Bird's-eye view
In this portion of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving Israel God's law for the nitty gritty of their lives together. This is not abstract theology for the scholars, but rather concrete instructions for how to build a just and righteous society. These are case laws, designed to teach God's people how to think God's thoughts after Him when it comes to neighborliness, commerce, and justice. This particular law in verse 6 is a prohibition against a certain kind of predatory lending. It is a law that protects the poor and vulnerable from being crushed by debt, and it reveals the heart of a God who is intensely concerned with the practical well being of His people.
The principle here is straightforward: you must not secure a loan by taking away a man's ability to work and feed his family. God is not against private property, or loans, or collateral. But He is most certainly against any economic practice that strips a man of his dignity and his means of production, effectively turning him into a permanent dependent. This law is a guardrail against the kind of greed that would value a secured debt more than a man's life.
Outline
- 1. The Law Concerning Pledges (Deut 24:6)
- a. The Prohibited Collateral (v. 6a)
- b. The Reason for the Prohibition (v. 6b)
Context In Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy is the "second giving" of the law to the generation of Israelites poised to enter the Promised Land. They are being reminded of their covenant obligations before God as they prepare to establish their nation. This section, from chapter 23 through 25, contains a variety of laws that govern civil life. There are laws about runaway slaves, usury, vows, divorce, and just weights and measures. The common thread is justice and mercy. God is teaching His people that their covenant relationship with Him must work its way out into their horizontal relationships with one another. A man who loves God will not oppress his brother in a business deal. The law about the millstone fits perfectly here, as it is a specific application of the broader command to love your neighbor as yourself.
Key Issues
- The Sanctity of Livelihood
- Biblical Economics vs. Predatory Lending
- The General Equity of the Law
- God's Protection of the Poor
Beginning: A Man's Life in His Hands
The text is short, but it packs a significant punch. It is a perfect example of how God's law is intensely practical, getting right down to the level of flour and bread. Let's walk through it clause by clause.
"No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone in pledge..."
First, what are we talking about? A handmill was a basic, essential piece of household equipment in the ancient world. It consisted of two stones, a lower stationary one and an upper one that was turned by hand. This was how a family ground grain into flour to make their daily bread. To take the whole mill, or even just the upper millstone, was to render the entire apparatus useless. This was not like taking a man's second chariot as collateral. This was taking the tool that put food on the table, tonight.
The law concerns taking this item "in pledge." A pledge is collateral; it is something of value given to a lender to secure a loan. If the borrower defaults, the lender keeps the pledge. The Bible does not forbid this practice outright. But it does regulate it, and this is a prime example. The principle is that the collateral taken must not be an item essential for the borrower's immediate survival or his ability to repay the loan. To take his means of production is not only cruel, it is foolish. How is he to repay you if you have taken away his ability to work?
"...for he would be taking a life in pledge."
Here is the divine reasoning, the explanation for the command. God does not just give arbitrary rules; He tells us why. To take the millstone is not to take a rock. It is to take a "life." The Hebrew word is nephesh, which can mean soul, life, or person. In this context, it clearly means the man's physical life, his sustenance, his livelihood. God equates the tool with the life it sustains. This is a profound statement about the dignity of work and the sanctity of a man's ability to provide for his own.
This is not sentimentalism. It is hardheaded, covenantal justice. God has structured the world in such a way that man is to work and eat from the fruit of his labor. To interfere with that basic pattern is to strike at the heart of God's design. A lender who would do this is not just making a sharp business deal; he is, in God's eyes, taking a man's life hostage. He is leveraging a man's desperation for his own gain, and God will not have it.
Key Words
Pledge
A pledge (Hebrew: chabal) was an object given as security for a debt. The Old Testament law regulated this practice to protect the poor. For example, a lender could not keep a poor man's cloak overnight, as it might be his only covering for sleep (Ex. 22:26-27). This law about the millstone is another such regulation. The pledge itself could not be an item essential for life.
Life (Nephesh)
The Hebrew word nephesh is rich with meaning. While often translated "soul," it refers to the whole person as a living, breathing being. Here, it is used to mean "livelihood" or the very means of sustaining life. God's point is that some property is so closely tied to a person's existence that to take it is to endanger the person himself.
Application
So what does a law about stone age kitchen appliances have to do with us? Everything. We are not to read this and think, "Well, I don't own a handmill, so I'm good." We are to look for the principle, what the Westminster Confession calls the general equity of the law. The principle is that economic activity must never dehumanize. We are forbidden from securing our financial interests by stripping a man of his ability to work and provide.
How might this apply today? Think of predatory payday loans with exorbitant interest rates that trap people in a cycle of debt. Think of a mechanic holding a man's work truck as collateral for a personal loan, knowing the man needs the truck to earn a living. Think of government fines and fees so steep that they cause a person to lose their driver's license, and thus their ability to get to their job. The applications are numerous. The point is that we must conduct our financial affairs in a way that honors the image of God in the other person, which includes honoring his calling to be a productive provider.
Ultimately, this law points us to Christ. He is the true Bread of Life, the one whose life was given as a pledge for ours. Our debt was sin, and the collateral was death. We had no way to pay. But Christ stepped in and His life was forfeit for ours. God's law protected the means to get earthly bread, but the gospel provides the heavenly bread, which is Christ Himself, freely given. Having been shown such mercy, how can we then turn and crush our brother over a temporal debt? This law is a small picture of a great gospel reality: God cares for the whole man, body and soul, and He has made provision for our every need in His Son.