Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
This instruction belongs to the plan of life given to Israel, intended as an object lesson for all mankind, and carrying it out today would make the world a different place. It requires the lender to stand outside in the street and wait while the borrower brings the pledged item out, rather than entering the dwelling to take the security for the loan. The surrounding law adds that the pledge must be returned to its owner at nightfall and not kept overnight whatever the circumstances; if it is a garment or clothing needed by a poor person for warmth, it must be given back by sundown.
The requirement shows tender regard for the poor and protects the borrower's home from intrusion and the borrower's dignity and rights, teaching that lending and taking security must be done with merciful, considerate care for the borrower's needs. It forbids enriching oneself by oppression or by taking advantage of another's misfortune, weakness, or need, and requires putting oneself in the other person's place and looking to the other's interests as well as one's own in all business. These merciful provisions for pledges were little regarded in the days of Christ.
Christ's command to yield coat and cloak and to go the second mile calls for submission to the decisions of courts and for giving the creditor his due even when it demands more than the law of Moses authorized, even surrendering more than the court has authority to seize.
This instruction belongs to the plan of life given to Israel, intended as an object lesson for all mankind, and carrying it out today would make the world a different place. It requires the lender to stand outside in the street and wait while the borrower brings the pledged item out, rather than entering the dwelling to take the security for the loan. The surrounding law adds that the pledge must be returned to its owner at nightfall and not kept overnight whatever the circumstances; if it is a garment or clothing needed by a poor person for warmth, it must be given back by sundown.
The requirement shows tender regard for the poor and protects the borrower's home from intrusion and the borrower's dignity and rights, teaching that lending and taking security must be done with merciful, considerate care for the borrower's needs. It forbids enriching oneself by oppression or by taking advantage of another's misfortune, weakness, or need, and requires putting oneself in the other person's place and looking to the other's interests as well as one's own in all business. These merciful provisions for pledges were little regarded in the days of Christ.
Christ's command to yield coat and cloak and to go the second mile calls for submission to the decisions of courts and for giving the creditor his due even when it demands more than the law of Moses authorized, even surrendering more than the court has authority to seize.