Deuteronomy 15:1-17; Luke 16:19-31

Poor Laws in an Age of False Beneficence

Preached at Sycamore RPC

Kokomo, IN

February 24, 2002

Sermon Text

1 “At the end of  every seven years you shall grant a remission  of debts.  2 “This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’S remission has been proclaimed.  3 “From a foreigner you may exact  it, but your hand shall release whatever of yours is with your brother.  4 “However, there will be no poor among you, since the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess,  5 if only you listen obediently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today. 6 “For the LORD your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

7 “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother;  8 but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need  in whatever he lacks.  9 “Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you.  10 “You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.  11 “For the poor will never cease  to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’

12 “If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free.  13 “When you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed.  14 “You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.  15 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.  16 “It shall come about if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you;  17 then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant.

Can you see the fraudulent charity that exists in our day? When I say fraudulent, I do not necessarily mean the financial accounting practices of the groups or institutions I am about to name. Rather, in the words of Marvin Olasky in his book The Tragedy of American Compassion, can you see how Americans can look like very compassionate people yet we are not? Consider a few examples ready at hand:

• The businesses in our town encourage and even pressure their workers for “100% employee participation” in the United Way. They tout the accomplishments of this charitable operation and the dozens of programs it funds. Yet the programs the United Way sponsors are Christ-less, some sponsor the killing of babies through abortion, and others express deadly, worldly philosophies in direct conflict with the gospel.
• At Christmas time the whole community, particularly the business community, gets caught up in fund raising for the “We Care” program, which raises money for several relief organizations in town committed to helping the family, including the Rescue Mission. Yet many of the businesses involved prevent their employees from keeping the Sabbath, charge people exorbitant interest rates, control housing and renting markets in such a way that it makes it very difficult for people to own their own homes, and charge clientele differently based on where they work (Deuteronomy 25:13-16 declares that unjust weights and balances are an abomination to the Lord).
• Churches all over town talk (and only talk!) about God’s love. It’s gotten to the point one of my pastor friends said all this talk of God’s love makes him sick! (Because His love is misrepresented and God’s other characteristics are idolatrously cast aside). At Valentine dozens of church signs had sentiments on them such as having God ask the passing motorist to be His valentine. Yet in those same churches the husbands, who are commanded to love their wives (their valentines!) like Christ loves the church, are divorcing their wives at a higher rate than the world. What can be more hard-hearted than a man forsaking his wife and children, then giving money to the We Care program so that others can take care of them and he can feel good about himself?
• The government speaks of caring for the poor, yet continues to increase taxes so that the average family works from January through May to pay their federal, state and local income, property, sales, gasoline, inventory and other taxes. No matter how you cut it, that’s a 5/12 tax rate, or between 40-45%. It sponsors a huge lottery system that misleads and taxes predominately the poor through the false hope of escape. When the government speaks of concern for the poor and offers welfare, recognize that they are usually speaking of how they can increase their power over the citizens and enslave the poor to depend on them.

It is in this cloudy confusion of false beneficence that we need concrete applications of Biblical law. The church, which has handed over poverty work to the government and humanitarian organizations, needs to regain the wisdom and desire to return to laboring among the poor. Unfortunately, the church has turned from the poor ordinances found in the Mosaic Law, believing them to be outdated or cast out by Christ’s New Testament ministry. Indeed, this passage speaks of a sabbatical year, which certainly contains ceremonial aspects no longer obligatory for the Christian to observe. One is tempted to smile at the quaintness of these laws yet feel no duty to them, much like one might enjoy a picture of an Amish village but sense no obligation to live that way. Yet these laws are God’s laws! Within the pictures of the old covenant we find the binding principles we need in caring for and dealing with those in poverty. We must believe that. Christ believed that.

I read to you from the story found in Luke 16 regarding the rich man and Lazarus. Recall this story is set in the context of Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, the supposed keepers of the Mosaic Law. The rich man is cast into a burning Hades for failing to care for poor Lazarus, while Lazarus enjoys the heavenly presence of God in Abraham’s bosom. When the rich man asks for thirst to be quenched, he is reminded of how he treated Lazarus during his life, and that justice and mercy are now being served. When he asks Abraham to at least send one back from the dead to warn his brothers about the agony, Abraham responds that his living brothers have Moses and the prophets, and they should just listen to them. The rich man argues against the sufficiency of this, “But no, send one back from the dead and surely they will listen.” Yet Abraham responds, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, then they will not listen to one raised from the dead.” The rich man was in hell because he did not know Moses and the prophets. Notice in the story he refers to Abraham several times as “father.” This man was an Israelite who should have known Moses and the prophets. If he had, he would have known what to do with this poor, sick man at his gates. And if he had known Moses’ law and cared for this poor man, the point of this parable is that He would have known the resurrected Christ!

Should we then not believe and do the following poor laws? Since in the message on Deuteronomy 14 I spent significant time addressing giving, and this passage before us is predominantly about lending, I will spend most of the time this morning addressing lending then briefly touch on the other two laws.

I. Lend without usury to one who is in need.

Lending or borrowing is a Biblical practice. That runs contrary to some who teach that to borrow money is a sinful thing to do. A teaching that we have been exposed to here claims that if we trust God, we will never be in a situation to need to borrow money, and that Christians who have ample resources should not lend but simply give their money to others. They base that teaching on a misapplication from passages such as this one, which states in verse 4 that if you are obedient, you will have no poor among you, and that you will lend to many, but not borrow. Yet note that:

• These promises are to the covenanted nation of Israel , not to individuals. As a people, if they were faithful, God would so richly bless them few if any among them would be in need. (Notice that we are not to read verse 4 too literally -verse 11 says “the poor will always be among you” just as Jesus said). To say that an individual is necessarily in sin if he borrows is a false conclusion based on a false premise.
• If borrowing is sinful, then lending would be aiding and abetting a person in sin. So lending would also be sinful. Yet we are clearly commanded by Christ Himself to “not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). Through Moses, our Lord is specifically teaching about godly lending and how it is to be done.
• Often this teaching is supported by a phrase found in Romans 13:8, which says we are to “own no man anything.” This phrase really has nothing to do with borrowing money per se, but rather is speaking of our obligation to honor authorities and love and help our neighbor. Indeed, lending to our neighbor at the appropriate time can be the best way to show him our love.

So how is Biblical lending to take place?

Notice in lending one has to be discerning. Verses 2-3 indicate you can treat a neighbor/brother differently than a foreigner. A brother, or fellow believer, was to be forgiven a loan after 7 years, but this was not applied to the foreigner or unbeliever. This indicates there were different types of loans.

Interest-free loans were to be given to brothers in extreme circumstances. Listen to Exodus 22:25-27:

“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. 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.”

Note again this is a brother (God says he is one of “My people”). In such poverty was this man he only has a cloak, or a coat, as a covering. It implies that he was probably without a home, because it is his “only covering” and he needs it to cover himself at night to stay warm. He has met with extreme misfortune. Yet notice it was still considered gracious and charitable to loan rather than simply give him money. That is not saying one cannot give freely to a brother in extreme difficulty; just that loans are not unlawful in such situations.

Thus we need to see there were charity loan for a man in dire straits . Hold his cloak as collateral. If he had resources of his own, this type of loan was not to be given. If a fellow Christian comes to you and says, “Can you loan me $200 for a new VCR, or $20,000 for a new car?” you are not obligated to make a loan interest-free. Yet if a brother needs a charity loan, then we must be quick to extend it if we have the resources. A desire for repayment, though expected, is not to be the basis for a failure to lend. For notice that in verses 9-11 you are not to hold back if you think you might not be repaid. Rather you are to trust God that He sees your graciousness and will bless you even if one default on the loan and you must forgive it.

Loans in Israel took place on a seven-year cycle, at which time you were to forgive any outstanding debt. Though we no longer observe the Sabbatical year, certainly the principal of not keeping your brother in debt for more than six years is a godly one. Yet what we have heard thus far could lead one to ask, “A six-year loan, with no interest and with the balance forgiven at the end, is that not too good to be true? Does that not cost the poor nothing, and will it not breed laziness and irresponsibility?” If we have any bankers here this morning and they are hearing this, they have raised eyebrows about now!

Scripture teaches that there were also commercial loans, and these loans, especially to the foreigner, could charge interest (Deuteronomy 23:20, Matthew 25:17 implies this) and were not obligated to be forgiven on the seventh year. Yet even here the interest rate was not to be usurious, for as we sing in Psalm 15 the righteous man’s “gold no increase bears from usury.” The “cash advance” places that have popped up all over our town are wicked. They prey upon the poor and foolish, who go in and write a check that will be covered when their next paycheck is deposited, but don’t realize the service fee represents an exorbitant interest rate.

What does all this have to do with us? Let us consider first a spiritual and then a very practical application. This is not to say the spiritual application is not practical, but is one of the heart and may not be as easily seen. The second application must be practiced before men.

Can you see the gospel in what I have just preached? Here we have a picture of God setting people free from their bondage and slavery in Christ. When we look at this picture of poor laws in the Old Testament, Christ setting people free is what we are to see. But we need to look more deeply at the picture and notice its intricacies.

In America, we like to think of the gospel as a “free gift,” and so it is. Salvation is free, purchased by Christ alone. But a free gift is not the only analogy of the gospel the Scriptures use!And a free gift given indiscriminately to all is NOT a Biblical analogy! Offered to all – Yes! Given to all – No! For sometimes we need to think of the gospel as a “loan offer.” How strange that sounds to our ears, but consider. Listen carefully, for I fear I shall be condemned, “That York is preaching salvation by works.” No, I’m preaching salvation that brings forth works, a covenantal gospel that Jesus preached.

Recall that Jesus told the parable of the talents. In it, three servants are loaned differing amounts of money by their master. It is an analogy of God giving gospel knowledge to people to see what they will do with it. The servants who were given five and two talents doubled their amounts and earned the commendation of the master. But the one who was given one talent just hid it and did not produce a return. Why? When confronted by the master about why he hid it, the lazy servant said, “Because I know you are a hard master and reap where you do not sow.” Yet the master had sown! He had given him a talent! Beloved, that is why there is so much false beneficence out there in our world today. Just as the one-talent servant didn’t believe in the beneficence of the master, so people do not believe in the goodness of God. They do not acknowledge what He has given them. They disregard His laws. Then they pretend as if they are more compassionate than He is. The master uses the words of this false servant to self-condemn him. If this man really believed his master was as hard as he said, he still should have at least put the talent in the bank and made some interest. Do you understand? This talent was given for a time, not to hide but to bank on, to live on, to produce on. So it is that gospel knowledge has been given to you, loaned to you, in order to change you, to produce holiness and love in your life. What happens if you are not faithful? As Jesus said, “The one who does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” Fail to use what God has granted to honor Him and even what you have will be stripped from you. You have defaulted on your loan.

Jesus used this concept throughout the gospels. It is the same in the parable of the unrighteous servant told in Matthew 18. Remember the servant who owed the king millions in debt, but the king forgave the debt when he pled for mercy? Yet what did he do? This servant with his debts erased went out, saw a fellow servant who owed him a few bucks, and then grabbed, choked, and imprisoned the poor man. Recall what the king did? “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.” The lesson? Another loan default! Jesus said, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

The spiritual application is that you must invest wisely the gospel knowledge given to you, or else this wonderful gift becomes a horrifying debt against the holy God. It will be required of you.

Now for the practical application. Beloved, the people of this city need a true picture of God. Taught the gospel is ONLY a free gift, they believe He loves them no matter what they do and they fail to believe on the gospel that produces holiness. Their waste of God’s great treasure is leading them to that place where there will be the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Many of the agencies reinforce this concept by giving rather than loaning, in failing to move people off of dependency into responsibility. Many of you are expressing a sense that is God moving among us, wanting us to take greater responsibility to assist the downtrodden. Conversation is taking place about some purchasing dilapidated homes, then fixing them and working out creative financing to provide low-cost housing to the poor. Discussion is occurring at the Mission regarding developing the skills and responsibility of men at the Mission to be productive. The Mission, as it even now opens a Women and Children’s Shelter, will need even more the involvement of the church. This all is taking place as God is raising up deacons among us. Will we do the practical things necessary, whether it is showing up on a Saturday with nails and hammer, or teaching these women how to make bread? Because of the grace God has shown us, we must lend ourselves to others.

Now let me briefly touch on two other poor laws that complement this one.

II. Give liberally to the one who has been faithful.

In verses 13-14, we read that if a person had been indebted to you to the point they were in service to you, and he had been a faithful servant, on the Sabbatical year you were to give him his freedom. Yet you did not just send him out empty-handed. You were to lavish upon him gifts of food, drink, and animals of his own. This was so he could make a good start of it, and now provide for himself. The picture here is of the abundance Christ will bless the faithful with in this life and the one to come.

Sadly, our government gives liberally to the unfaithful rather than to the righteous. That is why the poor are so prevalent and depressed in our age. Christians need to be wiser than this, and learn what it means to reward the faithful. Otherwise we can take our money and throw it to the wind. If a man drinks all day, then Christians feed, shelter and clothe him, he has no incentive to change his ways. We violate the Scriptures, which tell us that “if a man will not work, neither let him eat.” If he will not work, and does not exercise faithfulness, then we are under no obligation to continue to provide to him. Our obligation is to lend and teach him to work so he learns discipline and strength.

Consider Jacob. How many years did he work hard to get his wife? Seven. Then when his deceitful uncle pulled the switch on him and gave him Leah instead of Rachel, what did Jacob do? Worked seven more years for his wife. Then what did he do to earn his own flocks and business? Worked six more years out in the elements. Then he was ready to leave with all the bounty. During these twenty years his faith in God was developed and his character formed. This type of work will not hurt men, but prove their faithfulness. Too many Christians are wasting their time in poor ministry on the unrepentant rather than giving themselves to the broken-hearted. I am not saying we turn a cold shoulder to anyone. Rather, watch carefully who and how you give your money and resources. Every dollar should be invested carefully to faithful people and ministries.

III. Receive gratefully the one who wants to be indentured.

Finally, we read in verses 16-17 that not all people can care or want to care for themselves. Set against the humanitarian cry in our land of autonomous freedom is the Biblical recognition that many people rather need and enjoy serving good “masters” and lords. Some people want to be indentured, or to remain in service under the kind wings of those who can care for them. For instance, simply trying to get men in the Mission out of there in a year or two so they can live independently might not be a proper goal. Perhaps as we have prayed and discussed they need to move out after a year or two, but move into a situation where they will be mentored and even employed by those in the church who can watch over and help them. Again, watching for faithfulness will be the key.

We must be given to understanding and applying these laws, for verse 15 tells us the reason. Remember you were once one who was a slave. Beloved, in poor ministry the gospel is at stake! As the rich man learned too late, how you treat the poor says everything about you and the church. If you have been released from your bondage and sin through Christ, you will have a desire to show your concern for others trapped in their sins. How the church needs to reclaim once again their responsibility to care Biblically for the poor. If this last century, it shows that when liberal theology guides us in caring for the poor, the gospel is lost and the poor are only further enslaved. May we go forth and offer true care for the poor, so that the knowledge of the true God and the true gospel may be clearly seen by all.