Release from Debts
Deuteronomy 14-16
Release from Debts, Deuteronomy 14-16. Do you ever look around you and wonder how life became so complex? Why do we see so many people who are buried in debt? It is interesting to note that God built in plans for the nation of Israel to keep the people from becoming hopelessly in debt.
1 “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. 3 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. 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.
Deuteronomy 15:1-6
Release from Debts
Deuteronomy 14-16
Do you ever look around you and wonder
how life became so complex? Why do we see so many people who are buried
in debt? It is interesting to note that God built in plans for the
nation of Israel to allow the people to have a release from debts and to keep them from becoming hopelessly in debt.
Every
seven years everyone from the nation of Israel was to be released from
all of their debts. Whatever the lender took from the borrower for
security had to be returned to its original owner. Think of what that
meant to both the borrower and the lender.
The
lender would be very careful not to loan more than the borrower could
pay back by the seventh year; the borrower would not be allowed to
borrow more than he could pay back by the seventh year. What a marvelous
plan for the economy of the country! No one could become hopelessly in
debt!
What did God promise for obedience to this command that the people give the borrowers a release from debts?
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.
Are
we in the USA as wealthy as we seem, or does it just appear that way?
Are we so hopelessly in debt that we will never recover in this
lifetime. What about the United States as a country. Our national debt is now in the trillions of dollars!
This
is a very difficult subject to broach; my husband and I have not been
as wise in this area as we should have been. Credit has just been too
easy to attain until suddenly the debt load becomes a huge burden. It
should not be this way! If we Christians just followed the principles
given by God by not taking on any debt that we could not pay in seven
years, how different might out situations be?
How
interesting to note that, as Christians, there is not an area of our
lives that is not affected by our beliefs and our resultant obedience
to Christ. Even if we find that we have not been as prudent as we should
have been in this area, we still can go to Christ. Christ is always
there for us and ready to aid, no matter what the need. That doesn't
mean He will necessarily send money our way, but He will teach us to
live within our means and not continue in a downward spiral of debt.
The sin of covetousness has led to the temptation of spending more than we can reasonably pay back in a short amount of time. What a blessing to learn to live within our means and also to learn to truly be content with the things the Lord has given to us. It is truly a blessing to experience that total release from debts (physical debts as well as the spiritual debts we have due to our sin).
Pray today that all areas of your lives, including finances would be wholly submitted to Christ alone.
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