Deuteronomy 15 Study Notes

15:1-3 The principle of the Sabbath—that all creation should rest and be rejuvenated on the seventh day—was extended to the seventh year as well. Canceling debts on the sabbatical year meant one of the following. (1) The borrower who was unable to pay his debt could walk away free of obligation following the seventh year. (2) Repayment could not be demanded on the seventh year. On the other hand, a resident alien must pay back his loan entirely. The reason for the sabbatical release was likely related to the remission of Israel’s debt to Egypt by the Lord’s gracious deliverance in the exodus. Jesus spoke of such grace in his parable of the unforgiving slave who, though having been forgiven of a great debt to his creditor, refused to forgive a small debt owed to him (Mt 18:32-33).

15:4-5 The declaration that there will be no poor among you is neither an unqualified assertion nor a prediction. There should be no poor because the Lord would abundantly bless them in the land he was giving them. Due to sin this ideal was never achieved throughout Israel’s history and, indeed, Jesus himself affirmed, “You always have the poor with you” (Mt 26:11; cp. Dt 15:11).

15:6 Rule is talking about financial rather than political dominance.

15:7-11 A stingy creditor might be tempted not to lend to his poor brother when the seventh year was near because he would then have less chance of being repaid (cp. v. 2). Such an ungenerous attitude, however, is a sin against the Lord.

15:12-14 Not only a debtor but a bondservant must also be relieved of encumbrances in the seventh year. According to the Mosaic law, a poor person could indenture himself to a more affluent Israelite in order to work off any indebtedness (Ex 21:2-11). Unlike the repayment of a monetary debt, which was cancelled after a fixed period (Dt 15:1), a bondservant must work a full six years and then be set . . . free generously supplied with provisions proportionate to the blessing of the Lord upon the benefactor.

15:15 Referring to the exodus deliverance, Moses provided the motivation or justification for beneficent treatment of the poor debtor (see 5:15; 16:12; 24:18,22). The least a creditor could do was to release his Hebrew brother from his financial bondage and supply him with provisions sufficient for a new start in life. Even the Egyptians had done this much for their departed Hebrew slaves (Ex 12:35-36).

15:16-17 Release from bondage was not mandatory for bond slaves. Should they love their masters and find life more pleasant and secure in their relationship with them, they were entitled to stay with them (v. 16). Such a commitment was for a lifetime, however, and must be carefully thought out ahead of time. Once the decision was made, the slave submitted to an ordeal in which the master took an awl and pierced through his ear into the door, thus indicating the slave’s desire to become the master’s slave for life. Besides testifying publicly by this act that the slave was committing himself wholly and permanently to his master, the scar he bore would be a reminder to him and others from that time forward that he was no longer his own. Paul may have had this in mind when he said, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gl 6:17). That is, his wounds marked him as a slave of Christ for life.

The female slave was treated in exactly the same way. The same law in Ex 21:6 states that the slave under these circumstances had to go before the judges to formalize the arrangement and then her ear would be bored against the doorpost. The word for “judges” (Hb elohim) usually means “God,” so that the doorpost where the ear was pierced may have been at the tabernacle, making the ceremony a religious act.

15:18 A hired worker would normally work for hourly wages, while a bond slave could be called upon day and night. For this reason, their service was worth twice the wages of a hired worker. This fact lends significance to Paul’s description of himself as “a servant of Christ Jesus” (Rm 1:1; cp. Php 1:1; Ti 1:1), and it should also enhance the meaning of Christian discipleship. We are not mere hirelings or temporary servants, but slaves having made a lifetime commitment.

15:19-20 In gratitude to the Lord for his preservation of their firstborn in Egypt (Ex 12:12-13,29), the Israelites must dedicate them to him in lifetime service (Ex 13:2). However, they could be redeemed from this service by the payment of a firstborn sacrificial animal (Ex 13:13-16) and, later, by the substitution of a Levite for each firstborn son of Israel (Nm 3:11-13,40-51). Firstborn animals could therefore not be put to the service of the Israelites, but they belonged to the Lord.

15:21-23 The Lord demands our best in tribute and service. The offerer must be prepared to part with what is most valuable to him. The NT enjoins believers to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Rm 12:1). This implies the giving of one’s total self and all he possesses to serving the Lord.

The reminder of the sanctity of blood echoes Dt 12:16,23-24,27.