The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. —Deuteronomy 28:12
As God lays out the potential blessings for Israel’s obedience, he includes this promise: “you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” This promise comes from a time when debt was reserved for the most desperate situations, and could quite literally make someone beholden to their debtor. The writer of Proverbs communicates this well when he says, “the rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” (Prov. 22:7)
In this time period, debt was tied to slavery. Because of this, being a lender as opposed to a debtor was linked to having power and, in this instance, God’s favor. With this promise, God tells the Israelites that their obedience would lead them to a place of prominence and power over other nations.
This article was originally published on October 31, 2016 by CDFAcapital.org. Article re-posted with permission. Click here to read the original article.