Leviticus 19:13 You shall not extort your neighbor, nor rob; you shall not allow the wages of one hired to remain with you until morning.
When I used to read through the Old Testament (specifically the Torah), I always read these laws with the mentality of them being things of the past, more like interesting trivia. I never explored them deeply. Now as I read the Torah through the eyes of honoring it wherever possible, I read verses like the one above with fascination. These aren't just mere suggestions. They're laws!
In society today, it could be very hard to adapt to these laws because we're used to doing it so differently, but I believe the law is all about fairness. Why would we not want to find a way to incorporate it into our lives? I know some countries do it this way, but in North America, generally this is not the case. Can you imagine being paid daily instead of just twice a month? Here in Brazil, you get paid monthly. Granted you'd have to get good at saving your money to pay for monthly payments if you were paid daily. I just remembered how I worked for one fellow who paid me at the end of every day for taking care of his elderly mother. It was easy for him and very convenient for me. Yeshua's parable about the hired workers also has the vineyard owner paying them at the end of the day.
The reason I started thinking about all this is that my husband is planning to get our roof redone. In Brazil, it's super common to have scammers who'll agree to do a job, take 50% of the whole job and then run off the next day. This couldn't happen if we only agreed to pay day by day. If they're doing a bad job, you just hire someone else the next day because you don't have a long-term agreement already paid for. Not only have I noticed how the Torah is all about treating your neighbor right, but it also offers the obedient one protection. I particularly noticed how this protection would be had if we followed the law to not borrow from unbelievers such as with loans and credit cards (Deuteronomy 28:12 Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow.). Seems we would spare ourselves a lot of grief if we obeyed His laws and trusted Him to open the windows of heaven for us like He promises to rather than depending on swindlers. That is why I decided to cut up my credit card as soon as I'd paid off the debt just recently.
What are your thoughts if you are a business owner? Have you tried paying your employees daily or is this something you would be interested in doing?
Deuteronomy 24:14,15 “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.
I love how you mentioned in the beginning that these are not “merely suggestions, these are laws!” I grew up too thinking that most Torah laws are for the past, for a different time period. But I couldn’t be more wrong, the more I read Torah (specifically reading Deuteronomy now), the more my eyes are opened to how timeless God’s laws are and how they are all for our own good at the present time we’re living now, just like it was in the time of ancient Israel. I also found myself so in debt that I’m struggling to pay it off, and it only recently occurred to me that this isn’t the way God intended, specifically when I read…