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Index Deuteronomy Chapter 15
Deuteronomy 14:1-29
I. Bible History: Old Testament
The Thirty-Eight Years In The Wilderness
II. Key Word Commentary
Analysis of chapter
III. Bible Background Commentary
I. Cancellation of Slavery and Debts Deuteronomy 15:1-18
II. Firstborn Animals Deuteronomy 15:19-23
IV. Wesley's Outline
Chapter Outline
V. J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible on Deuteronomy Chapter 15
THEME:
VI. Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament
Food And Festivals Deuteronomy 14:1-16:17
VII. CHRONOLOGY OF DEUTERONOMY
- Year before the common Year of Christ, 1451
- Julian Period, 3263.
- Cycle of the Sun, 10.
- Dominical Letter, B
- Cycle of the Moon, 10.
- Indiction, 15.
- Creation from Tisri or September, 2553.
VIII. SUMMARY OF Chapter 15
- The Sabbatical year of release, 1.
- The
manner in which this release shall take place, 2-5.
- Of lending to the poor, and the disposition in which
it should be done, 6-11.
- Of the Hebrew
servant who has served six years, and who shall be
dismissed well furnished, 12-15.
- The ceremony
of boring the ear, when the servant wishes to
continue with his master, 16-18.
- Of the
firstlings of the flock and herd, 19,20.
- Nothing
shall be offered that has any blemish, 21.
- The
sacrifice to be eaten both by the clean and unclean,
except the blood, which is never to be eaten, but
poured out upon the ground, 22,23.
Deuteronomy 15:1-23
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Bible History: Old Testament
Deuteronomy ~ 34 Chapters
The Thirty-Eight Years In The Wilderness
Journey Of Children Of Israel In "Compassing" Land Of Edom (Deuteronomy 2, 3; Ref. Numbers 21:3-35; 33:35-49)
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— Bible History: Old Testament
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Key Word Commentary
for Deuteronomy Chapter 15
1. Before and after
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Previous chapter: Deuteronomy 14; Laws about food and tithes
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Following chapter: Deuteronomy 16; Laws about feasts
2. Analysis of chapter
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3. Key verse
Deuteronomy 15:1: "At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release."
4. Key word ~ key phrase
Deuteronomy 15:1, "debts."
5. Key event ~ key person ~ key theme
The year for canceling debts
6. Key thought
Money matters are constantly taught in the Bible.
7. Key thing to look out for
The importance of a generous heart is underlined in verse 10.
8. Key Bible cross-reference
Deuteronomy 15:1. See Exodus 23:10,11; Leviticus 25:1-7.
9. Key "by way of explanation"
Deuteronomy 15:4. If the Israelites followed the orders of God that are set out in this chapter then there would be no poor people in their number.
10. Key "Quotable Quote"
"God prizes generosity, especially joyful generosity."
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Bible Background Commentary
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Cancellation of Slavery and Debts Deuteronomy 15:1-18
Firstborn Animals Deuteronomy 15:19-23
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Cancellation of Slavery and Debts
Deuteronomy 15:1-18
Deuteronomy 15:1-11. financial systems in the ancient Near East.
Since the wealth of the nations of the ancient Near East was based on the dual economic foundations of natural resources (mines and agriculture) and trade, an intricate financial system had to be developed to support these ventures. For instance, risk capital (in the form of gold, silver, precious stones, spices, etc.) was provided by kings and entrepreneurs in Egypt and Mesopotamia to mariners plying the Mediterranean routes to Cyprus and Crete and the trade routes south along the Red Sea to Arabia, Africa and India. Loans were also made to merchants leading caravans throughout the Near East (with an expected yield on investment of at least 100 percent) and to farmers to provide seed and equipment for the growing season. These loans were generally made at interest (although there was an interest-free category of loan within a set payment period). Hammurabi's code contains numerous examples governing the rate of interest and even prescribing forfeiture of investment if the creditor charged more than 20 percent. Individual farmers who experienced a bad harvest would often have to incur debt in order to provide food for the coming year and supplies for the next year's planting. Continuing bad harvests would lead to the indenturing of the land or the sale of his family and eventually himself into debt slavery.
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Deuteronomy 15:2-3. debt remission.
In granting an absolute remission of all debt at the end of the seventh year, the Deuteronomic law expands on the original sabbatical year legislation (Exodus 23:10-11), which related to the fallowing of the land. As the economy expanded, this required broadening the law to include debt as well as the return of property that had been given as collateral for debt (see the Jubilee law in Leviticus 25). The likelihood that this is total remission of debt rather than a suspension of debt for the year is confirmed by the misharum decree of the Old Babylonian king Ammisaduqa (1646-1626 b.c.). This document prohibits creditors from pursuing the payment of debt after the decree has been issued, on pain of death. However, as in Deuteronomic law, merchants, who were often foreign nationals or new settlers (foreigners in Deuteronomy 15:3), are still required to repay investors, since this is a transaction rather than a debt.
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Deuteronomy 15:1-6. sabbatical year.
The fallowing of the land in the seventh year, as an acknowledgment of the Creator's work and an example of good husbandry, is first found in Exodus 23:10-11. An expansion of that law is later found in Leviticus 25:2-7, providing more specificity about how it affects the land and the people. The Deuteronomic legislation is more concerned with debt remission, manumission of slaves (Deuteronomy 15:12-18) and the educational process of reading the law publicly (Deuteronomy 31:10-13) during the sabbatical year. Although there is no direct parallel to either sabbath or sabbatical-year legislation outside the Bible, the Ugaritic epic of Baal contains a seven-year agricultural cycle that may be related. In Hammurabi's laws women and children sold into slavery would be freed after three years.
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Deuteronomy 15:12. Hebrew.
It may well be that originally Hebrew, like Habiru in Akkadian texts, was a generic term for landless, stateless persons who contracted themselves as mercenaries, laborers and servants. This is not necessarily a pejorative designation. There are some negative connotations present, since persons in the ancient world tended to identify themselves with a group or place. But considering the fact that the first "Hebrew," Abram, was a landless immigrant, something like "gypsy" might give a general idea of meaning. Israelite villagers considered themselves to be free landowners. Hebrew, therefore, would refer to an Israelite who had become destitute (compare Jeremiah 34:9) or was living in foreign lands (Judges 19:16). The Hebrew had to work his full six-year term in order to regain his mortgaged land and landowner status. Thus the Hebrew in Exodus 21:2, Deuteronomy 15:12 and Jeremiah 34:9 would be an Israelite, who, unlike the non-Israelite, could not be sold into permanent slavery. It was his right to release that distinguished him from the non-Israelite.
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Deuteronomy 15:16-18. ear-piercing ceremony.
See the comment on •Exodus 21:5-6. The only difference in the description of the ceremony is that Deuteronomy has added the phrase "Do the same for your maidservant" in Deuteronomy 15:6, since this version of the manumission law deals more fully with both male and female slaves.
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Firstborn Animals
Deuteronomy 15:19-23
Dedication of firstborn animals to deity is without firm attestation in the other cultures of the ancient Near East, though some claim to have found such a practice in the Ugaritic texts. If it is there, the texts give us little information to understand the reasoning behind the practice.
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Deuteronomy 15:23. eating blood.
See the comments on •Leviticus 17:11 and •Deuteronomy 12:16, 20, regarding the prohibition against consuming the blood of animals along with their meat.
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Wesley's Outline
for Deuteronomy Chapter 15
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Chapter Outline
Notes On Chapter
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Notes for Verse 1
Deuteronomy 15:1. At the end -
That is, in the last year of the seven, as is, most evident from Deuteronomy 15:9. And this year of release, as it is, called below, Deuteronomy 15:9, is the same with the sabbatical year, Exodus 23:11.
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Notes for Verse 2
Deuteronomy 15:2. Every creditor -
Here is, a law for poor, insolvent debtors. Every seventh year was a year of release, when among other Acts of grace, this was one, that every Israelite, who had borrowed money, and had not been able to pay it before, should this year be released from it. And tho' if he was able, he was bound in conscience to pay it afterwards, yet it could not be recovered by law.
His brother -
This is added to limit the word neighbor, which is more general, unto a brother, in nation and religion, an Israelite.
The Lord's release -
Or, a release for the Lord, in obedience to his command, for his honor, and as an acknowledgment of his right in your estates, and of his kindness in giving and continuing them to you.
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Notes for Verse 4
Deuteronomy 15:4. Save when there shall be no poor -
The words may be rendered thus, as in the margin of our Bibles, To the end that there be no poor among you. And so they contain a reason of this law, namely, that none be impoverished and ruined by a rigid exaction of debts.
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Notes for Verse 8
Deuteronomy 15:8. Open thine hand wide -
That is, deal bountifully and liberally with him.
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Notes for Verse 9
Deuteronomy 15:9. Beware -
Suppress the first risings of such uncharitableness.
It be sin -
That is, it be charged upon thee as a sin.
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Notes for Verse 10
Deuteronomy 15:10. Thine heart shall not be grieved -
That is, thou shalt give, not only with an open hand, but with a willing and chearful mind, without which thy very charity is uncharitable, and not accepted by God.
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Notes for Verse 11
Deuteronomy 15:11. The poor shall never cease -
God by his providence will so order it, partly for the punishment of your disobedience, and partly for the trial and exercise of your obedience to him and charity to your brother.
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Notes for Verse 12
Deuteronomy 15:12. If thy brother be sold -
Either by himself, or his parents, or as a criminal.
Six years -
To be computed from the beginning of his servitude, which is every where limited to the space of six years.
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Notes for Verse 15
Deuteronomy 15:15. The Lord redeemed thee -
And brought thee out with riches, which because they would not, God gave thee as a just recompense for thy service; and therefore thou shalt follow his example, and send out thy servant furnished with all convenient provisions.
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Notes for Verse 17
Deuteronomy 15:17. For ever -
All the time of his life, or, at least, 'till the year of jubilee.
Likewise -
That is, either dismiss her with plenty, or engage her to perpetual servitude, in the same manner and by the same rites.
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Notes for Verse 19
Deuteronomy 15:19. All the firstling males thou shalt sanctify -
Giving them to God on the eighth day. And thou shalt do no work with the female firstlings of the cow, nor shear those of the sheep. Even these must be offered to God as peace offerings, or used in a religious feast.
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Notes for Verse 20
Deuteronomy 15:20. Year by year -
Namely, in the solemn feasts which returned upon them every year.
~ Wesley's Explanatory Notes
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J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible
on Deuteronomy Chapter 15
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THEME:
Today we hear a great deal about poverty programs. Man has devised many programs, but they do not work. God has a poverty program that works.
Then in this chapter there is a section about a permanent slave. And, finally, we find in this chapter a type of the perfect sacrifice which is Christ.
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The Sabbatic Year
(Deuteronomy 15:1-14)
At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release
[Deuteronomy 15:1].
Every seventh year is a sabbatical year. In that year a release was to be made.
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And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth aught unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD'S release
[Deuteronomy 15:2].
God had already told them that the land was to lie fallow every seventh year. Now we learn about the release on the seventh year. The Israelite could not take a mortgage that went beyond seven years. There could be no foreclosure on a mortgage. When the seventh year came around, money that had been lent or mortgages that had been made were all to be canceled out. This was a great equalizer of the wealth. It gave every man an equal opportunity.
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God's poverty program
Deuteronomy 15:1-14
Socialism as it is advocated today does not take into account the fact that man is a sinful creature. If he can get something for nothing, he is not going to work for it; that's for sure.
Democracy and capitalism as we have them today allow for extremes. We have the extremely poor who do not work, but we also have the extremely wealthy who do not work. God had a system for Israel which equalized the opportunity so that it was possible for the poor man who really wanted to work to get something for himself. God's system guarded against extreme wealth and extreme poverty.
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Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release
[Deuteronomy 15:3].
This rule held for fellow Israelites. Every seventh year the debt of the poor would be canceled out and they would have an opportunity to start again.
If Israel would observe this carefully, notice what would happen:
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Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it
[Deuteronomy 15:4].
Wherever one goes today, whatever nation one visits, one is impressed by the extremes of poverty and wealth. This is true in Europe, Asia, South America, the United States, wherever one goes. On one side of town there is extreme poverty, and on the other side of town there is extreme wealth. This is the result of the sin of man. One can blame certain individuals, of course, but the basic cause is the sin of man. If man had obeyed God in this respect, there would have been no poor among them; there would have been a balance of wealth.
Until the heart of man is changed, socialism as it is practiced in the communist countries becomes the most frightful dictatorship that is imaginable. Capitalism is still so much better than socialism; but whether a nation has socialism or capitalism, the basic problem is the human heart. God called Israel to obedience. Had they obeyed Him, poverty would have been eliminated. We think that we can eliminate poverty by funding poverty programs. And what happens? We see the worst corruption we have ever seen in this nation. It has become a disgrace. Why? Because of the kind of men we are dealing with. It is not the system that is wrong; it is man that is wrong. There is no use running down one system and promoting another, because until you change man, no system will work. God is dealing with the nitty-gritty here, friends. The basic problem is with the heart of man. What would happen if the wealth of this nation were all divided equally? Well, in ten years the other fellow would have it and I'd be poor again. That is the way it would be because of what is in the heart of man. God makes it very clear that if His system had been used, the problem would have been solved.
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For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee
[Deuteronomy 15:6].
This is a remarkable statement concerning the nation Israel. It is true that many Jewish financiers have become the bankers of the world. The House of Rothschild has financed quite a few nations, by the way. "Thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee" has not yet been fulfilled. Why? Because Israel has never obeyed God up to the present.
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If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth
[Deuteronomy 15:7-8].
This is a remarkable passage of Scripture. The nation never fully obeyed it, and the Jewish people don't obey it fully today. But have you observed that the little nation of Israel receives gifts from Jewish people all over the world? That nation probably receives more gifts than any other nation ever received. One might think that Christians, certain denominations, certain churches, lead the list in charitable giving, but they do not. Jewish people today are giving millions of dollars to the little nation of Israel. You see, God taught them at the very beginning that they were to take care of their brother. This same principle was also given to the Christian believers – there are certain great, fundamental principles which are eternal truths and which God carries over from one dispensation to another. This is what believers should be doing today. But we are not even in the same league when it comes to helping our brothers. However, I don't think that even Jews come near to what God intended for them when He gave these instructions.
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Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee
[Deuteronomy 15:9].
God warns that they shouldn't rationalize away their responsibility. They could say that since on the seventh year the brother will be out of debt anyway, it will be unnecessary to help him for a year or two. God tells them to go in and help the poor brother right at that very moment.
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Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land
[Deuteronomy 15:10-11].
God had told them that if they would obey Him, there would be no poor in the land. But because God knows the human heart, He tells them that there will always be poor people in the land. You remember that the Lord Jesus said the same thing: "The poor always ye have with you . . ." (John 12:8). There will always be poverty because of the heart of man. Candidly, many are lazy; many people are shiftless and have no initiative. On the other hand, those who are able will not normally help the poor. It is not natural for man to do that. It is supernatural for man to share what he has with the less fortunate. Therefore, He commands His people, "Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land."
Slaves were to be freed on the seventh year.
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And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:
Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him
[Deuteronomy 15:13-14].
When the slave was freed, he was not to be sent away empty-handed.
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The permanent slave
Deuteronomy 15:16-17
And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee;
Then thou shalt take an awl and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise
[Deuteronomy 15:16-17].
We saw back in Exodus 21 that a man could sell himself as a slave. If his master had given him a wife – that is, a girl who was his master's slave – when the sabbatical year came, the man could go free. But, perhaps he would choose to stay with his wife and his children and become the permanent slave of his master. Then his ear was to be pierced to signify that he had become a permanent slave.
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The perfect sacrifice is Christ
Deuteronomy 15:16-23
This is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:7-8). Jesus could have gone out free. He owed no debt of sin; He was no sinner. He had no penalty to pay. But He loved us and He gave Himself for us. Just as the servant had his ear thrust through by the awl, so the psalmist says, ". . . mine ears hast thou opened . . ." (Psalm 40:6). The Book of Hebrews takes the same passage from Psalm 40 and says, ". . . but a body hast thou prepared me . . ." (Hebrews 10:5). The Lord Jesus took on Himself a human body so that He could be crucified for you and for me. It is one of those remarkable pictures which we find of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible
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Bible Exposition Commentary
Old Testament
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Food And Festivals
Deuteronomy 14:1-16:17
Worship is not a "business arrangement" with God by which we agree to praise Him if He will agree to bless us. (See Job 1:6-12.) Our primary purpose in worshiping God is to please and glorify Him, but one of the spiritual by-products of true worship is that we become more like Christ (2 Corinthains 3:18). Moses didn't know that he had a shining face (Exodus 34:29), and we don't always recognize the transformation the Lord makes in our hearts and lives because we spend time with Him. However, they are there just the same, and others see them and glorify God.
Worship is our highest priority and our greatest privilege.
In these chapters, Moses further explains Israel's worship and focuses on the kind of people they — and we — should be as the people who belong to the true and living God.
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A holy people
(Deuteronomy 14:1-21)
We must never take for granted that we are "the children of the Lord [our] God" and "a holy people to the Lord [our] God" (Deuteronomy 15:1-2). These are privileges that we don't deserve and that we could never earn, and we enjoy them only because of God's love and grace. The Lord announced to Pharaoh, "Israel is my son, even my firstborn" (Exodus 4:22; see (Jeremiah 31:9); and because Pharaoh wouldn't listen and obey, Egypt lost all their firstborn.
At Sinai, before He gave the Law, the Lord announced to Israel, "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). Because of their unique relationship to the Lord as His chosen people and special treasure, the Israelites were responsible to obey Him and truly be a holy people. Their relationship to the Lord was the most important factor in their national life, for without the Lord, Israel would be like all the other nations. As a holy people, they had to learn to distinguish the things that differed.
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The holy and the unholy
(Deuteronomy 15:1-2).
The Hebrew word translated "holy" means "that which is set apart and marked off, that which is different and wholly other." Our English word "holy" comes from an Old English word meaning "to be whole, to be healthy." What health and wholeness are to the body, holiness is to the inner person. As a holy people, the Jews were set apart from all the other nations because the holy presence of the Lord was with them and they had received God's holy law (23:14; (Romans 9:4). Because they were a holy people, they were not to imitate the wicked practices of their neighbors, such as cutting their bodies or shaving their foreheads in mourning (1 Kings 18:28; (Jeremiah 16:6; 41:5). This reminds us of (Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
This section opens and closes with the same reminder: "Thou art an holy people unto the Lord" (Deuteronomy 14:2 and 21). In the Book of Leviticus, the Lord told the people, "Be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44-45; see 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8), an admonition that Peter quoted in his first epistle for the church to obey today (1:15-16). The local church is a holy temple (1 Corinthians 3:17) and a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5), and therefore believers should separate themselves from the defilement of the world and seek to perfect holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthains 6:14-7:1). It's depressing to read statistical surveys and discover that, when it comes to morality, professed Christians don't believe or live much differently from unconverted people. And yet God's people are supposed to be "set apart, marked off, different" so we can "advertise" the glorious virtues of the Lord (1 Peter 2:9).
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The clean and the unclean
(Deuteronomy 15:3-21).
The people of Israel were to "demonstrate the difference" even by what they ate. We've already seen that the Jews were not permitted to eat meat with blood in it (Deuteronomy 12:16, 23; 15:23), and now Moses reminded them of the creatures they were permitted to eat (see Leviticus 11:1-23).
The distinction between "clean and unclean" sacrifices was known in the days of Noah (Genesis 7:1-10) and therefore must have been told to our first parents when God taught them to worship. In the Jewish law, the words "clean" and "unclean" have nothing to do with the intrinsic nature or value of the creatures themselves. This was a designation given by the Lord for reasons not always explained. Some students believe that the Jews enjoyed better health because they avoided certain foods [1], but both Jesus and the apostles declared all foods clean (Mark 7:14-23; Acts 10:9-25; (Romans 14:1-15:13), the so-called "healthful" foods as well as the "unhealthful." Fasting is an accepted spiritual discipline, when connected with prayer, but "food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the better" (1 Corinthians 8:8). Believers who think they're more spiritual than others because of what they eat or don't eat need to ponder (Colossians 2:16-23.
It's likely that God declared some creatures "unclean" as a means of teaching His people to exercise discernment and to behave like a holy people in the everyday activities of life, such as eating. The same principle applies to believers today: "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). When we give thanks and ask God's blessing before we eat a meal, we're not only acknowledging His faithfulness and goodness in supplying daily bread, but we're also telling Him that we want to honor Him in what we eat and the way we eat it. The Jew who wanted to glorify God would refuse to eat anything that the Lord had forbidden.
Another factor in the dietary laws may have been that the prohibited creatures were in some way associated with the pagan worship that Israel was to avoid. The admonition about boiling a kid in its mother's milk (Deuteronomy 14:21; Exodus 23:19; 34:26) may fall into that category. Some scholars think this was a pagan "fertility rite" and that the milk was sprinkled on the fields to encourage bountiful crops, but we have no archaeological evidence to back up this interpretation. We do know that this strange law explains why orthodox Jews do not have milk and meat together at a meal.
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The list includes land animals (Deuteronomy 14:4-8), water creatures (Deuteronomy 15:9-10), fowl (Deuteronomy 15:11-18), and flying insects (Deuteronomy 15:19-20). The water creatures and birds that are scavengers were prohibited, perhaps because those who ate them might pick up parasites and become ill. We remember that John the Baptist's diet was locusts and wild honey (Leviticus 11:20-23; Matthew 3:4). Finally, we must admit that we don't know what some of these creatures were and can't identify them with creatures we know today. For example, the hare (Deuteronomy 14:7) certainly isn't the same as our "rabbit" even though the niv gives that translation. The rabbit doesn't chew the cud, although the movements of his jaw and nostrils may look like that's what he's doing.
The final admonition to refrain from, eating creatures found dead (Deuteronomy 14:21) involved the important rule that Jews were not to eat blood, and there was likely blood in the carcass. Another consideration was that Jews were not to touch dead bodies because this made them unclean (Leviticus 11:24-25; 22:8). If a Jew found a dead animal, he could give it to a resident alien in the land or sell it to a visitor, because neither of them would be under the jurisdiction of the Jewish law. There are some things that the people of the world can do that Christians can't do and should not even want to do, because Christians belong to the Lord and want to obey Him. As the familiar adage says, "Others may—you cannot." God has every right to tell us what we can have around us (Deuteronomy 12:1-3) and what we can put within us.
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A generous people
(Deuteronomy 14:22-29)
When we studied Deuteronomy 12, we learned that God commanded His people to give 10 percent of their produce (grain, fruits, vegetables, and animals) to Him as an act of worship and an expression of gratitude for His blessing. Every year, each family had to go to the sanctuary with their tithes, enjoy a feast there, and share the tithe with the Levites who, in turn, would share it with the priests (Numbers 18:20-32). Moses repeated this commandment, because when it comes to giving to the Lord, some people need more than one reminder (2 Corinthains 8:10-11; 9:1-5).
The people of Israel were to be generous with tithes and offerings because the Lord had been generous with them. Each time they brought their tithes and gifts to the sanctuary and enjoyed a thanksgiving feast, it would teach them to fear the Lord (Deuteronomy 14:23), because if the Lord hadn't blessed them, they would have nothing to eat and nothing to give. As David said, everything we give to God first comes from His hand and it all belongs to Him (1 Chronicles 29:16). When we cease to fear God and fail to appreciate His bountiful provision, we become proud and start to take His blessings for granted. Then the Lord has to discipline us to remind us that He is the Giver of every gift.
Every third year, the people were to give the Lord a second tithe which remained in their towns and was used to feed the Levites and the needy people in the land, especially the widows and orphans. The Levites served at the sanctuary but were scattered throughout Israel. If the people of Israel demonstrated concern for the needs of others, God would bless their labors and enable them to give even more (Deuteronomy 14:29). Our Lord promised, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom" (Luke 6:38). "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthains 9:6).
As Christians enjoying the blessings of God's grace, we ought to do far more than the Jews who lived in the dispensation of the Mosaic Law. The New Testament doesn't command us how much we should give, but it does urge us to give in proportion to the blessings we have received from the Lord (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthains 8-9). The calculating Christian will always be the loser; the generous Christian will enjoy the blessing of God. However, Christian industrialist R.G. LeTourneau used to warn, "If you give because it pays, it won't pay." Our motive must always be to please God and glorify Him.
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A trusting people
(Deuteronomy 15:1-18)
Those who think that it takes a great deal of faith to give God a tithe of their income will probably be shocked when they read this section of the law. Just as every seventh day of the week was set apart for God as the Sabbath Day, so every seventh year was to be set apart as a Sabbath Year. During that year, the Jews were not to cultivate the land but allow it to rest. The people would have to trust God to produce the grain, vegetables, and fruits they needed for themselves and for their flocks and herds and farm animals. (See Leviticus 25:1-7.) Every fiftieth year was a 'Tear of Jubilee" (Deuteronomy 15:8ff) when the land lay fallow for another year! It would really take faith on the part of the people to trust God for what they needed for two long years!
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The poor debtor
(Deuteronomy 15:1-11).
But the Sabbath Year involved much more than rest for the land (Exodus 23:10-11). It also meant canceling debts (Deuteronomy 15:1-11) and setting free the servants who had served for six years (Deuteronomy 15:12-18). Bible students don't agree on whether the entire debt was cancelled or just the interest on the loan for that year (Deuteronomy 31:10). [2] "He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother" (Deuteronomy 15:2). However, they could collect interest from foreigners. Since people weren't getting any income from their land, they wouldn't be able to pay their debts easily. But what was a test of faith for some would be an answer to prayer for the poor and the needy. They were permitted to eat freely from the fields and orchards and were given an extra year to raise money to pay their debts.
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The seeming contradiction between verse 4 ("there shall be no poor among you") and verse 11 ("the poor shall never cease out of the land") is resolved by paying attention to the context. During the Sabbath Year, the lenders were obligated to remit the debt (or the interest owed) by their poor Jewish brothers, unless there were no Jewish poor people who owed them money; and there would be no poor if the people obeyed God's laws. Any Jewish borrower who was not poor was expected to pay his debts during the seventh year, and the lenders could collect from foreigners in the land. If a Jewish borrower could afford to pay and didn't, he would be exploiting the person who loaned him the money and defeating one of the purposes of the Sabbath Year.
The Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee were part of God's wise plan to balance the economic scales in the nation so that the rich could not exploit the poor or the poor take advantage of the rich. However, the Lord knew that there would always be poor people in the land (Matthew 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8) because Israel would not consistently obey these laws. The nation of Israel would have been the most prosperous nation on earth if they had followed the instructions God gave them, but they rejected His will and adopted the methods of the nations around them. They did not observe the Sabbath Year every seventh year or the Year of Jubilee every fiftieth year (Leviticus 26:32-45), and for this failure they paid a great price. Their seventy years Captivity in Babylon gave their land the Sabbath rest that it missed during those years of disobedience (2 Chronicles 36:14-21).
The Sabbath Year was a test of faith, but it was also a test of love (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). Suppose a poor Jew needed a loan and the SabbathYear was only two years away. The borrower would then receive an extra year for paying back the loan and the loaner would lose the interest for one year! If the loaner looked at the loan strictly as a business proposition, he would turn it down; but that's the very attitude the Lord wanted to correct. It wasn't a business proposition; it was a ministry to a brother. If the wealthier Israelite closed his heart and his hand to the needy man, he would hurt his brother and grieve the Lord who had given him all the wealth he had. Therefore, he was to open both his heart and his hand to help his brother, and the Lord would see to it that he was compensated for his generosity. See (Proverbs 14:21, 31; 19:17; 21:13; 28:27; (Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; John 3:14-18.
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The indentured servant
(Deuteronomy 15:12-15, 18).
Jewish debtors unable to repay their loans could become indentured servants in the household of the man to whom they were indebted and in that way work off the debt. The Jews were not allowed to enslave their fellow Jews, although they could have slaves from other nations (Leviticus 25:39-43). Male servants were to be released after six years of service, whether the seventh year was the Sabbath Year or not. This law assumes that the man's six years of service without a salary had adequately repaid the loan. But once again, the Lord commanded generosity, for the masters were to send their servants away bearing gifts that would help them start life over again, including livestock, grain, and wine. After all, when the Jews left Egypt, they received expensive gifts in return for their years of enslavement (Exodus 11:2; 12:35-36), so why shouldn't a Jewish brother be rewarded for six years of faithful labor to a fellow Jew?
The willing servant (Deuteronomy 15:16-18; Exodus 21:1-6). During those six years of service, the debtor might come to love the host family and want to stay with them. Or, he might have gotten married during that time, have a family, and want to remain with them. If that was the debtor's choice, he would be taken to the judges where his decision would be officially recognized. Then his master would bore a hole in his ear to mark him as a willing servant for life. A female servant could make the same choice, but see Exodus 21:7-11 for special provisions.
Certainly there's a spiritual message here for God's people today. We should love our Lord so much that we should want to serve Him willingly and gladly all our lives. We must never look upon our service as "slavery" but as privilege. "I love my master and don't want to go free" is a wonderful confession of faith and love (Exodus 21:5). Granted, the servant's love for his wife and children entered into the picture, but even those blessings came because of his master's kindness, and the master was caring for them as well as his servant. What we all need is the open ear to hear God's will (Psalm 40:6-8; (Isaiah 50:4-5) and a pierced ear that announces we love Him and are ready to obey His every command.
The emphasis in this section is on faith that produces generosity. If we are "hardhearted or tightfisted" (Deuteronomy 15:7), it's evidence that we don't really believe that God keeps His promises and provides for those who give to the needy. Jesus became poor that He might make us rich (2 Corinthians 8:9) and He blesses us that we might be a blessing to others.
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A celebrating people
(Deuteronomy 15:19-16:8; Leviticus 23)
The Lord gave Israel a unique calendar to help His people remember who they were and to encourage them to review all He had done for them. In following this calendar of special events year by year, the Jews would find cause for great celebration. But this calendar also belongs to believers today, because it illustrates what Christ has done for His church and what He will do when He comes again. As the Jewish people followed this calendar year by year, they had every reason for great celebration because of the Lord's mercies to their ancestors and to them. As we study this calendar, we should give thanks and rejoice that we have so great a salvation and such a great Savior.
On the seventh day of the week, the Jews celebrated the Sabbath. God gave them the Sabbath as a sign that they were His special covenant people and belonged to the Creator of the universe (Exodus 31:12-17). There's no record in Scripture that God ever gave the Sabbath to any other people and commanded them to observe it. (See Colossians 2:16-17.) Every seventh year was a Sabbath Year (Deuteronomy 15:1-11), and every fiftieth year was the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8-55).
The Jewish civil year began with "Rosh Hashanah," the Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the seventh month (our September-October), but the religious calendar began with Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month (our March-April; see Exodus 12:1-2). The week that followed was called "the Feast of Unleavened Bread." On the day following the Sabbath after Passover, which would be a Sunday, the priest waved the first sheaves of the barley harvest before the Lord, and this was known as the Feast of Firstfruits. Fifty days later, they celebrated Pentecost, and from the fifteenth to twenty-first day of the seventh month (our September-October), they celebrated the Feast of Weeks, also called the Feast of Tabernacles.
Moses emphasized only three of these seven special occasions because they were the feasts that every Jewish male would be obligated to celebrate at the central sanctuary every year (Deuteronomy 16:16-17; Exodus 23:14-17; 34:22-24). That chosen place would be the tabernacle or temple in Jerusalem.
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Passover and Unleavened Bread (Deuteronomy 15:19-16:8; Exodus 12-13).
Moses discusses three topics related to the Passover: the sanctifying of the firstborn animals (Deuteronomy 15:19-23), the sacrificing of the Passover lamb (16:1-3, 5-7), and the observing of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (vv. 4, 8). At the first Passover in Egypt, God killed all the firstborn in the land, both humans and animals, except those Jews who were in their houses and protected by the blood on the doorposts (Exodus 12:12-13). From that time on, God claimed for Himself all the firstborn sons and animals in Israel and they all had to be redeemed with a sacrifice (13:1-3, 11-13; Leviticus 12; Numbers 18:14-19; Luke 2:21-24). If the animal wasn't redeemed, it had to be killed. Whenever a Jewish father had to redeem a firstborn animal, it gave him opportunity to explain Passover to his children.
Passover was "Independence Day" for the nation of Israel, for on that night the Lord not only gave them freedom from slavery but also demonstrated His great power over the gods and armies of Egypt. Israel celebrated Passover a year later at Sinai (Numbers 9:1-14); but after their rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea (Numbers 13-14), the nation didn't celebrate Passover again until the new generation had entered the Promised Land (Joshua 5:10-11). Once they were settled in the land, the men had to obey the command to go to the sanctuary to observe Passover, and they could take their families with them. Parents were instructed to use the occasion of Passover to instruct their children about Israel's deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 12:25-28).
The New Testament interpretation and application of Passover identifies the lamb with Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who gave His life for the sins of the world (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:12). Outside the city of Jerusalem, Jesus died on the cross at the time when the Passover lambs were being slain by the priests at the Jewish temple. The blood shed by many lambs in Egypt delivered a nation on that first Passover night, but the blood of one Lamb, slain on the cross, will deliver from judgment any lost sinner who will trust Jesus Christ. The blood of the many Jewish sacrifices could cover sin but never take it away, which explains why these sacrifices were repeated, but the blood of Christ has settled the matter of salvation once and for all (Hebrews 10:1-18). It wasn't the life of the lamb that saved Israel from bondage but the death of the lamb and the application of the blood by faith. Christ is our perfect Example in all things (1 Peter 2:21-25; 1 John 2:6), but trying to follow His example cannot save us, because He did no sin. First we need Jesus as our Savior, and then we can follow in His steps.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread followed Passover and lasted for a week (Deuteronomy 16:3-4, 8).
During those days, no yeast was allowed in any Jewish home. At the first Passover, the Jews didn't have time for the bread dough to rise and therefore ate unleavened bread with the roasted lamb and the bitter herbs (Exodus 12:1-12; 13:2-10). But more was involved here than just shortness of time and readiness for a quick exit. In Scripture, yeast often symbolizes evil of one kind or another, because yeast is a substance that, though small and seemingly insignificant, rapidly grows and "infects" the whole lump of dough. Yeast represents the sins that belong to the old life (1 Corinthians 5:7), such as malice and wickedness (8) and hypocrisy (Luke 12:10); it also represents unbelief (Matthew 16:6), compromise (Mark 8:15), and false doctrine (Galatians 5:9).
The nation of Israel wasn't rescued from Egypt by cleaning their houses and getting rid of yeast. They were delivered by the power of God because of the blood that had been sprinkled on the doorposts of their houses. Sinners aren't redeemed by getting rid of their bad habits and "cleaning up" their lives, but by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for them on the cross. However, one of the characteristics of a true child of God is a changed life. "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19). "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthains 7:1). Anyone who professes to belong to Christ who doesn't seek to conquer sin and become more Christlike in daily conduct is making a false profession (1 John 3:1-10).
In 1 Corinthians 5:8, Paul compared the life of the local church to "keeping the feast" of Passover. The church doesn't "keep the feast" literally because it has been fulfilled in Christ our Passover Lamb who was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). But like the Jews on Passover night in Egypt, we are a pilgrim people, ready to be called out, and we must not be encumbered by sin. The Jews ate the Passover feast as families, and each local church is a family of God, feasting on Jesus Christ through the Word and waiting for Him to call His people out of this world. Like Israel of old, we must remind ourselves that we were once slaves of sin, in bondage to the world (Ephesians 2:1-3), and God delivered us by sending His Son as the sacrifice for our sins. When we observe the Lord's Supper (Eucharist), we remember His death and look forward to His return.
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Pentecost
Deuteronomy 16:9-12; Leviticus 23:15-22).
The word "pentecost" means "fiftieth" and comes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. This feast was celebrated fifty days after Firstfruits, which means that it also occurred on the first day of the week. For the Jews, it was a joyful time of celebrating the wheat harvest, but for the Christian, it commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit and the "birthday of the church" (Acts 2). Jesus promised that He and the Father would send the Spirit to believers (John 14:16-17), but the Spirit couldn't come until first Christ died, was raised from the dead, and was glorified in heaven (7:37-38).
Beginning at Creation (Genesis 1:1-2), the Holy Spirit is found at work throughout the Old Testament, usually empowering men and women to do mighty acts to the glory of God. During Old Testament times, the Spirit was a temporary visitor who came upon people, but since His coming in Acts 2, the Spirit permanently indwells all who belong to Christ (John 14:16-17). He gives spiritual gifts to the church (1 Corinthians 12) and empowers God's people to bear witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). Without the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit, believers can't live for God or serve Him effectively.
On the Feast of Firstfruits, the priest waved a sheaf of grain; but on the Feast of Pentecost, he presented two loaves of bread baked with yeast (Leviticus 23:17, 20). When the Spirit came at Pentecost, He baptized all believers into Christ (Acts 1:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:13), so we no longer have single sheaves of grain but the grain made into flour and formed into loaves. The flour was made from the "firstfruits sheaves" from the wheat harvest. The presence of leaven in the loaves indicates that the church on earth isn't yet a pure church and never will be until Christ takes it to heaven.
The Feast of Pentecost ushered in the harvest season (Leviticus 23:22) and the Jews were commanded to share what they had and feast joyfully before the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:11). When the Spirit came upon the believers at Pentecost, it was the beginning of a great harvest season for the church. Peter's message at Pentecost brought 3,000 people to Christ (Acts 2:41), and shortly after that, his ministry added 2,000 more (4:4). The Book of Acts is the inspired record of the growth of the church as the Holy Spirit empowered witnesses to share the Gospel in the harvest field, wherever the Lord sent them.
Dr. A.W. Tozer once said, "If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what the church is doing would go right on, and nobody would know the difference." What an indictment that our churches depend on everything except the power of the Holy Spirit! The early church had none of the things that we deem essential—budgets, buildings, academic degrees, and even political "connections"—but they did have the power of the Holy Spirit and saw multitudes turn to Christ.
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The Feast of Tabernacles
Deuteronomy 16:13-15).
Like the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days. It took place in the autumn (our September-October) and was also called the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Booths, and the Feast of Ingathering. It celebrated the completion of the harvest that had begun with barley harvest at the Feast of Firstfruits, continued with the wheat harvest at Pentecost, and now the harvest of fruits, grapes, figs, and olives. After the harvest, the farmers would plow their fields and sow their grain, and then the winter rains would begin. During this feast, the Jewish people lived in booths made of tree branches, a reminder of the years their ancestors lived in temporary dwellings as they wandered in the wilderness. It was a week of joyful celebration that began with a holy convocation and closed with a solemn assembly (Leviticus 23:33-44).
Certainly God wants His people to be thankful and to rejoice at the good gifts He showers down upon us. After Israel moved into the Promised Land, He wanted them to remember that life had not always been that easy, that their ancestors lived in tents and booths after they left Egypt. All of us know that no younger generation wants to hear the "old people" talk about the difficulties of "the good old days," but the Lord wrote the memory of Israel's past into Passover and Tabernacles, the first and last feasts of the year. While the church must not live in the past, the church must not forget the past and what the Lord has done for His people down through the ages. We're prone to take our blessings for granted and forget the faithfulness of the Lord.
Two of the churches I pastored celebrated significant anniversaries while I was serving them, and during those special years we took time in our worship services to remember the goodness of the Lord and thank Him for all He had done. It was helpful for the younger members to learn about the sacrifices people had made in the past, and it was good for the older members to receive a new challenge for the future. After all, the church isn't a parking lot; it's a launching pad!
As God's people, we have many reasons to celebrate the greatness and goodness of the Lord. We've been redeemed by the blood of Christ (Passover), we're indwelt and empowered by the Spirit (Pentecost), and we're generously supported by the Lord in our pilgrim journey (Tabernacles). Our time here on earth is brief and temporary, but one day we shall enter heaven where Jesus is now preparing places for us.
"Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together" (Psalm 34:3).
[1] God had promised that if the people obeyed Him, He would keep them from the diseases they had seen in Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:15; Exodus 15:26), so perhaps the diet was related to this promise. Common sense tells us that if people have allergies and become ill from eating certain foods, they ought to avoid them. But to find hidden mystical meanings in the cloven hooves, chewing the cud, ins and scales, and other distinctives in this list is to get more out of the text than the Holy Spirit put into it.
[2] The law prohibited Jews from charging interest when they loaned money to fellow Jews. (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:37; Deuteronomy 23:19), but the NIV margin translates Exodus 22:25 "excessive interest." Apparently, according to that translation, this law wasn't always obeyed (See Nehemiah 5:10-12; Ezekiel 18:8, 13, 17).
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Bibliography
Information
Jamieson, Robert,
D.D. "Commentary on Deuteronomy 7". "Commentary Critical
and Explanatory
on the Whole Bible".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/jfb/view.cgi?book=de&chapter=015>.
1871.
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