This small group Deuteronomy 15 Bible study guide contains commentary, discussion questions, cross-references, and application to encourage life change. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Deuteronomy 15 Bible Study Commentary And Questions – The Sabbatical Year
Outline
I. Debts forgiven every seventh year (1-6)
II. Looking after the poor (7-11)
III. Rules for indentured servitude (12-18)
IV. Firstborn animals dedicated to the Lord (19-23)
I. Debts forgiven every seventh year (1-6)
Discussion Questions
• What was to happen every seven years?
• What was the purpose of this law?
• How would God respond to those who obeyed these commands?
• What do you learn of God’s heart toward the poor?
• What do you learn of their responsibility toward the poor?
• Do we have a responsibility toward the poor today?
• How should a Christian view loaning money toward others?
• What should we do if a person cannot repay us?
• How does the Bible view loaning money generally? What about loaning on interest?
Cross-References
Leviticus 25:1-4 – The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
Luke 6:34-36 – And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Exodus 22:25 – If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.
Psalms 37:21 – The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous is generous and gives.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Grant a release at the end of every seven years – Moses gives instructions for the “Sabbatical year.” Every seventh day was to be a rest day for the people of Israel. Every seventh year was to be a rest year for their fields (Leviticus 25:1-4) and also a year to forgive incurred debts.
God’s chosen people were to treat each other like a family. They were tribes of closely related people. It was their friends, family, and neighbors who would be borrowing money from them. God wanted them to treat each other with kindness. They were not to exploit others financially just because they had the power to do so.
They were prohibited from charging interest to their countrymen (Exodus 22:25).
This law is more than just a command to not exploit others financially. It was a command to take personal loss in order to help those in financial distress. Israel was to be a community that treated one another like family, supported each other, and took care of the poor.
At various times in their history, they did not follow these commands. Instead, the rich tried to get richer on the backs of the poor. The prophets were very angry when they saw this occurring (Nehemiah 5:1-19).
The goal was to ensure that there was not a class of people who were perpetually poor and in so much debt that they could not work their way out of it. Each seven years, there was to be a new start with new opportunities. There is an element of trust in this policy. The one borrowing money should not intentionally take advantage of this law by borrowing without planning to repay. The law was there for desperate cases when people could not repay, not as a loophole for the unscrupulous to exploit.
Application – We are not under the Old Testament law. However, this law shows us God’s kind and gracious character. People are more important than wealth. God wants us to be kind to others.
Proverbs 3:27 – Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
2. But there will be no more poor among you –
Deuteronomy 15:4 – But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess.
God promised to take care of the entire nation. Their obedience to the Sabbatical year of release was one of the mechanisms by which the poor would be provided for.
In Deuteronomy 14:28-29, we see another way that the poor are to be taken care of. Each third year, a tithe of crops was to be stored in each village for distribution to those in need.
Yet another policy to support the poor is the practice of gleaning found in Leviticus.
Leviticus 19:9-10 – When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
The lesson is simple. God cares for the poor, and we should care for them too.
3. Of a foreigner you may exact it – The Jews were allowed to loan money to foreigners on interest and to require repayment even after the seven-year period.
Even today, we are likely to treat our family and strangers differently when it comes to loaning money. A family member that we trust enough to loan to would not intentionally renege on the deal. Many loan to family members on more favorable terms, such as not requiring interest.
The different laws showed that the Jews were to treat others as family.
However, this law was still advantageous to the foreigners who lived among them. Without it, the Jews likely would not have loaned to them at all. It goes against human nature to loan to a stranger without any possibility of gaining a return and at great risk of default. Because they were allowed to require repayment and collect interest, it meant that loans would be freely available for the foreigners.
II. Looking after the poor (7-11)
Discussion Questions
• What does God’s concern for the poor show us about His character?
• How does God want us to treat the poor?
• What are some reasons people give for not helping the poor?
• What do you think about those reasons?
• What command did God give toward those who did not want to lend out of fear it might not be repaid (verses 9-10)?
• How would God respond to a gracious lender?
• What can you do personally to help the poor?
• Since actions come from the heart, how can you develop a more compassionate heart toward those in need?
Cross-References
Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Proverbs 22:9 – Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
Proverbs 21:13 – Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.
2 Corinthians 8:9 – For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
James 1:27 – Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
1 John 3:17 – But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. You shall not shut harden your heart or shut your hand against your brother –
Reflect – Why would a Jew loan money to another Jew if there was a risk it wouldn’t be repaid?
These verses address this problem. One could rightly conclude that there was nothing to gain (and everything to lose) by loaning money to a countryman in need. A self-centered person would not want to do it. So why do it?
God commanded them to. They were to do it out of obedience to Him. He loved the poor and as a nation they were to take responsibility to care for the poor. That responsibility by necessity would fall on those who were well off.
Deuteronomy 15:9 – Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin.
In modern countries, such a law would not generally work. Some countries have attempted various models of socialism, but human selfishness always gets in the way.
Israel was to be different. They were a nation established by God and for God. He was their king. Israel was a theocracy. They were to shine the light of God by showing the world an example of how a country could be if it obeyed God’s laws. They were to be a model to the world. As they obeyed God and practiced His ideals, the world would take note and be attracted to the Lord.
Isaiah 42:6 – I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations.
However, Israel did not fulfill their mission historically. This law of debt forgiveness was often not followed. Many other laws were cast aside as well. Israel acted like the other nations. The result was that Jesus would come and be the light to the nations. He would fill up what the nation was lacking.
The wealthy Jews were to take a personal loss to forgive the debts of their poorer counterparts.
That is what Jesus did for us. He took on all the debt of sin across the world. He put that debt onto His shoulders and paid it. Jesus was the perfect Israelite. What they failed to do, He did. He perfectly fulfilled every Old Testament command.
Colossians 2:14 – By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
2. You shall give to Him freely… You shall open wide your hand –
God wanted His people to be generous. It started from the heart. He didn’t want them to practice cold-hearted logic and analysis but to give freely and without compulsion.
2 Corinthians 9:7 – Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Reflect – How does this passage apply to us today?
We are not under the law. We are not commanded to loan to our neighbor without interest. However, we have every reason to be generous to others. Consider what God has done for you. Jesus gave His own life as a sacrifice on your behalf. You did not deserve it. It was grace.
Sometimes we can be harsh in our evaluation of the poor. We might blame them for their situation. Perhaps we say it is the result of a bad work ethic or unwise decisions.
We should be thankful that God did not look at us in that light. Those things are true of us. We are entir