Deuteronomy 15

Seven years seems like a long time to me. What if a person had to wait seven years to have an accurate diagnosis of a painful medical condition? What if a woman had to wait seven years for her husband to love her again? What if a young person had to look for a job for seven years after losing one that seemed so promising?

But seven years is not forever. God calls us to know the difference between a little while and eternity. He calls us to wait with hope for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord gave a law for Israel that every seven years there was to be a year of the Lord's release. The God of Israel announced the forgiveness of debts among His people, and the nation was supposed to obey Him by forgiving the debts of their fellow Israelites.

It would be different for a foreigner, because the Lord was making a distinction between Israel and the rest of the world. Among the Israelites there was to be no permanent class of poor people imprisoned by the debts that they owed to their countrymen.

The Lord would bless the land that He was giving to the children, if only they would listen to His voice and keep His commandments.

The Lord who had redeemed His people from the slavery of Egypt and who was giving them this land, insisted that those among His people who were able should lend freely to those in need, despite the fact that the year of release was very near. What an unusual requirement of generosity! Is there any other law like this among all the people of the earth?

The Lord promised that if Israel followed this provision for such extraordinary generosity, that He would grant them a great position when compared to the many other nations around them. They would lend to those nations, but not borrow from them. They would even rule over other nations, but other nations would not rule over them.

But if the people of Israel resented the needs of their brothers, if they were unwilling to lend to the poor because of the proximity of the year of release, God would know, and it would not go well for Israel. Throughout the world people who believe the Jewish Messiah will say these words today that He taught His disciples: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” This prayer of Christ brings those who call upon His Name to an even more profound demand of our merciful God. Not only has God freed Israel from the bondage of Egypt, He has freed us from the bondage of sin. His mercy is forever. He calls us to forgive now.

There would always be poor people among the Israelites. Therefore there would always be opportunities to give freely asking for nothing in return. You can give and forgive today.

The year of the Lord's release was not only for the forgiveness of debts, but also for the freedom of slaves. The way of caring for the poor in Israel was for a person of means to freely take in someone who had lost everything, paying their debtors. The poor man would work at the will of the one who had paid for his release, but not forever. In a little while, in the year of release, all Hebrew slaves would be set free with a generous gift from their former masters to help them to be reestablished in life. Again, has any other land had such a law as this?

But if the slave wanted to stay forever in the home of his good master, rather than face the challenges of a dangerous world outside his protection, the Lord made provision for a permanent relationship of a good master and an obedient servant living together in one household. Yet this was never to be done against the will of the poor man.

This entire amazing system of personal care among the rich and the poor in local communities was based on that greatest of all relationships of authority and love. The Lord was the God of Israel and they were to be His obedient people. The Lord owned Israel by redemption. He was their Rescuer. They were to be reminded of that every time a firstborn among their flocks was granted life. If the animal was without blemish it was offered up to the Lord. The firstborn among the Egyptians died. The Israelites lived because of the Lord's strong salvation.

But now the Son of God has come to provide for our eternal redemption. He came as God's only begotten, in order to save all who would be sons of God in Him. We, of all people, should care for the poor among us, especially in the church. We should give freely, demanding nothing in return. Our year of release has come in the death and resurrection of Christ. We are His forever. We come to Him with joy and confidence, for He will never let us go. He treats as more than slaves, for we are His sons, and we rightly call Him “Abba, Father.”

And yet we wait. And seven years seems like a long time. But it is not forever. We wait for the ultimate expression of freedom and blessing that will be more fully present among us in the return of Christ. It will only be a little while more. Take heart. The year of the greatest release is coming soon.