Be content with your financial status (13:5). The sins of sexual impurity and covetousness are linked in several New Testament passages (e.g., 1 Cor. 5:10–11; Eph. 4:19; 1 Thess. 4:3–6), probably because their prohibitions are given side by side as the seventh and eighth of the Ten Commandments. Both the sexually immoral and those greedy for money pursue a myopic self-gratification that takes them outside the bounds of God’s provision. Such greed amounts to accusing God of incompetence as a provider of one’s most basic needs and, therefore, is incompatible with commitment to God himself (cf. Matt. 6:24). Consequently, Christians are exhorted to keep their lives “free from the love of money” and to “be content” with what they have.

Absence of the love of money (aphilargyros) was extolled in secular culture as a virtue because leaders would be incorruptible in the management of certain affairs, a thought that parallels a requirement for church leaders (1 Tim. 3:3). Here, however, the author has in mind Christians in general and the struggle to keep money in perspective in daily life. For the one who is aphilargyros, money is simply a means of meeting needs rather than a driving motivation or preoccupation of life. Such a person is “content” (arkoumenos) with what God has given.

The basis for such contentment is God’s promise of his ever-present help: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” No Old Testament quotation perfectly corresponds to this quote in Greek, although several approach correspondence (e.g., Gen. 28:15; Deut. 31:6–8; Josh. 1:5), and various theories have been offered as to how the author was using his source material. Perhaps he conflated two Old Testament passages or used a Greek translation no longer in existence. Nevertheless, the significance of the promise is clear: God keeps his covenant to provide for his people. Therefore, believers need not worry that their needs will go unmet.

Thus, the Christian can profess with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (13:6). This response comes from Psalm 118:6–7 and asserts that the plans of the wicked will be thwarted by the provisions of God. The backdrop for the author’s use of this promise and for this human response placed on the lips of believers certainly involves the hearers’ situation. If, as was the case in their past, they were being persecuted in part by being forced to give up property or material possessions (Heb. 10:32–34), this promise of God and the encouragement to make an appropriate response would be especially relevant.