We are continuing to learn about the sabbath mind as it is exhibited in rest, open-handed generosity, and joy. We are seeing that the sabbath principle is a helm which directs how the entire ship will go. “At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release . . .” (Deuteronomy 15:1-23).
In theme and tone, this chapter continues teaching us the sabbath mind. There are three sections in it, each applying the ramifications of three particular laws. The first law (v. 1) says that every seven years marks a debt release. The verses which follow (vv. 2-11) give particular applications. The second law (v. 12) shows how a Hebrew is to be released from slavery. The following verses (vv. 13-18) give detailed instructions on this. The third law concerns the firstlings (v. 19), and the remaining verses of the chapter expound on that law (vv. 20-23).
We begin with the release of debts. Secular conservatives too often want to solve the problems of poverty by urging an impersonal philosophy of every man for himself, and devil take the hindmost. Christians influenced by this may sometimes think that poverty is the direct result of personal sin on the part of the poor person only. This is usually a significant factor, but this passage shows us that societal disobedience is also involved.
At the end of every seven years there is to be a release of debts (v. 1). This is done because it is the Lord’s release (v. 2). This does not apply to outsiders; economics is a matter of covenant relationship (v. 3). When the law is followed carefully and rightly, poverty is eliminated (vv. 4-5). God will bless with economic dominion (v. 6). A poor man is not to be treated with hardness of heart (v. 7). He is to be treated generously, with an open hand (v. 8). In the economic calculation, do not be a son of Belial at heart (v. 9). Remember the blessing of God (v. 10). The poor you will always have with you (v. 11), as Jesus also said, thus indicating a certain measure of societal disobedience (v. 4). The promise of verse 4 (LXX) is cited by Luke in Acts 4:34 as being fulfilled in the life of the church. And this should make us take notice.
We then come to the release of slaves. If a Hebrew has been sold into slavery, he is to be released in the sabbath year (v. 12). He is not to be sent away empty (v. 13), but rather he is to be garlanded with goods (v. 14). Remember the time when you were in similar circumstances (v. 15). God redeemed you; therefore you are to display the same mind. If the slave (out of love) does not want to go (v. 16), then his ear, which is a symbol of obedience, is to be pierced through with an awl, and he becomes a permanent slave. But if he wants to go, this is not to be treated by the master as a hardship (v. 18). God will bless a free hand. A free hand is the characteristic of the free man.
Then there is the release of the firstlings. All firstling males of the flock are dedicated to the Lord (v. 19). They too are released from work (v. 19). Rather, they are to be eaten before the Lord on an annual basis (v. 20). If one of the firstlings is blemished, it is not to be sacrificed at Jerusalem (v. 21), but it may be eaten locally (v. 22). But even here the blood is not to be eaten (v. 23).
Remember what God has done for you, and remember it with gratitude that goes to the bone. We see here a type of forgiveness—this attitude we are to cultivate with regard to our money is a type of how forgiving we are to be. We are to forgive our debtors and those who trespass against us. We are to be tender with others financially because God was tender with us (Eph. 4:32). Remember where you once were—you were once a struggling student. You were once newlyweds. You were once laden with debts. You were once unforgiven, lost, without God and without hope in the world. This remembrance will result in more than an occasional willingness to give a guy a break. This remembrance will mean that your entire life will come to be characterized by an overflow of sabbath kindnesses. If your eye be good—this Hebrew idiom with regard to the eye refers to generosity or lack of it (v. 9). The good eye was generous; the evil eye represented someone who was a stingy tightwad. The man who has a good eye will be blessed (Prov. 22:9). Do not eat the bread of a man with an evil eye (Prov. 23:6). Christ had the landowner in the parable ask if their eye was evil because he was generous (Matt. 20:15). An evil eye proceeds, with the rest of all sin, out of the heart of man (Mark 7:21-22). Jesus teaches that being tightfisted darkens the entire soul (Matt. 6:23). Is your eye good? Do you love your enemies? Do you forgive others? Do you care for the poor? Are you generous?