In Biblical times

1 Scientific studies confirm that the region now generally embraced by Syria, Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan has always been arid and hot.

2 In times which were particularly arid, perhaps spanning several years, crops were devastated, cattle died and the people suffered.

3 The Bible alludes to unscrupulous men of wealth visiting drought-stricken areas, not to aid their needy brothers, but to take their property.

4 Perhaps feigning sympathy and understanding, a wealthy visitor might offer a small, short-term loan to a desperate farmer, explaining that perhaps with this financial aid the farmer could buy food for himself and his family until the drought ended and farm production returned to normal.

5 Scripture suggests that many farmers were compelled by circumstances to accept these loans, even though the amount borrowed probably was barely enough to keep the farmer and his family alive for more than a few months, and even though he might have had to pledge his entire farm as collateral.

6 It should be kept in mind that the collateral requirements of these kinds of loans would not be terribly unusual because high-risk borrowers have always had to meet high collateral requirements.

7 But it should be kept in mind that these were not ordinary lenders, nor were these ordinary loans, and certainly these were not ordinary times.

8 These lenders probably knew that if they kept the loan amount small and the loan period short, few borrowers would be able to pay back the loan per agreement.

9 By implementing this devious plan, a lender was almost certain to become the new owner of a farm, for an amount which would normally be described as a small down payment on his part.

10 And that is apparently what happened in many cruel instances.

11 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.