November 30, 2022

Passage Read: Exodus 19-22
Meditation Verses: 22:25-27

Thought

We are more concerned about making money than about genuinely carrying for the needs of others. But God wants us to be more caring of others than we are of profit. So we aren't supposed to charge interest to a fellow citizen when we make a loan to a friend or brother. Moneylenders can, but we individuals shouldn't. Nor should we keep a necessary item given in pledge when it is needed, but give it back when the borrower needs it. God is calling for faith in Him and love for neighbor over concern for money and profit.

Application

A moneylender makes his living from lending money, so these rules don't apply to them, but to individuals who lend money to a neighbor. We can still ask for a pledge, just like Tamar did with Judah, but if it is something needed, like an only cloak, then it should be returned by evening for the borrower to have something to wrap up in at night. That puts the needs of the borrower ahead of the desires for profit. It makes loaning money truly about helping a brother or sister. God desires faith and generosity and love for one another, rather than a love for the things of this world.