Lending Money, Terms and Conditions -- Exodus 22:25-27

--> “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.  If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body.  What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.”
 

We note there is no commandment to lend anyone money here.  More specifically the instructions are intended for the times God’s people do lend to God’s people.  And it basically covers lending which is intended to help the poor get up on their feet.  And such lending shall be without interest.  (Some commentators who have studied the Hebrew text carefully argue that this was only a prohibition on “compound” interest, or extortion in lending, as compared to “simple” interest.  I prefer to go with the literal translation of “no interest period”.)

But what about lending to non-Christians?  How about lending to the rich?  This passage does not forbid it, but it appears to leave us at our own discretion of whether or not to charge interest, and how much, and how to deal with the risk and/or consequences involved in any non-repayment.  So, lenders beware.

Returning to our passage, it appears that pledges may be taken in exchange for a loan at no interest. Working much like how a pawnshop works. But here’s the catch – we must not accept a pledge that exposes the borrower in a harmful way.  The example God gives can be thought of us follows: You cannot withhold a person’s coat as collateral for a loan when it is his only outer garment and he would otherwise freeze because it’s cold outside.  If we take that kind of a pledge from someone, we are to realize our mistake and make things right before the sun goes down that same day.

And I love how God reasons with His people here as He does elsewhere in Scripture.  But this passage is special because it gives us another glimpse of God’s character that we do no think of very often – His logical mind.  He basically says, “Look, if you take the man’s coat and it’s cold, and he has nothing else to keep him warm, what else will he sleep in?  How will he survive?”  I love that.  God wants us to be logical too.  We are not to “kick a person when he is down”.  It is sad enough that he is in this state of needing to borrow to survive, so we must be careful not to take advantage of him.

We would do well to think about all our lending activities from God’s perspective.  Lending to our children, our families, the church, and friends.  Under what conditions and expectations do we lend money?  Some of our so-called investments are indeed a form of lending to someone so they can do something that will bring them and the lender financial rewards – commercial ventures.  We need to be careful of how and why we do that.

The last sentence of the passage is related to the logic He outlines just before it.  God is saying three things with it.  First, He cares for the poor.  Second, He will hear their cry for help.  And third, we must remember that we ourselves either have cried, or will someday cry, to God for relief.  We are to treat those in need of borrowing with this in mind.

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Borrowing Has Its Risks -- Exodus 22:14-15

“And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution.  If its owner is with it, he shall not make restitution; if it is hired, it came for its hire.”
 

Two verses dedicated to borrowing rules.  You borrow it, use it, and if you break it or harm it (or kill it if it is an animal), you do so at your own expense and you will be responsible to compensate the owner for it. Unless of course, the owner was with you when this happened.

Here’s an example of how this may work out today:  “Yes, you can borrow my extra pair of skis while we ski together this weekend, and if they break, no problem.  But if you borrow them again to go skiing with your friends when I can’t and they break, you have to replace them.”

Chuck Smith suggests that the last two phrases of this passage, namely “if it is hired, it came for its hire,” are, because they are part of the whole last sentence implying that if someone borrowed or hired you and your equipment or animal (to till the ground or for any other purpose) and the equipment or the animal is damaged or ruined (or killed), then that was a known inherent possibility in the deal and since the owner was present, the borrower or the one that hired you and your equipment or animal is not responsible.  Again, if I borrowed your pick-up truck to move some furniture, and it broke down – I have to fix it.  But if I asked you (or hired you) to bring your truck and help me move some furniture, and it broke down, I am not responsible morally to pay the costs of fixing it.  (Unless, of course, I go over and above what the law says.)  When the owner is present, the user is not as responsible.

Bottom lines continue to be: Lender, be aware of the risks.  Borrower, be responsible when the risks occur.

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Be Careful What You Borrow From, or Be Safekeeping For, Others -- Exodus 22:7-9:

“If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him, and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, he shall pay double.  If the thief is not caught, then the owner of the house shall appear before the judges, to determine whether he laid his hands on his neighbor’s property.  For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before the judges; he whom the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.”

 

I was telling a friend of mine that a snow-blower I share with two neighbors was in the shop for repairs.  One of the owners thought we could save money by letting him do last year’s end-of-season cleaning and storage.  Not so.  My friend, before he knew the machine was jointly purchased, said, “Surely, you don’t loan things like that to others, do you?”

The truth is, it took me close to five decades of life before I realized that even a brand new automobile that I purchased was not really mine, but a blessing from God for me to share with others.  Up to that point, I’d drive you anywhere you wanted to go, but don’t ask me to lend you my car.

But here we have a little different spin, not so much on the lending of things, but more on asking others to safe-keep valuables for us.  And interesting enough, the major focus of these three verses is not on the owner, but on him who agrees to keep things safe for us.

Now, true to form with respect to previous laws God had given, if you ask someone to keep something for you and it gets stolen from their possession but the thief is caught, the thief will pay double.  No problem there.

But what happens if the thief is not caught?  Well, it appears that the first suspect is the person you asked to take care of your valuables.  And he/she needs to be cleared first. The implication is that the person responsible for keeping the owner’s goods safe appears before a judge.  But, in today’s terms, how does he/she get there except that the owner of the goods lays charges against them?  Now what?  Is that what we are to do?

First of all, remember that today one remains innocent until proven guilty and that has to be beyond reasonable doubt.  Secondly, assuming the individual to whom you turned your possessions over for safe-keeping was a friend or a relative, accusing them through the legal system is a pretty sure way of ending any relationship you may have had.  Finally, if, like you, the other person was a Christ-follower or believer, then you are instructed elsewhere in Scripture not to take him/her to court.  So what can you do?

There’s an adage in Human Resources dealing with problem employees that goes like this: “The best time to fire someone is before you hire them.”  The point is that if we are not prepared to lose something (or have it damaged) that we lend to someone else or something that we ask someone else to safeguard for us, we should never be lending it or asking them to guard it.

As we can see from the rest of the passage, the issue is first and foremost about trust.  We lend things or ask others to take care of them for us because we trust them to be able to do so.  If they do not, we are the ones that erred in our estimation of the person’s integrity or ability to do so.  We cannot blame them or at least doing so would only get us so far – in the wrong direction.  That said, borrowers of integrity would normally, of their own accord, actually replace anything lost or damaged that they borrowed.

However, if we do pursue court action, and the person is found willfully negligent or criminally involved in the loss or damage of the goods, and the courts so find, then he/she shall be required to pay whatever the judge levies on them.  While the Old Testament calls for double-payment, unfortunately in today’s world, we cannot demand it.

As those with whom people entrust their valuables to for safe-keeping, we also have a great responsibility, assuming we are willing to do so, to do all in our power in protecting the owner’s property until it is returned to him/her.  David Guzik suggests that this is required of us as faithful stewards or managers, and it includes what God gives us to manage or steward for Him.

Bottom line, let’s live by these principles: Think carefully before you lend something to others or ask them to keep it for you for a while, and consider whether you are prepared to lose it.  And, think carefully before you accept the responsibility of borrowing someone else’s goods or guarding their possessions.

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 [Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

Thanks for dropping by. Sign up to receive free updates. We bring you relevant information from all sorts of sources. Subscribe for free to this blog or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar. And please share this blog with your friends. Ken Godevenos, Church and Management Consultant, Accord Consulting.  And while you’re here, why not check out some more of our recent blogs shown in the right hand column.  Ken.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.