Deuteronomy 15

The Explanation

Imagine a farmer named Eli. It is a hot day, and his sandals are dusty. In his hand is a small clay tablet with a scratch on it. That scratch means: my neighbor still owes me a big bag of grain.

Eli's neighbor had a bad year. His barley dried up. So Eli lent him grain, and his neighbor promised to pay it back.

But now it is the seventh year. And God had said something amazing to His people. "At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts." Every seven years, all the scratches were wiped away. Nobody had to pay back anymore. Everyone could start again.

Would you have dared to do that? To let go of what was yours?

God knew it would be hard. So He said something else too. Someone might think a sneaky thought: "The seventh year is coming. If I lend now, I will never get it back. So I will give nothing." God says that thought is wicked. Do not shut your hand. Open it wide.

And God said more. If a man or woman had become your servant, because they were so poor they had nothing left, they could work for you six years. But in the seventh year, they went free. And they did not walk out empty. You loaded them up with sheep, with grain, with wine. Your arms full, so their arms could be full too.

Why? God gave the reason Himself: "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you."

What Does This Mean?

That is the heart of the whole chapter. Remember.

The people of Israel had been slaves. They knew what a whip sounded like. They knew what it felt like to have nothing, not even one goat of their own. And then God brought them out. He set them free, and He did not send them away empty either.

So God says: you know what it feels like. Now do not be the kind of person who forgets. When someone in your town has an empty cupboard, do not harden your heart. Open your hand.

And listen to this part: God says do not give with a sad, grumbling heart. Not with a face like a rainy Monday. Give gladly. Because everything you have was a gift first.

The Common Thread

There is one more piece in this chapter. God said the very first lamb and the very first calf born on your farm belonged to Him. Not a limping one. Not a blind one. The best one, given back to God.

Do you see how it all fits? A God who sets slaves free. A God who wipes away debts. A best lamb, given.

Many, many years later, Jesus came. John looked at Him and called Him the Lamb of God. Jesus had no defect at all, nothing wrong in Him, ever. And He gave Himself.

We had a debt too. Not grain. All the wrong things we do and say and think, piling up like scratches on a clay tablet. Jesus took the tablet and wiped it clean. He was rich, and He opened His hand all the way, so we would not go out empty.

For You

Try one open-hand thing this week. A real one.

Maybe someone borrowed your marker and lost it, and you keep bringing it up. Let it go. Say, "It's okay. Forget it."

Maybe your little brother wants half your cookie, and you were saving the big half. Give him the big half, and give it with a smile, not a sigh.

Maybe you have coins in a jar. Give some for people who are hungry.

Small hands can still open wide.

Talk About It

When is it hardest for you to share something, and why?

God told His people, "Remember you were slaves." What has God given you that you want to remember today?

Praying Together

Lord God, thank You that You set people free. Thank You that Jesus paid what we could never pay. Help me not to close my hand or my heart. Make me glad to give. Amen.