DO NOT TAKE INTEREST / LEVITICUS 25:36

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(KJV) Leviticus 25:36

Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

Beyond Profit: Living Out the Radical Mercy of Leviticus 25:36

In a world driven by profit margins, credit scores, and high-interest rates, the concepts of modern finance seem completely detached from ancient scripture. Yet, God’s Word has always held a mirror to how we treat one another financially—especially when someone is struggling.

Tucked into the holiness code of the Old Testament is a command that challenges the very foundation of how we view money:

“Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you.” — Leviticus 25:36 (NRSV)

The Context of Radical Care

To understand the weight of this verse, we have to look at the verses surrounding it. God is laying out the laws for the Year of Jubilee—a radical system of economic reset designed to ensure that poverty didn’t become a permanent fixture in Israelite society.

God says if a fellow believer or neighbor falls into financial distress, the community’s immediate response should be support, not exploitation Leviticus 25:35-38. In the ancient world (and unfortunately, in our modern one too), a person in desperation was prime insurance for a lender. When you desperately need money or food to survive, you’ll accept almost any interest rate.

But God steps in and draws a hard line: Do not take interest. Do not make a profit off their misery.

Other translations render this even more sharply. The King James Version warns against “usury,” while The Message Bible paraphrases it as: “Don’t gouge him with interest charges; out of reverence for your God help your brother to continue to live with you in the neighborhood.”

The Heart Issue: Fear of God vs. Love of Gain

Why does God tie lending money without interest directly to the “fear of God”? Because exploiting someone else’s crisis reveals that we trust our wealth more than we revere our Creator.

When we insist on profiting off someone else’s downfall, we forget our own story. Just a few verses later, God reminds the Israelites: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt…”Leviticus 25:38.

God gave them a debt-free rescue from bondage. Therefore, their financial relationships with others were supposed to mirror that grace. True kingdom help begins with the right attitude of our hearts, stepping in with mercy rather than expecting a return on investment.

Bringing it Home Today

While most of us aren’t running local banks, the principle of Leviticus 25:36 applies deeply to our personal interactions:

Protect the Vulnerable: When family or friends face a crisis, our primary goal should be their restoration, not our personal benefit.
Generosity Over Leeway: If we do lend money to someone in a desperate spot, kingdom ethics challenge us to do so without attaching strings, hidden costs, or interest. Better yet, as Jesus later challenged us in Luke 6:38, we should give generously without even expecting a refund if it means saving a brother or sister from ruin.
Community Survival: The goal of God’s economy is that “your brother may live beside you.” Money is a tool to build community, keep families housed, and lift up the fallen—not a weapon to alienate them.

Let’s challenge ourselves to look at our finances through the lens of reverence for God. When we choose mercy over personal profit, we declare to a watching world that our God is a provider, and His family takes care of its own.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are the Creator of all things, and everything we have belongs to You. Forgive us for the times we have let a culture of greed and profit shape our hearts more than Your law of mercy.

Give us a healthy reverence and fear of You, Lord, so that we may view our money through the eyes of grace. Help us to notice those around us who are falling into difficulty. Grant us the courage and generosity to support them cleanly, without looking for leverage, interest, or selfish profit. May our resources be used to lift others up, so that our community may thrive together in Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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