DEVARIM 15: Debts and the Firstborn Animal

(Deuteronomy)

In chapter 15 of Deuteronomy (Heb. Devarim) we see two main themes:
a. The forgiveness of debts in the seventh year (Heb. Shmita)
b. The consecration of the firstborn of the livestock

SHMITA: Rest for the Land
The word of God instructs that every seven years in Israel, there is to be rest for the Land; this in Hebrew is known as “Shmita”. The first time the Shmita commandment appears in the Bible is in Leviticus (chapter 25). We will read it because there it mentions some aspects that it does not mention in Devarim 15.

(Leviticus 25:1-5) The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, (2) “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. (3) For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, (4) 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. (5) You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.

If the Israelites could not cultivate the land, what would they live off of for that entire year? It explains it next…
(Leviticus 25:6-7) The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, (7) and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.

On that seventh year, the Israelites could not work their fields, but they could eat of the fruit that was still left on the trees and on the fields (only to eat, but not to sell). The surplus of the fruits of the field would then fall on the ground, and that would help to fertilize and revitalize the lands.

SHMITA: Forgiveness of debts
Besides this cleansing of the Earth, God also planned for this seventh year a cleansing of the economy…
(Deut. 15:1-2) At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. (2) And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the LORD’s release has been proclaimed.

Shmita literally means: remission. The definition of “remission” is: the forgiveness of a penalty or punishment that deprives a person from his liberty. In the biblical concept, it refers to the forgiveness of a debt that has deprived the debtor from economical freedom.

In that seventh year, all the debts were dropped down to zero. All the debts were forgiven in Israel; no one owed anything – with the exception of the foreigner.
(Deut. 15:3-5) Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. (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— (5) if only you will strictly obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today.

If anyone had not been able to pay for a debt it was because he really was in a state of much need. This forgiveness of debt was a way of social aid for the most needy, as well as a way to clean up the national economy.

In biblical times, when someone asked for something on a loan, it was because on top of not having any money in cash, the person also had sold everything he had. Asking for something borrowed was the last option before offering himself as a slave. When someone took on a debt, it was under the agreement that if he could not pay it back, he would be committed to pay back his debt with labor, either by becoming a servant of the creditor or by sending out his children as slaves until the debt was covered. That is how someone could become a slave in Israel.

Today, loans are very common, and people not only take it out of necessity but also to satisfy desires and pleasures (like extra-financing for traveling and for entertainment). Although today being in debt may be popular, from the biblical perspective, it is considered undesirable.
(Proverbs 22:7) The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

In biblical culture, being in debt was basically out of need and not for pleasures.
The ideal thing is to be in the position of the lender, which is considered a blessing.
(Deut. 15:6) For the LORD your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.

Instead of asking for loans and giving securities (Prov. 22:26-27; Prov. 6:1-5), what the Bible teaches us to do is to save (Prov. 6:6-8). In God’s Kingdom, the debt should not be the norm but the exception; and if someone is willing to give, it is because there is a great need. The commandment of forgiving the debt every seven years helps to alleviate the economical struggles of the neediest, as well as cleaning up the economy on a national scale.

DO NOT SHUT YOUR HAND
The law of the remittance of debts could lead some people to not want to give out loans, since every seven years these debts must be forgiven. That is why the Bible says the following:
(Deut. 15:7-11) If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, (8) but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. (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. (10) You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. (11) For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

Jesus said it in the Sermon of the Mount:
(Matthew 5:42) Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

The need could come to any person in any moment, and it is not always due to bad finance management. If we see a brother in need, we must lend him a hand to help him get up again. At the same time, he who receives the favor, must be thankful and repay those who helped him as soon as he can.

If these principles were applied in our families and in our communities, our national economies would be much healthier.

In some societies, instead of helping the poor, they take advantage of them. But God makes it very clear that He will defend their cause.
(Proverbs 14:31) Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

(Proverbs 22:22-23) Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, (23) for the LORD will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.

FREEDOM FROM SLAVERY
Along with forgiving the debts on the seventh year, those who fell into slavery or servitude because of debts were also given freedom. In Israel, slavery was not as encouraged as it was in other nations. If someone fell into slavery it was because they sold themselves due to their own needs. This used to happen when an Israelite asked for a loan, and part of the payment of the debt was paid with work as a slave, either done by himself or by his children.

But God established that in Israel these “slaves because of debt” would be freed every seven years.
(Deut. 15:12) If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.

When the indebted brother was let go, help was also provided to him…
(Deut. 15:13-14) And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. (14) You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.

This help to the freed debtor was so that he and his family could lift their heads up. If they had reached the point of slavery because of debt it was because they were left with absolutely nothing. Help would be provided so that they could move forward in that new stage.

This freedom from debt might sound unjust for the lender, but there are several details that brought comfort:
(Deut. 15:18) It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.

1.    The payment to a slave was less than that of a sojourner
2.    The Lord will bless those who obey this law

         And also the following:
3.    We have all been benefited by God’s remission; therefore, if God asks us to do this, we must do it as a way to show gratitude to Him.

(Deut. 15:15) You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.

SLAVERY BY WILL
The moment the slaves by debt were let free, it could happen that someone would rather stay living as a slave instead of having the risk that came along with freedom. If someone chose that option, he had to do it under the agreement that this was a permanent decision and not a temporary one.
(Deut. 15:16-17) But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, (17) then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same.

PARABLE ON THE FORGIVENESS OF DEBTS
The Biblical concept of “forgiveness of debts” is linked to the principle of “forgiving the faults”. God himself has given us the example of remission when he forgave us our sins. This same principle is the one we must learn to apply to our neighbor. To illustrate this, Jesus narrated a parable that teaches us about the divine perspective of the forgiveness of debts…
(Matthew 18:23-35) Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. (24) When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. (25) And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. (26) So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ (27) And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. (28) But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ (29) So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ (30) He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. (31) When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. (32) Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. (33) And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ (34) And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. (35) So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.

CONSECRATING THE FIRSTBORN

The last part of chapter 15 talks about what must be done with every firstborn of the livestock…
(Deut. 15:19) All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the LORD your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

The way to consecrate the firstborn was to offer it in the temple, and then to eat it…
(Deut. 15:20) You shall eat it, you and your household, before the LORD your God year by year at the place that the LORD will choose.

As we’ve mentioned before, “the place where God chose” is Jerusalem. That is where the firstborn calf and lamb had to be taken to. This offering of the firstborn is linked to the principle of placing God before everything.

What would happen if that firstborn calf or lamb had any defects – since nothing with a fault could be offered in the Temple (Lev. 22:20; Deut. 17:1; Mal. 1:8)? In that case, the following had to be done:
(Deut. 15:21-22) But if it has any blemish, if it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. (22) You shall eat it within your towns. The unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or a deer.

The firstborn with any defects would also be eaten, but it should not be taken to the Temple. That one would be eaten locally. Here it mentions again that the meat may be eaten – but without blood…
(Deut. 15:23) Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.


More lessons on Deuteronomy: DEVARIM (Deut.)

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