If you’ve never heard the word “usury” before, you may think it’s another character that pops up somewhere in Exodus. Technically, the term usury doesn’t make it’s first appearance until Nehemiah 5:7, but the concept dates back to the beginning of the Hebrew nation, found here in Exodus 22:25.
Usury is defined as simply lending money to people with interest, but most often, it’s applied to situations where the person extracts an exorbitant amount of interest. Think payday loan depots and credit card companies.
The whole concept of usury is tricky; after all, who’s to say what’s actually exorbitant and what’s not? At the time of this writing, the current interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.95%. That would’ve been seen as highway robbery just a few short years ago, when, in 2021, the average 30-year rate was around 3%. In fact, since 1977, the rate has jumped to as high as 16% at times.
Is that usury? Some would argue it is. Others would claim it’s just the price of doing business. Either way, interest rates are a part of life. They’re most likely going to be a part of our financial life until the end of time.
Unless you’re an Israelite, that is. God specifically outlaws interest of any kind when lending out money to another Israelite (Exodus 22:25). Period. End of story.
Interestingly enough, this doesn’t just apply to money. In that same section, a person who lends their coat out as a sort of collateral should receive it back before the sun goes down. Why? Because it gets cold at night and he might not have anything else to keep him warm. The same principle applies: You can lend, but don’t do it at the expense of someone else.
The practice of not extorting your brother is both unheard of in nearly every culture throughout time, while simultaneously pursued by every culture. Most of the major forms of government over the last thousand years (monarchy, democracy, socialism, etc) all had some form of concern for the poor. Yet every one of those systems also had ways to extort each other written into the tax code. I guess that’s just humans being humans.
That’s part of what makes God’s setup for the Israelites so unique. But notice where the benevolence comes from: remembering that you were strangers in Egypt (Exodus 22:21). Remember that you used to be the one that was ostracized, mistreated, cast down, cheated. Remember how it felt, and don’t make someone else feel that same way.
This also applies to cheating God. In the last few verses before the end of the chapter, God tells them not to delay in bringing His sacrifices and to keep themselves holy before Him. He is worthy of their remembrance specifically because of how He treated them when they were strangers in Egypt.
It may seem idealistic to hope that everyone takes these concepts to heart, but it’s at least worth striving for, right? If we can all remember how we used to be and use it as fuel for compassion to one another, wouldn’t that create a greater community of love? It’s what God hoped for His people then, and what He also wants Christians to meditate on today.
