Leviticus 25:35-55 - Helping and Redeeming the Poor

Leviticus 25:35-55

Lending to the Poor

35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

The Law Concerning Slavery

39 ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God. 44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. 46 And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.

47 ‘Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, 48 after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; 49 or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself. 50 Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; it shall be according to the time of a hired servant for him. 51 If there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his redemption from the money with which he was bought. 52 And if there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his redemption. 53 He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee—he and his children with him. 55 For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

The poor we always have among us as (Mark 14:7, Deuteronomy 15:11) Jesus told us.  As 1 John 3:17 reminds us, how can we not meet the needs of the needy (not those unable or not looking to work for their bread)?  Here we see a specific example of a fellow countryman who loses everything and the people of God are called to help him that their brother might still live among them and not have to go elsewhere.  They are reminded of how the LORD provided their needs out of the bondage of Egypt and reminded them to not seek to make a profit from helping the suddenly less fortunate (our current homeless population), bit lending food and money to help them get back on their feet.  This is perfect advice for us to help the unfortunate of today get back to work again without making a profit off them in reputation or in monetary ways as in mismanaged charity organizations.  In those days there was the related issue of indentured servitude or slavery (not the ungodly chattel slavery as of the past several centuries in the modern world) of those poor who chose to hire themselves out when losing all they had.  They were to be redeemed from their contracts when the year of Jubilee came about every seven times seven sabbath rest years with certain limitations spelled out here.  There was a distinction between fellow citizens and foreigners here as to permanent enslavement versus release on that time which have no modern counterpart or application to justify slavery as some might do for private gain as the usury of human lives becomes their sin of disobedience to the love of God.  These would do well to read Philemon carefully.  The bottom line for the children of Israel was to realize that they were the slaves of God as we are in a sense (Romans 6:17-18, 22, 1 Peter 2:16) as we have been bought at such a great price (John 8:34-35, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23) by God to free us from the bondage of enslaving sin.  We then who are poor in spirit ought to help the poor in their desperate situations from a pure heart, motivated by the desire to help them get back on their feet and work to eat as we all are called (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, 2 Thessalonians 3:8, 10) to do, and not looking for opportunities to get personal gain from helping them in superficial ways.  Also for those employers with contracts on their employees, we are to treat them as the bond servants of old in dignity and fairly until their retirement or moving elsewhere in their personal year of jubilee.  May we help others in any and every circumstance and not rule over them or seek undue profit from their misfortune or needs.  We are to be helping and redeeming the poor among us as unto Christ the Lord of us all.