Exodus 22:25

Usury. This word now generally implies an exorbitant rate of interest. In the days of Moses the word thus translated meant any amount of interest, great or small. The amount of interest a creditor might charge was not then regulated by law, and it was therefore to be expected that conscienceless creditors would deal heartlessly with men who found themselves in difficult circumstances. The Mosaic law prohibiting usury was concerned exclusively with the matter of taking advantage of a brother who was “waxen poor,” that is, in financial straits (see Lev. 25:25, 35, 39, 47; PP 533). Under such circumstances a “poor” man might pawn his property (Lev. 25:35-38), secure a loan if possible (Lev. 25:35-37), or sell himself to his creditor for a limited period of time (Lev. 25:39-41). Furthermore, if able to do so, the poor man’s “brother” was required to make the necessary loan, and that without interest (Deut. 15:7-11). He might under no circumstances take advantage of his poor “brother” by charging him any amount of interest whatever. Mosaic law scrupulously protected the rights of the poor and provided for their welfare.

In the time of Moses business was not transacted as it is today. Generally speaking, a man relied upon his own resources in the transaction of business, and there was little borrowing and lending as we know it today. For practical purposes, none but a “brother” who had “waxen poor” ever borrowed money. It would seem therefore that far from condemning ordinary business transactions involving the lending and borrowing of money, the laws of Moses are not even concerned with them. It appears that Christ approved the principle of profit, including interest on loans, in normal business transactions (Matt. 25:27; Luke 19:23).

The principle inherent in Moses’ law on “usury,” of not taking advantage of someone beset by adverse circumstances, remains valid in our day. One man should never exact more than is just from another, whether “poor” or wealthy. It is the spirit of avarice, extortion, sharp practice, and the passion for gain, even at the disadvantage of others, that is condemned (see PK 648-652). We are to be sympathetic to the needs of others, and never to turn a deaf ear to their cry or to take advantage of them when they are confronted with difficulties.