Bird's-eye view
In these two verses, the Lord lays down a foundational principle of covenant economics for Israel as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. The law concerning interest, or usury, is not a flat prohibition of all interest-bearing loans, as some have mistakenly thought. Rather, it is a crucial regulation designed to preserve the fabric of covenant community. The central distinction is between a "brother," a fellow Israelite, and a "foreigner." To a brother, particularly a poor one, a loan was to be an act of mercy, not a commercial transaction for profit. Charging interest in such a case would be to take advantage of his distress, which is forbidden. Commercial loans for productive purposes were another matter, and the distinction with the foreigner shows that the Bible is not economically naive. God's law here is establishing a two-tiered system: one of charity and mutual support within the covenant family, and another of standard commercial practice outside of it. The goal, as stated in the text, is the blessing of God. When God's people care for their own, refusing to profit from a brother's misfortune, God promises to prosper the work of their hands in the land He is giving them.
This is a law rooted in love for neighbor. It protects the poor from being crushed by debt and fosters a spirit of generosity and solidarity within the nation. It teaches that money is not an end in itself, but a tool that must be wielded according to the demands of covenant faithfulness. The application of this principle today requires wisdom, but the core truth remains: we are not to be loan sharks to our brethren in need, but rather a people marked by open-handed mercy, trusting that God's blessing is a far greater return on investment than any interest payment.
Outline
- 1. Covenant Economics (Deut 23:19-20)
- a. The Prohibition: No Interest to a Brother (Deut 23:19)
- b. The Permission: Interest Charged to a Foreigner (Deut 23:20a)
- c. The Promise: The Basis for National Blessing (Deut 23:20b)
Context In Deuteronomy
This passage is situated within a larger block of laws in Deuteronomy that govern the civil and ceremonial life of Israel. Moses, in his final sermon to the people on the plains of Moab, is reiterating and expounding upon the law given at Sinai forty years prior. The immediate context includes laws about vows (Deut 23:21-23), divorce (Deut 24:1-4), and various rules designed to protect the vulnerable, such as newly married men, the poor, and hired servants (Deut 24:5-15). The prohibition on usury fits squarely within this theme of protecting the needy and ensuring justice and mercy within the covenant community. It is part of the blueprint for a society that is to be distinct from the surrounding pagan nations, a society where economic relationships are governed by the fear of God and love for one's brother, not by rapacious greed. This law is a practical outworking of the great commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.
Key Issues
- The Definition of Usury/Interest
- The Distinction Between Brother and Foreigner
- Charity Loans vs. Commercial Loans
- The Application of Old Testament Civil Law
- The Relationship Between Obedience and Blessing
Brotherly Love and Business Sense
Modern Christians often struggle with Old Testament economic laws because we try to read them as if they were written for a 21st-century global capitalist economy. But God was giving this law to a specific people, an agrarian society bound together by covenant, about to take possession of a particular land. The principles are timeless, but the application requires careful thought.
The key to this passage is understanding the difference between two kinds of loans. The first is a loan given to a brother in distress, a subsistence loan. He needs money for food because his crop failed, or to get by until the next harvest. To charge him interest would be to kick him while he's down. It is profiting from his misery. This is the kind of loan Scripture universally condemns. The second kind is a commercial or productive loan. A man wants to borrow money to buy more oxen to expand his farm, or to finance a trading caravan. In this case, the lender is taking a risk and enabling the borrower to generate new wealth. Charging interest here is simply sharing in the profit that his capital helped create. This is not exploitation; it is sound business.
The "brother" and "foreigner" distinction helps us see this. An Israelite brother who fell on hard times was to be supported by the community. A "foreigner," a non-covenant member, would more likely be engaged in a commercial enterprise, and so standard business practices would apply. God's law is not against enterprise; it is against extortion. It commands mercy within the family of faith, while allowing for prudent commerce with the world outside.
Verse by Verse Commentary
19 “You shall not charge interest to your brother: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest.
The prohibition is stated plainly and broadly. The Hebrew word for interest here, neshek, literally means "a bite." It carries the connotation of being bitten by a snake, a sharp and painful sting. This is what exploitative interest does to a man in need. The law covers all kinds of loans, not just money. Whether you lend cash, or a sack of grain for seed, or a tool, you are not to demand back more than you gave. The relationship with a "brother," a fellow member of the covenant community of Israel, is to be governed by charity, not by a desire for financial gain at his expense. This is a practical application of the second great commandment. If you love your neighbor, you do not seek to enrich yourself through his poverty. This law was a firewall against the kind of debt-slavery that was common in the ancient world and which would have torn the fabric of Israelite society apart.
20a You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your brother you shall not charge interest...
Here is the crucial distinction. The law that applies inside the family of God is different from the law that applies to commercial dealings with those outside of it. A "foreigner" (nokri) was not a resident alien who had thrown his lot in with Israel, but rather a transient merchant or someone from another nation. The relationship with him was not one of covenant brotherhood but of commerce. In this realm, charging interest on a productive loan was permissible. This was not a license for xenophobia or exploitation. It was a recognition of two different kinds of relationships. Israel was to be a beacon of mercy and justice, and that light shone brightest in how they treated one another. At the same time, God did not require them to abandon all common sense in the marketplace. This verse protects the Israelites from being commercially disadvantaged in their dealings with other nations. They could participate in the ordinary economic life of the ancient world without violating God's law, so long as they maintained the special standard of care for their own brethren.
20b ...so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all that you send forth your hand to do in the land which you are about to enter to possess.
The reason for this law is not arbitrary. It is tied directly to the blessing of God. Yahweh connects their economic ethics to their agricultural and national prosperity. When they deal mercifully with their brothers, refusing to bite them with interest when they are down, God promises to bless "all that you send forth your hand to do." This is a foundational principle of biblical economics: ethical behavior and true prosperity are inextricably linked. Greed and extortion might provide a short-term gain, but they lead to a curse. Generosity and covenant faithfulness, on the other hand, open the windows of heaven. God is telling His people that their greatest asset is not their financial acumen, but His favor. If they take care of the horizontal relationships (brother to brother), God will take care of the vertical relationship (God to Israel), resulting in tangible blessing in the land.
Application
So how does a law about ancient Israelite lending practices apply to us today? The principle of "general equity" is our guide. The specific civil application to the nation-state of Israel has passed away with the old covenant. But the moral principle that undergirds the law is timeless and binding.
First, this passage is a direct prohibition against Christians exploiting other Christians who are in financial distress. The payday loan industry, which charges exorbitant interest to the desperate, is a modern form of the "bite" that this law forbids. For a Christian to be involved in such a business, especially when dealing with other believers, is a grave sin. When a brother or sister in your church is in genuine need, the proper response is a gift, or at the very least an interest-free loan. The church diaconate is the formal expression of this principle.
Second, this passage affirms the legitimacy of charging interest in normal commercial and business loans. Investing money in a brother's business venture and expecting a return is not a sin. A mortgage on a house or a standard bank loan is not what this passage has in mind. The Bible is not socialist. It recognizes private property, risk, and the legitimacy of profit. The key is the distinction between a loan for survival and a loan for production.
Ultimately, this law points us to Christ. He is our ultimate brother who saw us in our desperate poverty, bankrupt by sin and facing a debt we could never repay. He did not charge us interest. He did not even give us a loan. He came and paid the entire debt Himself, canceling it on the cross. He gave us the free gift of His own righteousness. Having received such extravagant mercy, how can we then turn and become loan sharks to our brethren? Our economic practices must be a reflection of the gospel we have received. We are to be a people who lend freely, forgive debts, and show mercy, knowing that our true treasure is not in our bank accounts, but in the blessing of our God who has dealt so graciously with us.