The Law · Chapter 15 of 34

Deuteronomy 15

Every seventh year Israel must cancel debts owed by fellow Israelites, called the LORD's release. Moses commands open handed generosity to the poor, warning against a stingy heart as the release year nears. Hebrew servants are freed in the seventh year and sent out well supplied, remembering Israel's own redemption from Egypt. Firstborn animals without blemish are set apart to the LORD.

What happens in Deuteronomy 15

Moses institutes the seventh year release: every creditor must cancel debts owed by fellow Israelites, though foreigners may still be held to their loans. Ideally there would be no poor, if Israel fully obeyed, yet because the poor will always be present, Moses commands an open hand and a willing heart toward the needy brother. He warns against the wicked thought of refusing a loan because the release year is near, for the poor will cry to God and it will be sin.

Give freely, and God will bless all your work. A Hebrew who sells himself into service serves six years and goes free in the seventh, not empty handed but furnished liberally from flock, floor, and winepress, because Israel was redeemed from Egypt. If a servant loves his master and chooses to stay, his ear is pierced at the door. Finally, unblemished firstborn males of herd and flock are consecrated to the LORD and eaten before Him.

Deuteronomy 15 in context

In the covenant code, this chapter builds an economy shaped by memory of slavery and redemption. The seventh year release and the freeing of servants created rhythms that prevented permanent poverty and bondage from taking root in Israel.

The reasoning is theological: because God released Israel from Egypt, they must release one another. Generosity is commanded not merely as charity but as an imitation of the redeeming God, woven into the nation's calendar and law.

Main themes of Deuteronomy 15

The LORD's releaseEvery seven years debts are cancelled and servants freed. This rhythm prevents poverty and bondage from hardening into permanent conditions. Because the release belongs to the LORD, it declares that no Israelite's future is ever finally owned by another's ledger; grace is built into the calendar.

The open handMoses commands generosity without a grudging heart, even as the release year approaches and lending looks unprofitable. The warning against the closed hand exposes how self interest hides behind timing. God ties His blessing to open handed giving, making generosity an act of trust in Him.

Redeemed people who redeemFreed servants must be sent out richly supplied, for Israel too was a bondman whom God redeemed. Their treatment of the poor and the servant flows directly from remembering their own rescue. Grace received becomes grace extended; the redeemed become redeemers of others.

This is part of the Law, the foundation of the whole story: creation, covenant, and a God who binds Himself to a people. As you read, watch for God's character and His promises, which all lead toward Christ.

Deuteronomy 15 (KJV)

1At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought 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. 3Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; 4Save 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: 5Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. 6For 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. 7If 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: 8But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. 9Beware 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. 10Thou 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. 11For 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. 12And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. 13And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: 14Thou 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. 15And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day. 16And 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; 17Then thou shalt take an aul, 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. 18It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest. 19All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep. 20Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. 21And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. 22Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. 23Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.

Verses to carry from Deuteronomy 15

“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:”Deuteronomy 15:7

“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 15:11

“And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.”Deuteronomy 15:15

Christian typology

How Deuteronomy 15 points to Jesus

The LORD's release, canceling debts and freeing the bound, foreshadows the greater release Jesus proclaimed. At Nazareth He announced the acceptable year of the Lord, liberty to captives and release to the oppressed, declaring Himself the fulfillment of the jubilee hope. The chapter teaches us to forgive debts because we have been forgiven, the very heart of the prayer Jesus taught: forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Israel's memory, you were a bondman and the LORD redeemed you, becomes the Christian's motive for mercy: freely you have received, freely give. The servant who loves his master and stays willingly, his ear pierced at the door, even pictures a love that chooses lasting service, fulfilled in the Son who took the form of a servant.

Questions about Deuteronomy 15

How can Moses say both there will be no poor and the poor will never cease?

He holds up an ideal and a reality together. If Israel obeyed fully, God's blessing would be so abundant that no one would remain in poverty. Yet because obedience would fall short and hard times would come, the poor would in fact always be present. The tension is not contradiction but motivation: the persistence of poverty is precisely why Moses commands an ever open hand toward the needy in the real world.

Why must freed servants be sent away well supplied?

Because freedom without provision would only return them to poverty and bondage. Moses grounds the command in Israel's own story: they were slaves whom God redeemed and brought out, not empty handed but enriched. Their generosity to departing servants mirrors God's generosity to them. The gift of flock, grain, and wine gives the freed person a foundation for a new life, ensuring that release is genuine liberation, not a technicality that leaves them destitute.

Reflection

This chapter refuses to let generosity be governed by cold calculation. Where does self interest hide behind reasonable timing, keeping your hand closed? Remember that you have been released from a debt you could never repay. Ask God to make your hand open and your heart willing toward someone in need this week.

A prayer from Deuteronomy 15

Redeeming Lord, You released me from a debt I could never pay. Soften any grudging calculation in me and open my hand to the poor. Let the memory of Your mercy make me generous, that Your blessing may rest on all I do. Amen.

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