Social justice in the Old Testament: Debt cancelation

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

The seventh-year Sabbath taught another aspect of God’s merciful salvation: debt forgiveness. While their land enjoyed a Sabbath rest, Moses required the Israelites to forgive the debts owed them by fellow Israelites.

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you.[1]

Because they were prohibited from charging interest on loans made to their countrymen, the Israelites already had a disincentive to lend money to those who needed it. But, the Sabbath year demanded even more, requiring the Israelites to not only offer interest-free loans, but to completely cancel the debts at the end of the Sabbatical cycle of years. From a natural, individualistic perspective, this command seems grossly unfair. Interest-free loans seem indulgent by most standards, but interest-free loans with a high likelihood of default are nonsensical in any time and place. However, as recipients of God’s abundant grace, the Israelites were obligated to extend extraordinary grace to weak and vulnerable groups in their own society.

Moses continued, warning the Israelites from feigning an inability to lend.

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.[2]

These verses reveal the moral principle behind the command to cancel debts. As with the commands concerning day laborers, gleaning, and the tithe, Moses put the command to lend freely in the context of the Israelites’ relationship with God. They were debtors to God, and must likewise forgive debts owed them. Rich and poor alike, all Israelites understood they were indebted to God. Not only had He rescued them from their Egyptian slavery, but He had also provided a covering for the sin that separated them from Himself. God prescribed elaborate sacrifices meant to illustrate the atonement of people’s sin. Blood, representing life, was the required payment for sin in most cases.[3] Because of these sacrifices, the sin that separated them from God was removed. Therefore, the Israelites alone among all people on earth could claim to have a God that dwelt in their midst in the form of the tabernacle, and later, in the temple in Jerusalem.

All this ritual was designed to demonstrate the indebtedness of the Israelites and their rescue from that debt by God. This debtor-savior relationship required the Israelites to relate to one another accordingly, including rescuing their brother or sister who fell into poverty with free loans cancelled every seven years. More than a thousand years later, Jesus repeatedly drew the same lesson, teaching, “Freely you have received, freely give,” “Give and it will be given to you,” and “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus most fully illustrated the obligation of the debtor in His parable of the unmerciful servant: A servant owed his master an exceedingly large amount of money. Graciously, the master forgave the debt entirely, saving the servant from ruin. However, the servant went on to meet one of his fellows who owed him a small sum and inflexibly demanded a prompt repayment. On hearing of this injustice, the master of the first servant grew incredibly angry and threw the first servant into prison until he should pay back every penny of his original debt.

In the same way, in light of their covenant relationship to God, the Israelites cancelled loans on the seventh year out of obligation, not charity. Charity implies giving when otherwise not required. But, only God is in the position to extend that type of free grace. As debtors themselves, Israelites who skirted the command to provide for those in need practiced injustice. Failing to provide for the poor was a positive offense against God and a breach of the covenant. Moses reminded the Israelites that if they failed in this regard, the poor could legitimately expect God to take up their cause against those who did not lend, not to mention cancel debts at the end of seven years.

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[1] Deuteronomy 15:1-3

[2] Deuteronomy 15:7-11

[3] God made an exception for poor people who could not afford the more customary goat, lamb, or pair of doves: “If, however, he cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering.” A tenth of an ephah is about one-tenth of the amount of grain that Ruth gathered in her first day at Boaz’s field.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]