(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 23:15–25, “Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing 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 whither thou goest to possess it. When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth. When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.”
The Israelis were slaves in Egypt and they lived in a society where there was slavery. The Law made special provisions for slaves to be set free rather than keeping them as slaves for life. There were no bankruptcy laws in those days and people who got into financial trouble could only solve the problem by selling themselves as slaves to pay the debt. In view of all these issues, Israelis were not to return slaves who came from other countries to find refuge. They were not to send the slaves back to their masters but offer them hospitality as strangers. In fertility cultures, prostitution was a legitimate part of worship. Orphans were sent to the temples to become prostitutes, both female and male. Worshippers would then visit temple prostitutes as part of their worship, hoping for better crops, etc. The Lord promised Israel that they would be prosperous if they obeyed Him, meaning that there was no need for prostitution. Thus the money earned by prostitutes was actually money given to a false god and an abomination to the Lord. The same reasoning was behind the issue of lending money for interest. The Lord promised to make the nation prosperous so they were obliged, in the Lord’s Name, to help their fellow Israelis. The person who helped his fellow Israeli was just acting as the Lord’s agent and giving the benefits from the Lord second hand. This also applied to crops and fruit; a hungry person could take fruit from a tree to eat. If that person took a bag to carry the fruit he became thief. The wonderful benefits of belonging to the Lord and enjoying the benefits of His lovingkindness were sufficient for every Israeli and were best enjoyed by sharing them with the brothers and sisters from Israel.
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