1/12/14 Deuteronomy 24:10-13 Loans to Friends or Neighbors

Deuteronomy 24:10-13 (NAS)

When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge. You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.

 

         Deuteronomy 24:10-13 (NIVUS)

When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God.

  
Sometimes a friend or a neighbor may ask to borrow something from you. If it is something that you have and can lend, then you should do so, even if it is money. You should not try to deceive him or deprive him. You also should not regard him as blemished or stained if he asks for a loan.
 
If he promises and pledges to pay you back, you do not have permission to go into his house to retrieve your payment.  You should remain where you are.  Just stand still and wait until he brings you the agreed upon security for the debt.
 
If you know that your friend is poor and needy, you should not go into your house to rest and relax with his pledge in your possession. Instead you should take it back to him before the sun sets; for you know that he is already afflicted and bowed down. During the night the enemy may attack his mind. accusing him of wrong doing in asking you for a loan.  If you restore his pledge, you will prevent him from being further humiliated and mishandled. He will be able to lie down to sleep in peace, wrapped in his own raiment.
 
You, however, should not think that you will not receive back what you need.  If you choose to bless your brother in this way, you will be blessed and adored of Jehovah, the Lord your God. He will count this as a righteous and just act and you will be prospered. When you come into His presence, you will do so with confidence, for you are assured that you are in right standing with Adonai, the Most High.

 

 

(Originally written 9/11/06)