Deuteronomy 15:1-11 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 15:1-11. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 15:1-3 (NIV)
1 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you.
On verses 1-3: Moses instituted a system where every 7 years debts between fellow Israelites were to be canceled. It was a way to remember and demonstrate God’s grace, as well as to give people a fresh start. For that is God’s heart for every person: to give them a fresh start.
Whereas Moses told the Israelites to cancel debts every 7 years (v1), aren’t you glad that God doesn’t wait every 7 years to cancel our debts? Instead, He forgives us today! Through Christ’s death on the cross, it’s as if God sped up time and accelerated His mercy so that every day is like the 7th year and every day God’s forgiveness is made available to us. That’s why Paul could say, “now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Just as God didn’t wait to cancel our debts and forgive our sins, may we be quick to forgive those who hurt us and cancel their debts too. Remember: the debt others owe you and me will never compare to the debt that we owed God. So may we be quick to forgive others just like God is quick to forgive us.
Deuteronomy 15:4-11 (NIV)
4 However, there should be no poor 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 there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.
8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.
9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.
10 Give generously to him 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 openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
On verses 4-11: Notice this: on one hand verse 4 says, “there should be no poor among you”. On the other hand verse 11 says, “There will always be poor people in the land.” It’s as if Moses is pointing out the difference between the ideal and the real. The ideal is that there should be no poor among you (v4); that in a perfect world God’s blessings would be managed well enough by everyone that there should be no poor people. But because of various reasons – sin for one – the reality is that there will always be poor people (v11; see also Matthew 26:11). So what’s the lesson here: when there is a gap between the ideal and the real, God tells His people to stand in the gap, in this case by being soft-hearted (v7) and open-handed (v8), lending freely to those in dire need.
God, who leads by example, never tells us to do what He Himself is not willing to do. In fact, God went above and beyond. When we were spiritually impoverished, completely unable to afford heaven, Jesus stood in the gap. As 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Thank You God that You have a heart for the poor and needy. When I was poor and needy, You looked at me with compassion and gave me accelerated grace and mercy. Help me to do the same with the poor and needy I see around me. May I not be hardhearted and tightfisted, but openhanded toward those in need. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
