An Exegetical Reflection on Nehemiah 5:1-13 Usury and Lending Among Some of The Members of The Reformed Church in Zambia on The Copper Belt Congregations

An Exegetical Reflection on Nehemiah 5:1-13 Usury and Lending Among Some of The Members of The Reformed Church in Zambia on The Copper Belt Congregations

Master of Theology (Old Testament)

This research paper focuses on the practice of usury and lending among the members of the Reformed Church in Zambia in relation to Nehemiah 5:1-13. Usury (kaloba) is the excessive interest that the lender charges the borrower to add on top of the amount of money he has borrowed which is usually 50% and 100% interest rate and some of our church members engage themselves in this practice. The Scripture condemns this practice because it exploits the borrower but members don’t want to refrain from the exacting of usury. It is in view of this that the researcher embarked on this study to establish the causes, effects, and implications to the church for having members engage in this exorbitant charge of interest when lending their money.

In order to achieve this, the researcher employed both extensive empirical research among the church members and also did a literature review in relation to the subject under investigation. The idea was to harmonize the empirical data findings and the hermeneutical findings from the scriptures. The ultimate goal was to bring out the biblical, theological and scholarly understanding of usury and lending. The researcher then made recommendations that he felt could be of benefit to both the believing community of the Reformed Church in Zambia and the scholarly world.

Rabson Ngoma

Submitted to Justo Mwale University

2020

Supervisors: Associate Prof. Dustin Ellington
Supervisors: Prof. Edwin Zulu

All rights reserved. Justo Mwale University

Physical Medium

English

AN EXEGETICAL REFLECTION ON NEHEMIAH 5:1-13 USURY AND LENDING AMONG SOME OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN ZAMBIA ON THE COPPERBELT CONGREGGATIONS.