The Hebrew word picture for debt is "mem-tav." "Mem" is a picture of flooding waters and "tav" is a sign of the cross, meaning "what God had promised would happen because of sin." Satan (debt) is a master of bondage, which creates death. The enemy's goal has always been to create so much debt that it is impossible for the individual to pay it back.   Debt (Satan) creates a relationship of servitude and slavery to the one who offered the apple of death. Satan does not care what kind of debt one adopts: money, promises, material things, food, time, tithes, favors, or sins. It really doesn't matter to him!

In the Old Testament times, loaning money to fellow Jewish brothers was only under the condition of charitable giving. It was absolutely forbidden (and still is) to charge interest to a brother of the race. The children of God were not to borrow, or loan, to people outside their race. If they did, they were accused of forming partnerships with the "unequally yoked." The early Jews knew that the interest charged would create long-term bondage. Under Hebraic law, if a person loaned money to a brother and he refused (or couldn't) pay it back, the loan was then considered "charitable giving." This was not determined until the end of the seventh year. If the borrower was caught a second time "stiffing" a fellow brother for a loan, he was to be treated as a foreigner. This included no financial dealings, which would force him to leave the community.  

Nowadays, when an individual cannot pay a debt, he considers ideas such as bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not a biblical solution, nor does God support these kinds of resolutions.

Bankruptcy laws are changing to make it easier for individuals and corporations to go this route. It used to be when a person went bankrupt, his assets were turned into legal tender and the money would be used to pay down the debt. The Hebrew word picture for bankrupt is "broken bench." It was a custom to do business while sitting on a bench, which was usually located in the courtyard of the temple. Back then, when a banker went "bankrupt,"his bench was broken by...read more here     

Identity in Finances: Why Stay Out of Debt? Copyright � 2015 IOM America. Permission to reproduce for educational purposes. Please keep author's name intact.