2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything.
The only reason you would sell yourself to another person was because you were in debt. But what a wonderful system. No matter how much debt you got into, after six years your debts were paid off. Of course, you are that person’s slave for six years and that can be unpleasant. And the amount you were able to borrow was always measured against your value as a six-year slave. No one would lend you money beyond your ability to pay them back through your labor. Unlike the recent mortgage crisis when people were often lent money with no reasonable possibility of being able to repay, you couldn’t get in too deeply. Whatever family he has when he becomes as slave goes with him when he goes. If he gets a family while paying off his debt, the family stays. This is very different from our current bankruptcy laws. When you declared bankruptcy back then, everything belonged to your creditor except your family. No easy outs. You became their slave for six years. Everything you made during that time became your creditor’s property. At the end of the six years, you were allowed to leave, but you took nothing with you except the family you had when you arrived. You had to start life over without anything. Today when you declare bankruptcy you get to keep some things. There is a great lesson in this verse. Don’t borrow more than you can repay. Live within your means. And on the flip side, don’t lend more than someone is able to repay. Be financially responsible.
The Arnold Journey 