Relief of a Money Changer
Relief of a Money Changer Relief of a money changer (third century AD) BANKRUPTCY A person enters bankruptcy upon legally declaring inability to repay debts. God commanded that obligations be repaid, but he also established a type of bankruptcy procedure for Israel’s poorest debtors. They could render six years of life in servitude, but creditors had to release their servants every seventh year ( Exod. 21:2 ). Additionally, the liberation at Jubilee ( Lev. 25:10 ) gave the poor some protection against oppressive terms of service ( cf . Neh. 5:3–5 ). A key biblical theme concerns the kinsman-redeemer, who could buy back close relatives from slavery and restore their land to the family ( Lev. 25:25 , Lev. 2:47–48 ). The book of Ruth tells how Boaz redeemed Ruth from poverty and alienation back to Naomi’s ancestral land. This theme continues with Jesus Christ , who came as a “ransom for many” ( Mark 10:45 ). With his blood he purchased the freedom of a spiritually ban...