Deuteronomy Chapter 15
Deuteronomy 15:1–6
“At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release, Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s release. Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it; only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. For the Lord thy 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.”
The Lord commanded that at the end of every seven years the people of Israel were to grant a release of debts. This was not a suggestion or a matter of generosity but a covenant requirement. Every creditor who had loaned to his neighbour or brother within the covenant community was required by God to release the debt. It was called the Lord’s release, meaning that the act of forgiving debts was ultimately obedience to God and not merely kindness to man. God took ownership of this system. By calling it His release, He declared that failure to forgive debts was not simply financial greed but rebellion against His authority and mercy.
This law prevented perpetual poverty and generational oppression. No Israelite was to be trapped under lifelong debt. If one fell into hardship, he could recover because the seventh year guaranteed economic reset and restoration. Those who loaned money did so knowing they might not recover it all, yet they still obeyed because they trusted the Lord, not human repayment. The release did not apply to foreigners because they were outside the covenant. Israel could require repayment from them, but no Israelite was to treat his brother as a financial captive. God intended His people to reflect His character by practicing mercy and refusing to exploit the vulnerable.
God declared that if Israel obeyed these commands, there would be no poor among them. Poverty was not to exist permanently in a society that feared God, practiced obedience, extended mercy, and trusted His provision. Yet God also affirmed in Deuteronomy 15:11 that the poor would never cease from the land. This was not a contradiction but a recognition of human sin and disobedience. God established a system where poverty did not have to be permanent, but He also knew that Israel would not fully obey. Therefore, the system guaranteed opportunity, not automatic prosperity. Blessing was conditional upon obedience. Disobedience would bring poverty, famine, captivity, and curse.
God promised that obedience would bring national and international elevation. Israel would lend to many nations and would not borrow. They would reign over many nations, and no nation would rule over them. This promise combined spiritual obedience with economic fruitfulness. God’s blessing was both supernatural and practical. Obedience brought stable families, agricultural increase, righteous leadership, and financial strength. But this prosperity was never to become a means for greed, pride, or exploitation. The sabbatical release ensured that wealth did not become a tool of oppression. Israel’s economy was designed around stewardship, mercy, and trust in the Lord, not accumulation and selfishness.
Deuteronomy 15:7–11 (KJV)
“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware 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 Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For 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.”
God commanded Israel not only to release debts but also to actively show compassion toward any poor brother within their gates. The Lord addressed the condition of the heart first. He said, “Thou shalt not harden thine heart,” showing that greed and selfishness begin internally before they manifest in action. To harden the heart is to resist compassion, to refuse to be moved by the suffering of a brother in need. The second refusal is to “shut thine hand,” meaning withholding practical help. God demanded both a soft heart and an open hand toward the poor. Generosity was not to be selective or reluctant. The words “open thine hand wide” show that God desired abundant, willing, cheerful giving, not mere minimal relief to ease conscience.
God anticipated the human tendency to justify disobedience. He warned them not to think, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand.” In other words, someone might refuse to help because the debt would soon be wiped out. God called this a wicked thought, exposing that neglect of mercy is moral evil. If someone refused to help and the poor cried to the Lord, God Himself would judge the oppressor. Generosity was not optional philanthropy, it was covenant obedience, and refusal was sin. The Lord promised blessing upon all who gave freely and without grief. Giving to the poor was never loss. It was an act of worship and trust in God’s provision. God said He would bless all the work of their hands when their hands were first open to the poor.
Then God declared, “For the poor shall never cease out of the land.” This was not a failure of the system but a realism concerning human sin, laziness, injustice, oppression, and disobedience. God provided a structure where no one must remain in poverty, yet He affirmed that the poor would always exist because Israel would not fully obey. Jesus later quoted this verse in Matthew 26:11 and Mark 14:7 to show that poverty remains in a fallen world. Yet this ongoing reality did not excuse neglect. It increased the obligation to continually open the hand to the needy. God commanded continual generosity within covenant community. This aligns with Galatians 6:10, which says, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” Charity begins with the brethren but does not end there.
Deuteronomy 15:16–18
“And 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; Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.”
God made provision not only for the release of slaves in the seventh year but also for those unique situations where a servant loved his master so deeply that he refused freedom. If the servant declared, “I will not go away from thee,” it showed that his master was not harsh or oppressive but kind, godly, and fair. The motive for remaining was love, not compulsion. The servant had found blessing, provision, and safety in the master’s household, and he freely chose lifelong service. This shows that biblical servitude under God’s law was nothing like the cruel exploitation seen in pagan nations. It was regulated, merciful, temporary unless willingly extended, and governed by reverence for God.
If a servant willingly chose to remain, his devotion was sealed by a public ceremony. The master was to take an awl and pierce the servant’s ear at the door of his house. The ear at the door symbolised two things. First, the doorpost represented the household under covenant, the same place where Israel had applied the blood of the Passover lamb in Exodus 12. Second, the pierced ear signified permanent obedience to the master’s voice. The servant became a bond-slave, not by force but by love. His body now bore a mark that testified to his willing surrender. This applied to both male and female servants.
This ceremony pointed forward to Jesus Christ. In Psalm 40:6 the Messiah said, “Mine ears hast thou opened,” which speaks of willing submission to the Father. In Isaiah 50:5–7 He declared, “The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious.” He set His face like flint toward the cross, choosing lifelong and eternal obedience to the Father’s will. Jesus is the ultimate willing bond-servant who, being free, humbled Himself and became obedient unto death. This is why Paul, James, Peter, Jude, and John repeatedly call themselves doulos, bond-servants of Jesus Christ. They belonged to Him permanently, not by force, but by love and redemption.
God also commanded masters not to resent releasing a servant in the seventh year. The servant had been worth more than a hired worker because he served consistently for six years. Therefore, the master was to send him away with provision, not empty-handed, and not with bitterness. God promised that obedience in this matter would bring blessing to all that they did. Obedience to God’s social laws was tied directly to His favor and prosperity. The bond-slave law teaches that true freedom is found in loving submission to a righteous master, and that lifelong service, when rooted in love, is not bondage but blessing.
Deuteronomy 15:19–23
Deuteronomy 15:19
“All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.”
Deuteronomy 15:20–23
“Thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God year by year in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou and thy household. But if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.”
God commanded that all firstborn males from the herd and flock were to be sanctified unto Him. To sanctify means to set apart exclusively for the Lord. The firstborn of every animal that opened the womb was to belong to God and could not be treated as common livestock. It could not be worked in the field and could not be sheared for wool. This taught Israel that the first and the best always belonged to God. It reminded them that He was the giver of life, prosperity, and increase. The act of setting apart the firstborn animals was a continual memorial that Israel themselves were God’s firstborn nation, as declared in Exodus 4:22, where God said, “Israel is my son, even my firstborn.” Just as God spared their firstborn during the Passover in Egypt, they were now to acknowledge His deliverance by giving back the firstborn of their flocks.
The firstborn was also the choicest, the strongest, and the best of the animals. God required the best, not the leftovers. This principle stretched across all worship. Cain’s offering was rejected because it was not given in faith nor in obedience. Abel offered the firstlings of his flock and of their fat, and God accepted it. The first always goes to God because He is worthy. It was also a continual reminder of redemption. In Exodus 13, God declared that all firstborn males belonged to Him and must either be sacrificed or redeemed. Every firstborn animal pointed back to the night when God spared Israel and judged Egypt. Therefore, every firstborn animal was a declaration: we belong to the Lord, we live because He redeemed us.
The people were commanded to bring the firstborn animals to the sanctuary, in the place which the Lord would choose. There they and their households would eat a portion of it before the Lord in a sacred and joyful meal. This was not a sad or reluctant offering. It was offered in worship, then shared in fellowship with God’s priests and enjoyed as a family celebration in God’s presence. Giving to God did not lead to loss but to worship, sharing, and blessing. God’s people were to rejoice in His presence while honoring Him with their first and best.
However, if the firstborn animal had any blemish, such as lameness, blindness, or any serious defect, it could not be sacrificed to the Lord. God refused flawed offerings because they insulted His holiness. Malachi later rebuked Israel for bringing the blind, lame, and diseased sacrifices, asking, “Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee?” God deserved perfection, not what men did not want. Yet the blemished firstborn was not to be wasted. It could be eaten within the gates of their towns by both the clean and the unclean, just like common wild game such as the deer or the gazelle. Even then, the blood was not to be eaten. It was to be poured out on the ground like water, because the life of the flesh is in the blood, and life belongs to God alone.
This law taught Israel reverence, gratitude, and dependence. It showed that true worship costs something, that God is first in all things, and that every increase in life must be acknowledged as coming from Him. It also pointed forward to Christ, the true Firstborn among many brethren, the spotless Lamb of God without blemish or defect, who was given wholly to the Father on our behalf.
