Embracing the Radical Economics of the Bible

Abstract

what may be the most radical economic laws in all of human history are found in the first five books of the Bible, variously known as the Torah, the Pentateuch, “the law,” and the books of Moses. Central to God’s covenant with ancient Israel (the spiritual ancestors of Jews, Christians, and Muslims), these laws describe and prescribe what the new life beyond “Egypt”—at that time seen as a symbol of bondage, economic exploitation, impoverishment, and slavery—is to be like. They embody God’s dream, God’s passion for a different kind of life on earth, here and now, in this world. They include laws about debt and land.In the world of biblical Israel, debt and land were both related to food and the material basis of existence. Most people were farmers, so access to land meant access to the source of food. In that era, a person would go into debt only for the most desperate reasons. Borrowing in order to purchase consumer goods over time was unknown. Only if one didn’t have enough food, perhaps because one’s family had to eat next year’s seed grain in order to survive, would one borrow.In that cultural context, the laws about debt and land come alive. We can see their purpose and meaning in their ancient historical context. These radical economic laws call for:It’s interesting that the Jews and Christians who think biblical laws are God’s revealed will and are thus eternally valid have not taken up the fight to put these laws into practice. Many believers are eager to use the Bible against same-sex relationships (and rely on highly questionable interpretations to do so) but devote no energy to fighting for the implementation of these crystal clear edicts on debt. We seldom hear fundamentalist and orthodox voices arguing against interest on loans or for periodic debt forgiveness and restoration of land to families who have lost their land.Though these laws make sense in the context of ancient Israel, it is impossible to imagine them as “the law of the land” in modern societies. If interest on all loans were prohibited, who would be motivated to loan money? So also if debts were to be forgiven every seventh year—our mortgages and credit card debt erased, cancelled—what institutions would be willing to lend? Of course, it is possible to imagine that there might be some institutions that commit themselves to providing interest-free loans for some purposes, and that debt forgiveness might sometimes be the best course of action.And yet the spirit and intention of the Bible’s laws about debt and land are clear and still relevant. Their purpose is to prevent the emergence of a permanently impoverished underclass. They seek to insure that families have a chance for a new beginning. They aim to guarantee that everybody has access to the material basis of existence, which in the world of biblical Israel was land on which to produce your food.Note that these laws are not about “charity” in the common sense of the word, namely voluntary deeds of generosity to help those less fortunate. Charity is always good and probably will always be needed. But these are “laws”—part of the structuring of society, of how it is put together.Honoring the spirit and intention of these laws is thus about more than private charity. Doing so includes a strong concern for fair and just structures, systems that serve the well-being of the many and not just the few.The Bible’s laws about interest, land, and debt are central to God’s passion for a world of justice, the fair distribution of God’s earth. The Bible proclaims that the world belongs to God—it and its fullness are the Lord’s (see Ps. 24 and Lev. 25:23). It does not belong to us as individuals or as groups or as a species. It is meant for all of us—humans and non-humans alike.What might it mean if we were to take that seriously?