Deuteronomy 15

We were first introduced to the idea of the Sabbatical Year in Exodus 23, when God commanded the Israelites to let the land lie fallow and rest. Then, in Leviticus 25, we read further explanation of this statute when God told His people to refrain from pruning or sowing their fields in the seventh year. And now in Deuteronomy 15, God gives even more directions regarding this seventh year, which also encompassed the forgiveness of debts and the release of Hebrew slaves.

Through the provision of this command, God not only wanted the nation of Israel to fully depend upon Him for their sustenance, but He also intended for none of His people to live in a perpetual state of bondage to a lender or human master. In doing so, we see God’s heart for the marginalized and the oppressed, as well as His desire for those with greater amounts of resources to share the financial provisions that He has entrusted to them with others. For the body of Christ today, I would encourage us to meditate on these words from our Lord. 

“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be…You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land’ (vv. 7-8, 10-11; emphasis added). 

As with our discussion yesterday, lest we think this is some outdated, Old Testament principle that no longer applies today, consider from 2 Corinthians 9:7 (emphasis added) that “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” And as the LORD promised to bless those Israelites who gave to the poor with a generous heart, we read this promise from 2 Corinthians 9:6: “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Please hear me: we don’t give to others, even with a happy heart, so that we can be enriched with more treasures to spend on ourselves. Rather, our experience has been that the more you give with a proper motive (out of obedience to God for His glory alone), the more our Provider entrusts to us so that we can, in turn, bless those around us who are in need. What a picture of how God uses the Acts 2 church as His hands and feet! 

Although God intended for slaves to be set free from their service during the seventh year (and sent off with a considerable bounty), some chose not to be released from their master’s supervision. Of those individuals, God commanded the following to be done: “you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever” (v. 17). In other words, the slave’s ear would be punctured so that he would have a visible mark reflecting a voluntary desire to be forever under his master’s will. This mention of how an Israelite was to treat a willing servant may seem like a random inclusion in the Scriptures, but a close read of Psalm 40:6 indicates that this seemingly random command in Deuteronomy 15 was a foreshadowing of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose ear was opened on our behalf as He humbly subjected Himself to the Father’s will. 

For us today, I would ask us to meditate on whether that mark of a willing bondservant is visible to those around us. Remember, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). 

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Journal responses to the following prompts:

·       How are you stewarding your resources in a way that allows for giving to those in need?

·       Is the mark of a willing bondservant to Jesus Christ visible to those around you?