Is your life characterized by greed or generosity?
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Exodus 22:21-27 and Leviticus 9:9-10
God's law code emphasized the dignity of everyone living among the Israelites, even the poor and the foreigner. This week's passage focuses on financial dealings -- God's people are not to financially exploit any person, be it an unfair loan to a poor person or preventing someone from gleaning their crops. Jesus helps us understand why.
You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him (22:21)
Editor's note: no AI was used in writing this post.
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
The third Sunday in January is called Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, and I am slowly building a decent catalog of entries from this emphasis:
God Values All Human Life - a study of Ezekiel 16 and 23 (from 2022; emphasis on abortion)
God's Covenant of Life with Noah in Genesis 9:1-15 (from 2024; emphasis on maternity care)
God Has Always Valued Human Life More Than We Do (Deuteronomy 5, 19) (from 2020; emphasis on justice)
Paul and the Sanctity of Human Life -- a study of Acts 16 (from 2018; emphasis on human dignity)
"Love Your Enemies" - Jesus (Luke 6:27-38) (from 2021; emphasis on fairness)
All Humans Are Created in the Image of God - Genesis 1, 9 (from 2019; emphasis on the image of God)
Murder, Anger, and Christianity - the Values in Matthew 5:17-45 (from 2016; emphasis on abortion)
This week's passage focuses on laws about not exploiting the vulnerable, and I like how it's a different approach to the sanctity of human life. As Christians, we say that we value all life from conception to death. We have rightly argued against abortion and euthanasia. But our statement "from conception to death" includes all of the days in between. What are we doing to value lives on those days?
Last week, we talked about the Ten Commandments, and we noted how they are grouped in such a way as to explain the two great commands: love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday reminds us that we "love our neighbor as ourselves" because we recognize that our neighbor is of infinite worth. At the very least, that means not exploiting them.
Getting Started: Things to think About
Current Events: The Fires in LA
Last week, I did not have a smooth connection between the terrible fires in SoCal and the lesson. This week, I do, and it makes me mad.
I read this headline:
and many more like it.
California has laws against price-gouging during natural disasters, and landlords are completely ignoring them, doubling and even tripling their rents. One person saw a listing for a modest home going for $20,000/month. That's very upsetting.
It's also not surprising.
Why do people try to take advantage of other people in a time of need? Well, if you see a human as nothing more than an opportunity to make money, then that's what we should expect to happen.
Taking Advantage of Hurricane Victims
Our local experience with this will be Hurricane Helene. Here's how you might shape that discussion:
What were ways you remember someone trying to take advantage of you (or someone you know) related to hurricane damage needs?
How did those actions (I'm calling them attempts at exploitation) make you feel?
Conversely, what were ways you remember people being selfless, supportive, and generous in helping other people?
[If you don't live in eastern Georgia or southern California, think of other events in which unscrupulous people tried to take advantage of others financially.]
My experiences were mostly positive. A friend helped me prep my generator. Another friend brought an extra generator and showed me how to connect it to my well. Another friend brought a hot spot to our church so we could do some work while the phone networks were down. And we did what we could to help other people with downed trees and the like; we hosted the Red Cross to distribute meals to McDuffie County.
Of course, I also heard the stories about people upcharging for generators, of tree-clearing scams, and the like.
What do you think God thinks about taking advantage of people in need? That's what today's lesson is about.
When Investors and Shareholders Take Over Decision-making
In today's world, it seems that investors only care about making money. That usually means two things: raising prices and lowering quality. What are ways in which you feel like your "bottom line" has been truly damaged by someone else's desire to make money off of you?
[Group Dynamics Aside: this is one of those topics that can go off the rails very quickly. It has become a political issue as much as a social one. Know your group -- know how they tend to drive those kinds of discussion, and don't let them miss the point of a discussion like this: God does not want anyone to take advantage of anyone. If your group can't orbit around that basic truth, if they would rather gripe about politics or about "the market", then just move on.]
I'm going to pick a topic that I think is important to make my point. I'm not suggesting that you use my topic (I'm certainly not suggesting that you watch a news video in class!) -- find a topic that would be appropriate for your group. My topic is housing prices, and I share a few resources that help me make the point that housing prices are out of control in part because too many people are more interested in making a buck than doing right by others. You can make this point in all sorts of ways.
The solution is for Christians to care as much about people as profits. And that's really hard when your competition doesn't have the same values.
Now, about housing prices. You don't need me to tell you that houses cost a lot more than they used to. If we were to move into Thomson today, I do not think we could afford our home at market value. The situation is dire for many young families.
The lazy solution is that "home sellers should lower their selling price". But sellers are just following the market, and the market is saying that homes are worth these prices. So the better question is "what's wrong with the market?"
That's a much more difficult answer.
I've linked some resources that have helped me understand the market forces below; you can find plenty more on the internet. Here's my long-answer-made-short:
Houses cost so much in part because there are not enough to go around.
There are not enough houses because the land made available for development is getting more expensive (there is less of it), and municipalities often have very restrictive laws about the kind of houses that can be built.
Houses cost so much in part because labor and materials are becoming more expensive.
Because of those cost increases, home builders are incentivized to build large and expensive homes that they can make a reasonable profit from instead of smaller, more affordable homes that they will make a small profit from.
Houses cost so much in part because private investors are buying many pre-existing homes to turn into rentals and charging a premium for them.
To me, this is a very simple situation: home builders and home investors are more and more run by investors on Wall Street, not neighbors in our community. When that happens, the desire to make a buck carries much more sway than the desire to build a community. People are no longer neighbors but sources of income.
And that's what we're seeing over and over in our country.
What's the solution? For us to care about our neighbors. If you build houses or flip houses, think about the people as much as the profit. If you are in government, make changes that enable affordable housing to be built and for home builders to make a reasonable profit. If you're selling your house, sell to a family (not a corporation) at a reasonable market price. If you're a citizen, learn about the situation and petition your government to make responsible changes in their building codes and restrictions.
Pick your topic, do the research to become familiar with it, and help your group see ways they can help your neighbors not be taken advantage of financially.
This Week's Big Idea: The Law!
It looks like we only have two lessons that focus on laws: this week (exploitation) and Feb 23 (holiness). So, here's a bit of summary.
That article gives an exhaustive list (and also explains that there is no firm agreement on "613" because some commands seem to be making more than one command).
And here's a really nice outline of these books of the Bible:
There are other outlines, but I wanted to link that one because it suggests this very common grouping:
The Law of Moses is divided into three main categories:
The moral law, which includes the Ten Commandments and other ethical principles guiding personal conduct and relationships.
The ceremonial law, which encompasses rituals, sacrifices, and regulations concerning religious observances and the priesthood.
The civil law, which governs matters such as property rights, marriage and family relations, and criminal justice.
Have you heard that structure before? It is commonly used to help Christians know what to do with "the law": the "civil law" only applied to the nation of Israel; the "ceremonial law" was fulfilled in Jesus Christ; the "moral law" still applies to Christians today.
There's no question that it sounds good and makes sense. The problem is that the Bible itself nowhere gives that distinction, and neither do Jesus or His brother James:
Matt 5:19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
Jam 2:10 For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.
Instead of categorizing the laws and saying that we have to keep some but not others, let's stick with what we said last week: we don't keep the law in order to be saved -- that's impossible, and the law declared that humans need a Savior -- but rather we recognize that the law describes to us the kind of people God expects His people to be.
It starts with the Ten Commandments, which we discovered were the ten basic principles of God's expectations for His people (I worded them as a Bill of Rights to help make this point, and I encouraged you to find a wording that helped you see how the Ten Commandments applied to your life):
God has the right to exclusive allegiance.
God has the right to define His position.
God has the right to proper representation from His people.
God has the right to His people’s time (and—a household has the right to proper rest).
Parents have the right to respect.
Neighbors have the right to life.
Neighbors have the right to a secure marriage.
Neighbors have the right to personal property.
Neighbors have the right to an honest hearing.
Neighbors have the right to a secure existence.
When we read the various laws in the Old Testament, it helps to read them when the Ten Commandments in the background. How do the specific laws serve as "case studies" for how the Ten Commandments might work out in a societal setting?
How might that help us with this week's verses?
Bonus Big Idea: Exploitation
I want to make sure everybody is aware of what I mean when I say "exploitation". There are lots of definitions:
the use of something in order to get an advantage from it
the act of using someone or something unfairly for your own advantage
the use or development of something for profit or progress in business
Some are neutral, most are negative.
For my part, I'm talking about exploitation in the sense of profiting off of someone else unfairly.
In many instances, the term "exploitation" is applied to criminal (and heinous) activity. This will make your stomach churn: forced begging, forced insurance fraud, forced marriage, forced labor (modern slavery), human trafficking, sex slaves, and worse. Georgia even has a page describing the exploitation of older adults:
That website describes different types of abuse: physical, emotional, sexual, neglect, and exploitation. Here's their definition of exploitation:
Exploitation - improperly or illegally using a person's resources for the benefit of another person, for example, using a Power of Attorney to gain access to an adult’s assets for personal gain or using undue influence, false representation, and other means to gain access to an adult’s income.
My point? Our verses talk about some specific types of exploitation, but know that God is against all exploitation.
Where We Are in Exodus
Last week, we covered the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). That was the people's first encounter with God at Mt. Sinai. Exodus 20-23 is isolated from the rest of the law code -- in chapter 24, God has a "ratification service" with the people about what they have already heard, and then God calls Moses back to the mountain for more laws.
Here's the content of Exodus 20-23:
The Ten Commandments
Rules for altars
Rules for servants
Rules about personal injury
Rules about protection of property
Rules about social responsibility
Rules about justice
Rules about Sabbath
Rules about the annual festivals
So, a basic overview of being God's people.
When modern Christians read those chapters, they can be put off by some of the wording. Just remember that God gave these laws to a group of former slaves 3,000 years ago on the other side of the world. We really have no way to appreciate the impact these rules would have had on those people.
Immediately before our passage:
I find it interesting that the preceding laws are all about the death penalty: sorcery, bestiality, and idolatry all fall under the death penalty. To me, this elevates the severity of the crimes in this week's passage -- they may not rise to "death penalty" status, but they are extremely important to God.
Part 1: Thou Shalt Not Exploit (Exodus 22:21-24)
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt. 22 You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
I'm using the classic King James formula to make the same point as I did about the Ten Commandments: it's not just about the "thou shalt not" -- it's more about the principle behind the law.
Let's start with the three groups specifically identified: resident alien, widow, fatherless child. What do those groups have in common? Why might God have focused on them?
And most importantly: are these principles restricted to behavior related to resident aliens, widows, and fatherless children?
The word for "exploit" has a general sense of "afflict" or "oppress". It is not restricted to financial exploitation. But in related contexts (like Deuteronomy 24), the word is used in this financial sense.
Something important about "resident alien" (the Lifeway material rightly likens this person to a "refugee" -- it is someone who lives in the land but does not have civic rights): nowhere is this person called a convert/proselyte. Let me switch to modern terms: if you exploit a non-Christian, God will be just as angry as if you had exploited a Christian. Why, do you think?
To me, that's a huge deal -- God is not playing favorites with His laws. Neighbors, whether they are Jews or not, have the same human rights and expectations. Jesus had a lot to say about this.
In fact, a foundational truth of the Sermon on the Mount is that we are to treat all people by the same standard, rich or poor, righteous or wicked, powerful or weak:
Matt 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
What are ways that refugees, widows, and orphans can be exploited in our culture?
Aside: Eye for an Eye
The judgment seems pretty harsh. Keep in mind two things: (1) it's in line with what God has already done in Egypt. Remember that the punishment of the final plague was directly related to how Pharaoh had attempted to kill the infant Hebrew boys (and his overall treatment of Israel, God's "firstborn son"). (2) God is in charge of that punishment, not us. There is no place for vigilante justice among God's people. Today, we realize that the ultimate form of justice is met after physical death.
Something that's interesting about 22:21-23:9 -- there are no human court judgments prescribed; God alone offers the judgments.
Besides, these punishments are deterrents. The whole point is that none of God's people do these terrible things, and they then won't suffer these consequences!
Part 2: Thou Shalt Not Exploit Financially (Exodus 22:25-2)
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest. 26 If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
This section introduces two more categories: the poor, and borrowers. Once again, there is no distinction if this person is Jewish or not. There are no circumstances under which it is okay to financially exploit someone.
Interest
Let's just get this out of the way: charging interest. Our church recently bought a new van (it's been a long time coming). Rather than take out a bank loan, our trustees "lent" us money out of some long-term savings our church has, and we are paying them back "with interest" over the next few years. (In other words, we are paying interest to ourselves.) But was that wrong? Should they have loaned us that money interest-free?
Most importantly, realize that "commercial loans" weren't really a thing during this time. The people who borrowed money were the impoverished, those who had zero leverage.
Also, interest wasn't totally forbidden: Deut 23:20 "You may charge a foreigner interest, but you must not charge your brother Israelite interest" (you'll hear the term "usury" used here).
So there's a clear principle behind this law: be generous with the poor, and do not take advantage of a person in need. Commercial loans, home loans, etc., are different -- there, the principle would simply be "do not charge excessive interest".
Back to the passage.
If folks in your group do not understand "collateral", please explain it. Otherwise, I think it would be best to keep sharing Jesus' teachings on this matter:
Matt 6:3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matt 6:24 No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matt 7:9 Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. 12 Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Let's come back to two basic questions:
Why would a person charge interest on a loan to a poor person?
Why would a person charge excessive interest on any loan?
To put it in the terms we used last week (and in my housing illustration above), it's when you see a person no longer as a person but as an opportunity for profit.
God will deal with anyone with that attitude. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
An example you might consider today is high interest credit cards, or high interest short-term loans, but more about that below.
Deuteronomy 24 has some additional related instructions:
10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security.
14 Do not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your Israelite brothers or one of the resident aliens in a town.
19 When you reap the harvest in your field, and you forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow.
And then here are some general truths from Proverbs:
19:7 Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and he will give a reward to the lender.
22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender.
Practical applications: for starters, consider Dave Ramsey's rules -- don't loan money to family members; just give it outright as a gift. Based on everything we've read today, why might that be good advice?
Next: consider loans you have taken out, and loans you have given out. Don't feel the need to sugarcoat anything -- the average American household has more than $100,000 in debt, some in home/auto, some in credit cards, some in personal loans. So it's not if you have loans, but rather the terms of the loans you have.
Time to remind everyone about the I Was Broke, Now I'm Not financial stewardship study we did last fall! Remember that being completely debt free is rung 7 on their "fully funded life ladder". The basic pattern is to save one month of expenses, begin investing for retirement, then pay off credit cards and cars, increase savings, increase investing, then pay off the house. It's a process -- a long process.
How's that process going for you? As you pay off credit cards, what kind of a difference has it made in your finances, in your mood, and in your plans?
Now, I wasn't expecting to include a "pay off credit card debt" announcement in this week's post, but it really does work. High interest credit cards definitely violate that principle of what God is talking about this week. And who tends to take out high interest loans? People who are more desperate for money -- i.e., people easy to exploit. (Note: it's a totally separate issue if the loans are being taken out for needs or wants, and that's not the focus this week. Assume that the loans are being taken out for important things like transportation and groceries.)
Separately, think about money you have loaned to others -- how do you treat the people who borrow from you?
Part 3: Thou Shalt Not Be Greedy (Leviticus 19:9-10)
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien; I am the Lord your God.
It's difficult to put this in modern terms -- we might think of this like "leaving the scraps", which is indeed demeaning. But that's not what these verses are about.
Rather, think about pecan or walnut trees -- every year, we have people walk through our church property and pick up the nuts that have fallen on the ground. Nobody thinks of that as demeaning; we're glad that good pecans aren't going to waste!
Similarly, the "gleanings" (the produce of the very edge of a field) is the same as the rest of the field; they're just on the edge of the field where are person can gather it without trespassing.
The point is are you greedy or generous? Are you going to squeeze every last drop of value out of your property, or are you going to share that bounty with your neighbors? Remember -- God sent the sun and the rain, didn't He? What is your greed proving?
Once again, I can appeal to the Sermon on the Mount:
Matt 6:19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What I'm hoping to accomplish with all of these Sermon on the Mount references is how Jesus took the Old Testament law to the next level. He didn't make anything easier -- He helped us understand why God gave the laws in the first place. The true matter of the law is the heart: do you care more about your "getting what belongs to you" or about sharing your bounty with others who might be in need?
How might this apply in your life?
Some examples that come to my mind (I've already mentioned the generators during the hurricane): my neighbor across the street "rented" a tractor to move his downed trees; while he was doing that, he came over to my yard and picked up some big trunks that we obviously weren't in any place to move. Similarly, my next-door neighbor brought over his much-bigger-than-my-chainsaw chainsaw to help us chop up some trunks that were well beyond our capabilities.
Hopefully, you'll say, "That's just neighbors being neighbors!" If only. "Neighborly" doesn't mean what it used to mean. You be a good neighbor, regardless how your neighbors behave.
What other instances of generosity can you think of to practice?
In Closing: "I am the Lord your God"
You've hopefully noticed a number of "I am" statements related to these laws. Why do you think God did that?
To me, it's the surest clue that these aren't just "laws", but these are principles that help us understand who God is and who He wants us to be.
Final exercise: relate this week's passage to the Ten Commandments. What do these laws tell us about God and about people?
Sadly, we find out that the Israelites will repeatedly exploit the poor and vulnerable in their history. We've already studied how that went for them.
Group Project
The Lifeway material recommends a "ministry day", which is basically the exact idea that I have to recommend. They specifically mention volunteering at a food bank (for us, Manna). You might also consider a nursing home, a rehab facility, a pregnancy care center, or even a hospital. What's a project that your class could do to help those who try to help people in need in your community?
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