Wednesday 13th August
Read Deuteronomy 15:1-18
“At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 2 This is how it is to be done: every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for cancelling debts has been proclaimed. 3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. 4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards them. 8 Rather, be open-handed and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be careful not to harbour this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near,’ so that you do not show ill will towards the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
12 If any of your people – Hebrew men or women – sell themselves to you and serve you for six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. 13 And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14 Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing-floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
16 But if your servant says to you, ‘I do not want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.
18 Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.” (NIVUK)
Having outlined the provision for those less fortunate than self, Moses now addresses issues associated with the functioning of society, lifestyle choices that will mean that the contrast between rich and poor will never be extreme. Debts cancelled every 7 years for Israelites (family?), foreigners still must ‘pay up’! Why would you do this, because God has been generous/blessed you and asks you to do the same. Verse 6 expands on the foreigners, in economic terms God will provide so that Israel is not ‘in debt’ to other nations who could then rule through economic circumstances? There is no expansion on this statement, and I wonder if I can apply it to the NT context of my life, indirectly it seems to be saying, God will provide, trust in Him not on ‘resources’ from elsewhere. Back to the 7th year and a warning not to try and avoid the responsibility to care for the poor, be generous not grudging and tightfisted. The ‘who will always be with you’ makes me wonder if the words ‘where self comes first’ could be added, true for Israel and still true today. If you are generous then the Lord will bless you in your work, I don’t think the blessing necessarily comes in dollars! Then Moses moves to ‘workforce care’, again the 7th year means slaves go free with the resources to get a new start; the emphasis placed on liberality/generosity in the provision of resources; the reason, because God was generous to you when you were redeemed from the slavery of Egypt. However, some may not want their freedom, and they will be made slaves for life, if so, you are doubly blessed; it is difficult to see the implication, why would you reject freedom, the only reason I can think of is security in the care of a good master. The result of generosity, the Lord’s blessing in everything you do. I am left, reminded of God’s love, grace and mercy in Jesus setting me free from bondage of sin and I pray that my freedom may be seen by others in a generosity of heart, particularly to those who are needy both economically and who lack the power of choice. Can I take the promise of blessing in my work as the blessing of seeing others find freedom?
Geoff Hinch
