Leviticus 25 Priests and the Poor People

[seekeroftruth]

Leviticus 25:32 “‘The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess. 33 So the property of the Levites is redeemable—that is, a house sold in any town they hold—and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites. 34 But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession.

35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.​

I bet others will think this is about priests giving to the poor. I bet someone would read the title and think this is how to distribute food to the poor. Well it's too late to change the title.

I probably shouldn't put these two paragraphs together. But hey.... I plan on getting through the Bible in this forum in my lifetime. One of these paragraphs is about the Levite houses in the walled city and the other is about lending to the poor. I know... it's two entirely different issues.

I got this from GodVine.

The law in this and the following verses was also a very wise one. A Levite could not ultimately sell his house: if sold he could redeem it at any time in the interim between the two jubilees; but if not redeemed, it must go out at the following jubilee. And why? "Because Moses framed his laws so much in favor of the priesthood, that they had peculiar privileges?" etc. Just the reverse: they were so far from being peculiarly favored that they had no inheritance in Israel, only their cities, to dwell in: and because their houses in these cities were the whole that they could call their own, therefore these houses could not be ultimately alienated. All that they had to live on besides was from that most precarious source of support, the freewill-offerings of the people, which depended on the prevalence of pure religion in the land.​

This is what the easy English site says about the Levite homes.

There were 13 tribes, or large families, that came out of Egypt with Moses. Each tribe contained descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob. One of these sons, Joseph, had two tribes. They were called by his sons’ names, Ephraim and Manasseh. 12 of the tribes had land in Canaan. One tribe, called Levi, had no land. Instead, they had homes in 48 cities in Canaan. The priests belonged to this tribe. And the other members of this tribe helped the priests. They were the Levites. The cities were called ‘Levites’ cities’. Most of the Jews possessed land. The Levites’ possession was houses. Outside their cities, the Levites also had fields, which they could not sell. The Levites had two important jobs to do:
· They had to help the priests in the house of God.
· They had to teach the people God’s laws and rules.​

Now, back to lending money to the poor. This is what the studylight.org site has to say about it.

These commands specifically prohibit making money of the misfortune of a poor brother; instead of making profit off of his misery, the command is simple: You shall help him.

Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you: Jesus made a similar command in Luke 6:34, when He asked what credit is it to us if we give to or help only those whom we know can help us back.​

I think, however, that the GodVine commentary explains usuary or interest better.

Rather, And if thy brother (an Israelite) becomes poor and falls into decay with thee, thou shalt assist him and let him live with thee like a resident foreigner. He was not to be regarded as an outcast, but was to be treated with the same respect and consideration as a resident foreigner who, like him, could possess no land, but could accumulate property and live in comfort as a free man.

All kinds of usury are in this case forbidden, whether of money, or of victuals, or of any thing that is commonly lent by one man to another upon usury, or upon condition of receiving the thing lent with advantage and overplus. If one borrow in his necessity, there can be no doubt but this law is binding still. But it cannot be thought to bind, where money is borrowed for purchase of lands, trade, or other improvements. For there it is reasonable, that the lender share with the borrower in the profit.

• Usury - Interest.
• Victuals - Food; sustenance.

So.... give a freewill offering to the preacher or priest and if you lend money to the poor, don't tack on the interest unless they are getting a mortgage.

In other words.... love one another.... treat them like you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes.