentary Ex.22:25-27 “There does not seem to have been any rate of interest which was regarded as excessive, and ‘usurious’, in the modern sense. In scripture usury means simply interest.”  (Nowadays, usury usually refers to ‘excessive interest’.)

Let’s now turn to the New Testament (NT).  In NT times, there was no longer a theocracy of Israel in the Holy Land.  Banking with interest existed among the gentiles.  The Land was provincial to Rome.

Jesus upbraided the lazy servant in Mt.25:24-26. “You wicked lazy servant, if you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I didn’t scatter seed…”  As a thief.  A banker charging interest may reap where he hasn’t sown.  v.27 “Then you should have deposited my money to the exchangers [bankers], and when I returned I would have received my money with interest.”  In other words…“Since you thought I was like a usurious banker, why didn’t you act on your professed opinion of Me? As the servant of a (thieving) ‘hard man’ (v.24), why didn’t you put your Master’s money at interest?!”

Pulpit Commentary Mt.25:27 “These money changers or bankers were a numerous class in Palestine, wherever the Jewish community was established. They received deposits at interest, and engaged in transactions such as are usual in modern times. With usury (interest). At one time, law had forbidden usurious transactions between Israelites, though a Gentile was left to the mercy of his creditor (De.23:19-20)….The rate of interest varied from 4% to 40%.”  It seems those 1^st century exchangers or bankers could charge what they wanted, sometimes with high exchange rates!  Somewhat like modern-day bankers within legal limits and Federal Reserve controls?  Jesus wasn’t approving their practice.

Gill Exposition Mt.25:27 “This is said [by Jesus] not so much to encourage usury…but to reprove the sloth and inactivity of this servant.”  The servant had “buried his talent” (v.18).  Clive Beed Jesus on Lending, Debt and Interest “No insinuation can be drawn that Jesus approved the payment of interest or that He was providing guidelines for how Christians should run their economic life….Jesus’ teachings reflect the Mosaic Law’s normative position on lending and interest….Jesus is talking about tasks and abilities and endowments bequeathed to the disciples and what they do with such opportunities.”  Spiritually speaking, it’s useless to bury one’s “talent”.  Roman rule didn’t obey the Lord.  Jesus wasn’t abolishing the guidelines He’d commanded Moses/Israel about usury!  As Lord, He expects obedience.

Mt.21:12-13 “Jesus entered the temple area and overturned the tables of the moneychangers.”  (also ref Jn.2:14-15.)  The only times Jesus the man used physical force was against the moneychangers or usurers!  Barnes Notes Mt.25:27 “The ‘exchangers’ were persons who were in the habit of borrowing money, or receiving it on deposit at a low rate of interest, to be loaned to others at higher interest. They commonly sat by ‘tables’ in the temple, with money ready to exchange or loan.”  This angered Jesus!

Usury was also forbidden by the early Christian church.  Michael Hoffman Usury in Christendom: The Mortal Sin that Was and Now is Not, p.32 “According to that Faith, all charging of interest on loans of money is theft.”  Usury in Christian History “Several councils of the Church condemned usury for centuries. With Christians banned from lending money at interest, and Jews barred from many professions by Christian monarchs, moneylending was undertaken by Jews in much of Europe.”

Jews practiced it, as had their 1^st century moneychangers in Jerusalem.  Since the early church didn’t practice usury, Jewish usurers had very little competition in medieval Christian lands, and could charge high interest.  The Mishnah Baba Metzia also indicates the Jews found a loophole to evade the Lord’s commands for His people…by making interest-bearing loans to a fellow Israelite via a 3^rd party non-Israelite foreigner.

The apostle Paul wrote in 1Ti.6:10, “The love of money is a root of evils”.  Money of itself isn’t evil; but the love of money and the wrong use of money is a cause of evils.

Jesus said in Lk.16:10-14, “He who is faithful in least, is faithful in much….No servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and riches. But the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were scoffing at Him [Jesus].”  The Pharisees were covetous, lovers of money…g5366 philárguros; arguros is silver.  In this passage, Jesus indicates that servants of God are to use money wisely, but aren’t to give both riches and God an equal place in their heart.  Christian brothers didn’t loan at interest.

What about Christians investing today?  Wikipedia: Usury “Outlawing usury [in Christianity] did not prevent investment, but stipulated that in order for the investor to share in the profit he must share the risk. In short, he must be a joint-venturer. Simply to invest the money and expect it to be returned regardless of the success of the venture was to make money simply by having money and not by taking any risk or by doing any work or by any effort or sacrifice at all, which is usury.”  It’s wrong for man to exact money for nothing…a form of unjust gain.

Beed op. cit. “In the ideal scenario for today, money could still be loaned….For commercial loans, the lender and borrower would share the operation of whatever venture was planned with the loan proceeds. The lender would work in the project. This would be a partnership in which risks were shared, akin to, but not identical to venture capital. Profit/loss share would be on an equity, not debt, basis.”  Associated efforts may be exchanged for money.  Continuing with Bede, “Interest is usually derived from not doing work but lending in the expectation of return. The interest rate is not tied to the return earned by the loan.”  Such interest isn’t the result of labor or risk.

This series on money is continued and concluded in “Money (3) – Debt from the Bible”.

War & Killing and the Bible Christian (2)

We began looking at war from the Old Testament in “War & Killing and the Bible Christian (1)”.  That should be read first, before this Part (2).  Our foundational verses from (1) won’t be repeated here.

In Part 1, the difference between killing and murder was noted.  Killing an individual as capital punishment for a capital crime is justified, scripturally.  Killing as punishment isn’t murder.  On a larger scale, killing in war is warranted or vindicated…when it’s done in self-defense or to ‘end gross violation of human rights’ or cruel oppression.  If so justified, it’s a ‘Just War’.  It isn’t unlawful murder.  And a nation which refuses to defend itself against undue attack would be negligent in its duty to its citizenry.

In this Part 2, we’ll look at war primarily from New Testament (NT) verses, and more recently.  The NT doesn’t directly address the subject of war.  But it does affirm that government (govt) institutions are from God.  Anarchy isn’t God’s method.  Also see the topic “Governmental Loyalty for Christians”.

Ac.22:24-29 the apostle Paul, a Roman citizen, resisted illegal mistreatment.  He didn’t misconstrue “turn the other cheek”.  Jews wanted to kill him.  Paul asserted his rights.  Ac.23:20-33 then two centurions with 200 soldiers protected Paul from Jews in Jerusalem, and brought him safely to governor Felix in Caesárea for a hearing.  A standing army (or a militia) or police force can be used to protect citizens.

Jesus said in Mt.5:39, “Don’t resist evil; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”.  Individuals aren’t to take the law into their own hands.  But if we can defend our family from an intruder (Ex.22:2), Jesus didn’t say to turn our family’s cheek so they submit to possibly being murdered!

Continuing in Mt.5:43-44, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy’. But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  Le.19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Pharisee oral law added a racist clause about hating enemies (perhaps stretching De.23:3-6).  In the Lk.10:29-37 parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus explained to the Jewish lawyer who his neighbor is.  Jews and Samaritans were historical enemies.  God didn’t authorize personal vengeance, Ro.12:18-19.  Individuals aren’t to perpetrate racial fighting or wage war.

Lk.3:14 John baptized Jewish soldiers (of Herod?).  He told them not to extort from anyone by violence, don’t make false accusations, and be content with their wages or rations.  Don’t attempt to unlawfully increase them.  Don’t abuse others.  Lk.7:1-10 is the account of the faithful Roman (gentile) centurion, a leader of 100 men.  Also the Ac.10 centurion Cornelius became the first gentile to receive the Holy Spirit.

The NT doesn’t say whether or not those believing centurions changed jobs after conversion.  The Roman military was tied to false Roman religion.  Depending on seniority, the centurion class paralleled the modern rank of major to one-star general (ref historian Colin Wells).  Roman officers were responsible for persecutions & torture.  It seems doubtful that a converted Christian centurion or Roman soldier would want to serve amidst heathen religious rites, or would still persecute & torture fellow Christians.

As a man, the only ones Jesus used physical force against were the moneychangers or usurers (Mt.21:12-13, Jn.2:14-16).  Jesus the man was nonviolent and innocent of wrongdoing (Jn.19:4).  As a lamb, He didn’t resist being taken into custody, Lk.22:47-54.  (Police today can use deadly force against a person, innocent or guilty, who resists arrest and assaults the officer.)  Is.53:5-8 “The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, He didn’t open His mouth.”  Jesus, unlike us, was to be captured and crucified to die for our sins (1Jn.3:5).  If Jesus’ ruling Kingdom was of this world, then His servants would fight to protect Him from the Jews (Jn.18:36).  But it wasn’t of this world.

Yet Jesus the now glorified Lamb fights with and defeats those who wage war against Him!  Re.17:14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them because He is King of kings and Lord of lords.”  The just King vanquishes His enemies.  Re.19:11-16 “In righteousness He judges and wages war.”  Jesus wars to avenge and save the righteous; He sentences and punishes the wicked.  God is the Giver of life.  He can take life, as He chooses.

But the King of kings doesn’t authorize all aggressor nations of the world to selfishly conquer and steal land or goods from other nations.  Aggressors murder civilians too!  Also in Re.13:10, “He who kills with the sword must be killed by the sword”.  What goes around, comes around.  God is just.  Jesus said to His disciple Peter in Mt.26:52, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword”.  (Jesus must die.)  No individual vengeance.  God will take vengeance.  He authorized law courts and govt (e.g. Ge.9:5-6, De.17:8-11) to maintain law & order and to wield His judgment.

Allan Turner The Christian & War “Should justice be sacrificed on the altar of ‘peace at any price’?”  Pacifism sees war as immoral and should be abolished.  But absolute pacifism itself can be immoral!

Capital punishment and warfare in self-defense kills, but isn’t murder.  Sometimes it’s unjust to refrain from using force; it’s a nation’s duty to protect its citizens.  Having a police force that’s committed to public protection, and to discourage criminality in the streets, isn’t evil.  It’s to maintain law & order.  The person who shoots at police may be killed.  That isn’t murder.  The policeman on duty isn’t pacifist.

War has been called a ‘necessary evil’.  Yet the initial sin that leads to war is the evil first cause.  Ja.4:1 “From where come wars and fightings among you? Don’t they come from cravings that war within you?”  Somewhere sin or greed occurred which can escalate into war.  Should Christians participate in war?

Christ didn’t allow His people ancient Israel to engage in alliances with other nations as “lovers”.  Ho.8:9-10 “Ephráim has hired lovers. Even though they hire allies among the nations, they will begin to waste away.”  Forming political alliances was rebellion against God.  Is.30:1-3 “Woe to the rebellious children’, declares the Lord, ‘Who make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, to add sin to sin.”  Is.36:5-6 also.  2Ch.16:7-10 King Asa of Judah foolishly trusted his alliance with Syria, rather than trusting God.  Ezk.16:2, 33-39 of Judah’s disloyal lovers.  (2Ch.20:35-37 Jehoshaphát’s alliance was bad.)  Ezk.23:1-35 Israel & Judah played the harlot with other nations.  They yoked themselves to the heathen.  Christ sent them both into captivity!  Yokes with unbelievers are unequal, and have ended badly.  Like an ox yoked to a donkey, it doesn’t work.  Paul wrote in 2Co.6:14-15, “Don’t be unequally yoked to unbelievers”.

Our USA Constitution is dated “in the Year of Our Lord 1787” (ref it’s Article VII).  Some historians say this indicates the majority of its signers were Christians.  Jesus Christ is Lord!

Prior to the 1890s, the USA was a non-interventionist nation.  George Washington’s Farewell Address of 1796 expressed our policy of non-interventionism.  In Thomas Jefferson’s 1801 inaugural address, “Essential principles of our government…peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none”.  The USA would engage in trade with other nations, but wouldn’t interfere in other nations’ wars.  The Constitution is non-interventionist, but isn’t isolationist.  Pr.26:17 is a general principle…don’t meddle with strife not belonging to you.  Be non-interventionist.

Paul wrote in 2Co.10:3-4, “Though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare aren’t of the flesh.”  Matthew Poole Commentary 2Co.10:3 “The men of the world war for their honour and glory, or for revenge and satisfaction of their lusts, or for the enlarging of their territories and dominions; but we do not thus war after the flesh.”  Rather, the Christian is to put on the defensive spiritual armor of God (Ep.6:12-17).  The only offensive weapon is the figurative sword of the Spirit, the word of God.  Onward Christian Soldiers (1871) “Like a mighty army, moves the Church of God.”  That doesn’t refer to carnal warfare.

Whereas God will judge carnal wars of selfish or covetous imperialists (Hab.2:8-12).

Should a Christian support a wrong or evil war effort?  Paul wrote in Ep.5:11, “Do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness”.  Ellicott Commentary Ep.5:11 “Keep no terms with them.”  McLaren’s Expositions “Notice the plain Christian duty of abstinence.”  Paul also wrote in 1Ti.5:22, “Do not share in the sins of others; keep yourself pure”.  Barnes Notes “In no way are we to participate in the sins of other people.”  Don’t participate on the side of evil in war either.  Pastor Chad Wagner “No government has the right to make its citizens kill other people who didn’t attack them.”  We can object or avoid war.

It would be sin for a Christian to defile his conscience (e.g. Ac.24:16, Ti.1:15).  “A conscientious objector is an ‘individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service.” (Wikipedia)  Based on scripture…a citizen’s conscience may not allow him to participate in a war of aggression or imperialism.  But it may allow him to fight in a war of self-defense.  God is the only true Lawgiver and Judge (Ja.4:12).  If there’s a conflict between obeying God and obeying human government, Peter said God is to be obeyed rather than men (Ac.5:29).  Obedience to God would have precedence over an ungodly military duty.  We don’t worship a human govt, be it democratic or dictatorial.  Noncombatant service may or may not be a conscience issue.

Do our leaders submit to God’s principles and to our Constitution?  If a govt cannot be trusted to tell the truth about the need to go to war, can an honest man fight for an untrustworthy govt policy?  We’re to conscientiously try to determine the justness of our govt’s laws & policy, based on God’s right principles.

Jesus said in Mt.5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers”.  When ancient Israel approached an enemy city, they were first to offer it terms of peace (De.20:10-11).  Justice and righteousness result in peace (Is.32:16-18).  A fruit of God’s Spirit is peace (Ga.5:22).

Opinions vary about the justness of USA govt decisions to join in modern wars.  We abandoned neutrality in 1917 to enter WW1.  We entered WW2 after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  Statistics show that unemployment was even higher in 1939 than in 1931.  It’s said that in 1941 President FDR was looking for a way to get into WW2 (war preparations hiring lowers unemployment).  He allowed the Japanese oil supply to be cut off.  Did this goad Japan into an act of aggression?  Japan retaliated by attacking Pearl Harbor.

James Perloff Pearl Harbor: Hawaii Was Surprised; FDR Was Not “Comprehensive research has shown not only that Washington knew in advance of the attack, but that it deliberately withheld its foreknowledge from our commanders in Hawaii in the hope that the ‘surprise’ attack would catapult the U.S. into World War II. Oliver Lyttleton, British Minister of Production, stated in 1944: ‘Japan was provoked into attacking America at Pearl Harbor. It is a travesty of history to say that America was forced into the war’. A pre-war Gallup poll showed 88 percent of Americans opposed U.S. involvement in the European war.”  What were the real reasons for our entry?  Later Japan was willing to make peace before we dropped atom bombs.  General Eisenhower opposed using the bomb…150,000 civilians died tragically!

The USA govt viewed the war in Vietnam as a means of preventing the spread of Communism.  Was our involvement in Vietnam a war of aggression to help France re-conquer Vietnam?  It’s said the early Tonkin Gulf incident was a phantom to boost public support for the war.  This long war lasted 15 years (1959-1975)…and we didn’t win!  Our economy was experiencing recession from 1957–1961; and a war can alleviate recession.  During the war years, citizens increasingly objected to us being in Vietnam.  By the year 2000, a Gallup poll indicated that 69% of citizens thought our involvement in the war had been a mistake.

“Money makes the world go ’round.”  The USA & Federal Reserve has so wanted the U.S. dollar to remain the world’s reserve currency!  But Iraq’s Saddam Hussein wanted to trade oil for euros, not petrodollars.  Some say this was a significant reason for our going to war with Iraq.  Libya’s Gaddafi wanted a gold–backed currency behind Libyan oil trade.  This too could’ve hurt the dollar.  Saddam and Gaddafi were eliminated, whatever the real reasons.  Conspiracy theorists say evil secret groups plan wars.

Rogue nations which forbid usury & derivatives are holdouts from USA & world banker organizations, and are taken down (militarily)…Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan (Iran in future?).  North Korea and Cuba are also holdouts.  Of note, Christ forbad usury among ancient Israelites (ref De.23:19, Ne.5:7, Ps.15:5).  see “Money (2) – Biblical Honest Weights, Usury”.

Allan Turner op. cit. “The prudent soldier who fights for what he believes in, but later discovers that the real reason for the war was obscured by lies…is not guilty!”  The media may present conflicting info regarding war issues.  Real reasons for going to war can be difficult to sort out.  Young Christians of military age aren’t statesmen who may know what’s going on behind the scenes.  Dedicated young men have been wounded or gave their lives in war to support a cause they believed in.  They’re to be respected.  I’m for being rightly patriotic to our country, while not engaging in misguided patriotism to wrong principles!

Modern America elects interventionist presidents (whereas our founders were non-interventionist).  The USA tries to force usurious secular Western values on non-Western nations!  We give foreign aid to nations who are each other’s enemies.  And we have favorites.  That causes much resentment internationally.  There are even nations which hate the USA who gives them aid!  As ancient Israel and its “lovers”, being unequally yoked to heathen or anti-Christ nations has led to dangerous problems.

Was the American Revolution a violation of God’s principles?  Some historians think the American Revolution was a war of self-defense.  (Ne.4:7-21 reflects self-defense.)  That Britain had attacked America, not vice-versa?  The American colonists’ formal appeals for peaceful reconciliation were met with militarism, violations of British Common Law.  The colonists didn’t want anarchy.  Colonial charters established self-rule under the British monarchy.  They resisted British Parliament (“taxation without representation”) as being a seeming invader, but not initially in revolution.  The Revolution was a response to the: 1770 Boston Massacre, 1774 Boston Tea Party & its aftermath, 1775 attacks on Concord & Lexington and the Williamsburg gunpowder incident.  Freedom from oppression won out!

Moving forward, in the American Civil War of the 1860s, there were Christians from the North fighting against other Christians from the South…a great tragedy for our country!

In wars between peoples and nations today, there are Christian brothers fighting each other!  In the present day Syria civil war, Christians are fighting Christians.  Also Arab Christians in the Middle East fight Israeli Jewish Christians!  (On the other side of the coin, the Israeli govt wants Arab Christians in Israel to enlist in Israel’s military, the IDF).

Concluding, Paul wrote in 1Ti.2:2, “…That you may live a quiet and peaceable life”.  Supporting wars of aggression and selfish imperialism is wrong.  Again, peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Ga.5:22).  As the song goes, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me”.  The word of the Lord in Is.2:1-4, “They will turn their swords into plowshares. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.”  Eventually carnal warfare will be a thing of the past.  God’s lawful principles and peace will be known by all nations!  May the Lord hasten that day…Shalom!