Leviticus; The Law of Holiness and Grace

The Jubilee IV

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Pentateuch

Genre: Lessons with Q & A

Lesson: 70

Track: 70

Dictation Name: RR172AL70

Date: Early 70s

Let us worship God. This is the confidence that we have in Him that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. Having these promises, let us draw near to the throne of grace, with true hearts in full assurance of faith. My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, oh Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee and will look up.

Let us pray.

Oh Lord, our God, we look unto Thee and we direct our prayers unto Thee who art the author of all good. We thank Thee that in these troubled times we have the assurance that it is Thy kingdom that rules, Thy purpose that shall prevail, and Thy will that shall be done. Make us strong, therefore, by Thy Spirit, in Thy Word that we may face all these troubles, griefs and problems as more than conquerors through Christ. In His name we pray, amen.

Our scripture is Leviticus 25:35-38 and our subject again, “The Jubilee;” our fourth study, “The Jubilee”. Leviticus 25:35-38:

“35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.

36 Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.

38 I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.”

This is not a popular text with the modern Evangelical church. For them, it smacks too much of the social gospel. One reason for the rise of the social gospel, however, in the mid-19th century was the development of pietism with its unconcern for worldly matters like charity. Devotional exercises among many Catholics and Protestants were supplanting the Christian concern for the needy. The Modernists, with their social gospel, however, did not and have not met that need. Their solution to it has been Statism, that is, State charity or Welfarism as the substitute for Christian action.

As a result, we must say that both the Evangelicals and the Modernists contributed very substantially to the rise of the modern State to the world and its conditions as we now see them. The Evangelicals retreated rather steadily from Christian action whether it was in the areas of health, education and welfare, and the State moved in. As I’ve said many times before, State financing must be provided. Social financing must be provided, if not by Christians, then the State will. For the Modernist, the State has always been the answer to the problem. But for very different reasons, the Evangelicals and the Modernists have accomplished the same thing: they have surrendered most of the world to the State.

As a result, they should not be angry nor surprised by the results, because they share in some of the guilt for our present world situation. Our Lord tells us that we are the light of the world and the salt of the world. We are the ones who alone can keep it from corruption and give light to the problems. If we do not do so, should we be surprised that the world takes the direction that it has taken?

At the same time in some cultures where Christianity is new, many groups have accepted the responsibility for their fellow Christians and for others. George A.F. Knight has reported that in the islands of the South Pacific, among the Christians, members of a family help one another and if they have an outstanding young man in their midst, they will all come together to finance the university education overseas of that young man. They will also assist any relative who is in troubles of any kind. Now, this was once routine. It has been steadily abandoned by Christians.

Our text tells us we have a duty to help those fallen in decay, which means weak in the hands, unable to help themselves because of some kind of adversity. And the goal is that thy brother may live with thee, that he might be able to hold up his head and be one of the community.

George Bush, not our Vice President, but an American Old Testament scholar of the last century, said, “Life in the scriptures is often used in opposition to sickness, distress and calamity, as in Isaiah 38:9, ‘the writing of Hezekiah, King of Judah when he had been sick and was recovered’ (or in the Hebrew was made alive of his sickness). In Nehemiah 4:2, ‘will they revive’ (in the Hebrew, made alive), ‘the stones out of the heap of rubbish which are burned?’ In I Chronicles 11:8, ‘and Joab repaired’ (in the Hebrew, made alive), ‘the rest of the city.’ In Genesis 45:27, ‘and the spirit of Jacob their father revived’ (literally, in the Hebrew was made alive)” In other words, the Bible associates life with health, freedom and salvation.

A number of versions give a different reading of verse 35 then does the Authorized Version. And these help us gain a little more insight into the meaning. For example, the Jewish Publication Society of America and their version of the Torah, translate, “if your brother, being in straights, comes under your authority and ye hold him as though a resident alien, so that he remains under you, do not exact from him advance or accrued interest but fear your God. Let him stay under you as your brother.” Or, Gordon Wenham translates verse 35, “If your brother becomes poor and cannot support himself, you must maintain him as if he were a resident alien or settler and let him live with you.” Now in this form, we see that brotherly love was to be extended not only to relatives and people of your nation but to resident aliens as potential brothers.

In verse 36, interest is forbidden on all charitable loans. It is interesting that in the Hebrew usually translated as interest comes from the root “to bite.” And it’s a very important meaning because after all, we’ve seen even the mafia use the term ‘bite’ when they have exorbitant interest rates in their loans. The law in Deuteronomy 33—or 23—verses 19 and 20, on the same subject reads, “Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury. Unto a stranger, thou mayest lend upon usury, but unto thy brother, thou shalt not lend upon usury, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land wither thou goest to possess it.”

The alternate reading of Leviticus 25:35 suggests that in cases of need among resident aliens, that is non-covenant peoples, the same rule should apply as to covenant members. The law here is not concerned with business loan. The alien was not governed by the Jubilee release, but the law of charity is broader. Interest loans were made to foreigners, because being unbelievers (the unbelieving foreigners or those who were not moving into the faith step-by-step), because to be in unbelief is to be in slavery. And nothing can change that fact. Calvin commented at length on this passage and others related to it. And he concluded that usury is not unlawful except insofar as it contravenes equity and brotherly union.

Interest, or usury, translates as we have already pointed out, a word meaning in the root form, ‘bite.’ Another word also used at times means in the root, ‘to exact,’ and in the New Testament, there’s an unusual word, {?} also used, which means ‘offspring.’ It leads to, it creates more money. In any case, the laws of this section and all the sections dealing with related subjects, are intended to give us the practical rules for implementing the law of Leviticus 19:18 which reads, “Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am the Lord.” It is immoral to affirm love of neighbor while denying all the laws whereby God requires us to manifest our love. Making money off the poor is strictly forbidden. It is hatred of our neighbor.

The various federal programs for relief to the poor provide more money to the bureaucracy than to the poor. And thus, are also violations of this law. They have a huge increase, or bite that the aristocracy takes.

One scholar, N.H. Snaith, has analyzed the words used in verses 36 and 37 and translated as increase and usury and he says that these words have various nuances which do not appear in the English. And I quote, “These are two types of interest: interest and increase. The first means interest paid regularly, and in the end, the original loan is repaid in one payment. The second involves no interim payment of interest but an increased sum being repaid in the end.” Exodus 22:25 and Deuteronomy 23:19, 20 deal only with the first type. This later legislation is to block a loophole which the money lenders had discovered.

Now profit in the Hebrew is ‘marbit,’ and the meaning is the same as that of’ tarbit’ in the previous verses, that is, profit or increase can also mean nourishment. So we are told we are not to feed on our neighbor’s poverty. That’s the sum total of it.

This ministry to the poor was at once assumed by the New Testament Church, because they saw themselves as the true Israel of God. They were continuing the life and work of the Old Israel, which had been cut off. The Diaconate was established to make this ministry more effective, as we see in Acts 6:1-4. It is interesting that on writer who would not share our point of view and who has no use for the Law, still adds in a commentary on this text, Leviticus 25:35-38, “Can believers today do less than what was commanded then?” Which is of course, well put. Our Lord does not open the door with His coming to a lesser obedience, to more faithfulness and to power in our obedience, so this requirement of non-profiting help to the poor is referred to again and again in scripture and marks the whole of scripture from beginning to end. We have a very strong statement of it in Ezekiel 18:17.

The chief rabbi of Great Britain some years ago commented on this law, “This is in strongest contrast to the treatment of the impoverished debtor in Ancient Rome. The creditor could imprison him in his own private dungeon, chain him to a block, sell him into slavery or even put him to death. If the debtor had several creditors, the Roman Law of the Twelve Tables ordained that they could hew him in pieces and although one of them took a part of his body larger in proportion to his claim, the other creditors had no redress.” This is the kind of thing the mafia still practices.

Many subterfuges have been invented to evade the force of this law of charity. In one way or another, God’s Law is declared null and void, supposedly, because we are now on a higher spiritual plain and we need not personally concern ourselves with the poor. One of the strangest excuses comes from Marantz and Alman and they say, “It,” ( I quote) “It (the Law of Leviticus 25:35-38) could be applied only in a society in which society which blood was a guarantee of character which means that it was a religious ideal.” Now, if you can make sense of that, please explain it to me. Blood was no guarantee of character in Ancient Israel, nor in any culture in history. And how can it be a religious ideal and not be practiced, have no relevance? The statement is a masterpiece of evasion and very, very common among biblical scholars. The test of character is obedience to the Lord, contrary to what these two men said—not blood.

Moreover, we would have to say that Israel was not united by blood, but by God’s covenant. It is a myth that the Jews were a racial group—or are. In Abraham’s household I Genesis 14:14, we see that he had 318 fighting men, which means that there were probably another 300 or 400 aged non-fighting men who stayed behind and probably as many, if not more boys who were under age and too young to go to war. This would mean about 1,000 males, another 1,000 females who were members of the house of Abraham and out of the 2,000 only one young man was of covenant blood, so to speak, was of Hebraic blood, of the blood of Abraham. But this is not all. We are plainly told that when they left Egypt, they left a mixed multitude, according to Exodus 12:38, so that more foreign blood was added. The foreign-add mixtures then were continual, over the centuries, so that the idea of the unity of blood in Israel is nonsense, then and now.

And how can this law be a religious ideal? Is a religious ideal something to be revered by not obeyed? If something is a religious ideal, it should be all the more mandatory. To believe that vague affirmations can replace law and bring in a brave new world is nonsense, even though it may be and often is very popular nonsense and also ecclesiastically respectable.

The simple fact is that it was once taken for granted that the basic governmental duties in society were the duties of believers and of families. This is why Christians are called the light of the world by our Lord, why they are told they must be the salt of the earth, otherwise the earth will become corrupt in its peoples and they will be cast out to be trodden underfoot of man, which is a very grim image. You don’t take worthless salt, salt that for example, you have used for a brine in which you preserved meat or fish and put it in the garden. It will harm the soil. Instead, you take that brine water and put it on the pathway where the ground is not used for production and it is trodden underfoot of men. So the Lord tells the Church, tells the Christian peoples of the world, you’re going to be trodden underfoot of men unless you believe and obey, unless you practice those things that are mandatory, unless you do so, you will be trodden underfoot. Do not put your light under a bushel, nor turn from obeying the Law.

Let us pray.

Our Lord and our God, we thank Thee for Thy Word and we pray that Thy kingdom may come and Thy Will be done in our midst, by Thy people, by all of us. We thank Thee that Thy Word is true and that Thy Word tells us the way to true power. Make us strong in Thy Word and by Thy Spirit more than conquerors. In Christ’s name, amen. [0:24.02.7]

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[RUSHDOONY] Even in the Medieval Era, cases were adjudicated when the parties would be in different countries, so that each sphere of life took care of the problems within its sphere, and they had their own laws. Well, what has happened in the Modern Era is partly because of a retreat from responsibility, and partly because the State has moved into these spheres, all those things have ended. They still survive to a limited degree in some spheres, but we’ve seen a tremendous decline. For example, up until a few years ago, if a man picked up a phone, called a commodity or a stock broker and placed an order, and the stock fell, he abided by his word. That was the only way that such operations could take place. But what we’ve seen in the past decade is an increasing number who have paid no attention, who have reneged. In fact at present, one firm has someone who reneged, an organization in Hong Kong, on a verbal contract by phone where millions of dollars are involved. So this is becoming a problem. It means ultimately the break-down of business relations when ethics disappear.

About 10-15 years ago for example, when Bert Blumert controlled Telex, if anyone reneged on a contract to any member, or sold coins that were not authenticated, they were immediately cut off from access to Telex. And one major bank was cut off that way, a New York bank which felt they could dictate to Telex. Well, that type of situation is no longer the same. It could mean the death of many areas of transaction.

Any other questions or comments?

Yes

[Audience] There are two phrases in juxtaposition in verse 36 of the text: “do not take interest of any kind, but fear your God.” What’s the connection between those two?

[Rushdoony] Yes, be afraid of breaking His Law! In other words, if you’re going to help a relative or a fellow believer who’s in need and you demand interest, you should be afraid of God, because you’re violating God’s Law. You are to be a brother to your brother in time of need. Business transactions are a different thing, but this is a need, case of a need.

Any other questions or comments?

Yes.

[Audience] The laws of usury have been repealed in the United States, laws against usury. I don’t believe there’s any limit now to the interest that can be charged.

[Rushdoony] There are still State Laws in some states, California, for example, but they’re not enforced, they’re virtually a dead letter, because there are so many ways of getting around them. You can set an interest rate, you can charge points, you can have service charges; all kinds of charges all of which are a way of collecting interest.

Yes

[Audience] Well, as an example of the arbitrariness of human law, I recall the Montana legislature when I covered it several years ago when interest rates were soaring, there was a limit in Montana law on usury but the credit card companies simply came in and lobbied for an increase when the rates were going up, and they got it!

[Rushdoony] Yes. Well, the credit card companies routinely charge 18%, which is contrary to the law of some states right now, and it’s no longer anything anyone troubles themselves about.

Well, if there are no further questions or comments, let us conclude now with prayer.

Our Lord and our God, we thank Thee that Thy Word is the way of life, that whoso in Christ abideth in Thy Word shall live. We thank Thee that Thy Word is plain, clear and health-giving. Bless us day by day and make us ever more faithful. And now, go in peace. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you this day and always. Amen.