Deuteronomy 15:1-11
1 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. 2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD'S release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
1 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. 2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD'S release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
The LORD’s release was the forgiveness of all debt every seven years among God’s people. They did not have to release everything owed to those not of His people, but among themselves they were to be generous and kind to the slaves of their fellowmen, and not wickedly hold back just before setting them free and leaving them with nothing. Doing so would not only be selfish and cruel, it most likely would create a situation where poverty would cause them to be sold again into bondage for another seven years. God did not desire that any should be poor among His own, but that all would share in the inheritance of the land to be given as promised to them all. They were then to avoid borrowing to be indebted to other nations, but lend to others so they would be indebted to them, just as in a sense of bringing the Messiah to the nations would make them indebted to God’s people. The poor would never cease to be with them, so they were commanded to their brethren and the needy among them. Matthew 26:11 reminds us the poor will always be among us to help, but also that serving Him is the ultimate giving of ourselves, especially to those He walked among before His sacrificial death as our substitute and payment of our eternal debt (Romans 5:8-9, 4:4-5, 3:23-26). He has forgiven our eternal debt for sin which kept us in bondage as slaves to sin and earned death for us all. This is the LORD’s lasting release of forgiven debts foreshadowed in the seven year example of this passage. We are therefore now willing slaves to God in Christ and His righteousness (Romans 6:22-23). Let us then live rightly and righteously in that freedom (Galatians 5:1, 13)!
No comments:
Post a Comment