Scripture Daily

Context No. 1809 of 4322 · Leviticus

Context · Reflection

Leviticus 25:35-43: in context

35“‘If your brother has become poor, and his hand can’t support himself among you, then you shall uphold him. He shall live with you like an alien and a temporary resident. 36Take no interest from him or profit; but fear your God, that your brother may live among you. 37You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. 39“‘If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you, you shall not make him to serve as a slave. 40As a hired servant, and as a temporary resident, he shall be with you; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee. 41Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers. 42For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves. 43You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God.

The law makes provision for the brother who falls into poverty. If your brother becomes poor and cannot support himself, God says, you shall uphold him; let him live among you. Take no interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your brother may live. If he grows so poor that he sells himself to you, do not make him serve as a slave, nor rule over him harshly, but treat him as a hired worker, until the Year of Jubilee sets him free. For they are my servants, God says, whom I brought out of Egypt.

The command here is not merely to avoid harming the poor brother, but to uphold him, to lift and support the one who has fallen, so that he may live and recover. And it is hedged about with protections against exploitation: take no interest from his need, do not profit from his poverty, do not treat him harshly or reduce him to a slave, but keep his dignity intact and look toward his restoration. God is deeply concerned that the poor be lifted, not ground down; that those who fall on hard times be supported toward recovery, not exploited in their vulnerability. There is a whole ethic here for how we treat those who have fallen into need. The instinct of a hard world is to take advantage of the vulnerable, to profit from their desperation, to treat the fallen with contempt; the poor, needing help, are easy to exploit and easy to despise. God commands the opposite: uphold your brother, support him, keep him among you with dignity, do not profit from his need or treat him harshly, but help him toward recovery. And the reason God gives is telling: for they are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. The poor brother is not less God's than we are; he too belongs to God, and God watches over how we treat him. This shapes how we regard and treat those who have fallen into need, whether through misfortune, failure, or circumstance. Do we exploit their vulnerability, profit from their need, treat them with contempt; or do we uphold them, support them with dignity, and help them toward recovery, remembering that they too are God's, and that God, who lifted us when we were slaves in Egypt, commands us to lift the fallen brother rather than grind him down?

How do I treat those who have fallen into need, through misfortune or failure, do I exploit their vulnerability and treat them with contempt, or do I uphold them as God commands, supporting them with dignity and helping them toward recovery, remembering that the poor brother too belongs to God, who lifted me when I was enslaved?

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