{"id":5940,"date":"2026-06-03T00:01:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T07:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/?p=5940"},"modified":"2026-04-27T17:07:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T00:07:57","slug":"deuteronomy-151-2-at-the-end-of-every-seven-years-you-shall-grant-a-release-of-debts-and-this-is-the-form-of-the-release-every-creditor-who-has-lent-anything-to-his-neighbor-shall-releas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/?p=5940","title":{"rendered":"Deuteronomy 15:1\u20132: “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

This chapter has been called God’s anti-poverty program. God had already told His people earlier that their land was to rest from plowing every 7th year, which was called a sabbatical year. Now He tells them no Israelite could take out a mortgage for a time period longer than 7 years. Money was only to be loaned with the understanding that every 7th year, debts would be canceled. So there were no long-term debts. Money could never be borrowed, or owed, for more than 6 years. In God’s economy, at the end of the 7th year, all the personal debt accumulated was released<\/em> or cancelled.<\/p>\n

This served as a great equalizer of wealth and poverty by giving every person an equal opportunity. Some have argued that the year for canceling debts was a release of repayment just for one year. But the majority opinion, based on a simple reading of this chapter, was that all debts were to be cancelled totally. Another interesting part of this plan was that the wealthy person being approached for a loan, even in the 6th year, was not to refuse the poor person asking for it. The result being that God promised to bless those who were obedient to His word, both to the one who gave and to the one who received the loan.<\/p>\n

God warns that \u201cthe poor will never cease from the land\u201d (Deut. 15:11), which is obviously an important point as Jesus also quoted this: “For you have the poor with you always” (Matt. 26:11, Mark 14:7, John 12:8). So God was not giving a guarantee of material prosperity, but He was giving an opportunity for obedient people\u2019s betterment. This is still true for believers. God does not guarantee riches here, but He does promise to bless us when we are obedient. How we need God’s blessing on our lives. Most of us remember well what it was like to live a life outside of God’s protecting and blessing hand. Strive to stay under the covering of your loving, heavenly Father and you will never lack for necessary things.<\/p>\n

“LORD, we do ask for and acknowledge our need for Your hand directing and blessing our lives this day.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

=============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 15 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/sup>\u00a0At the end of\u00a0every\u00a0<\/em>seven years thou shalt make a release.\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0And this\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth\u00a0ought\u00a0<\/em>unto his neighbour shall release\u00a0it;\u00a0<\/em>he shall not exact\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the\u00a0LORD\u2019S\u00a0release.\u00a0\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0Of a foreigner thou mayest exact\u00a0it again:\u00a0<\/em>but\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the\u00a0LORD\u00a0shall greatly bless thee in the land which the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God giveth thee\u00a0for\u00a0<\/em>an inheritance to possess it:\u00a0\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0For the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy 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. 7<\/sup> If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need,\u00a0in that\u00a0<\/em>which he wanteth.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0Beware 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\u00a0LORD\u00a0against thee, and it be sin unto thee.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0For 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. 12<\/sup>\u00a0And\u00a0<\/em>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.\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress:\u00a0of that\u00a0<\/em>wherewith the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0And 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;\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant\u00a0to thee<\/em>, in serving thee six years: and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest. 19<\/sup>\u00a0All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0Thou shalt eat\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>before the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God year by year in the place which the\u00a0LORD\u00a0shall choose, thou and thy household.\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0And if there be\u00a0any\u00a0<\/em>blemish therein,\u00a0as if it be\u00a0<\/em>lame, or blind,\u00a0or have\u00a0<\/em>any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God.\u00a022<\/sup>\u00a0Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean\u00a0person shall eat it\u00a0<\/em>alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This chapter has been called God’s anti-poverty program. God had already told His people earlier that their land was to rest from plowing every 7th year, which was called a sabbatical year. Now He tells them no Israelite could take out a mortgage for a time period longer than 7 years. Money was only to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5940"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5940"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16018,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5940\/revisions\/16018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}