Deuteronomy 15:7

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 15:7-11, “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:[8] But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.”

This passage tells the Israelites how to treat those that are poor. Jesus said in Mark 14:7, “For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.” There will always be poor people. No government programs will ever fix this situation. Of course, when Jesus comes back and reigns on the throne of David, if will finally be fixed just like all other problems. There will be no poverty in the kingdom of God. But while we live in this current situation where there are poor, Christians should always have a tender heart towards them. It is interesting how the passage in Deuteronomy defines poor people. If you have to borrow money in order to exist, then you are poor. Everyone should strive to be independent and self-reliant. But if you do become independent and self-reliant through hard work, and paying your bills and getting out of debt, be careful that you do not forget the needs of others. Be careful that you do not become materialistic. As it says in Deuteronomy 15:9-10, “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.[10] Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him…”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 15:12-15, “And 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.[13] And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:[14] Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.[15] And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.” The fact that God told the Israelites to allow any indentured servants to go free on the seventh year shows that God did not want slavery to be a part of the nation of Israel. God is always on the side of freedom. God gives freedom even in the harsh days of the Old Testament. He has given freedom of choice to humans, and God wants us to be free from sin. Jesus said in John 8:32-36, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.[33] They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?[34] Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.[35] And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.[36] If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

One of the reasons that the Israelites were told to be generous to the indentured servants when they were let go free is because the Israelites were all servants at one time in Egypt. If you have suffered something, then it is only natural that you would show compassion to those who have suffered something similar. The Lord said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 15:15, “And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee.” Of course, this verse is also a great salvation verse in regards to its spiritual meaning. Egypt symbolizes the world where we are all slaves: slaves to the ideas and the entertainments of a world that is lost in spiritual darkness. The key word that describes how God delivers us from spiritual slavery is “redeemed.” It means to purchase or to pay a price for. The price that was paid for us is the precious blood of Christ. Once Jesus redeems you, He sets you free with the greatest freedom possible. But on the other hand, you do belong to Him now. Therefore, serve Him with your free spirit. Describing a servant who chooses to stay with his master and to continue to serve him, it says in Deuteronomy 15:16-17, “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;[17] 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.” The key word here is “love.” We love the Lord Jesus because He first loved us. We serve the Lord out of love, not out of fear or obligations. The Apostle Paul introduced himself simply as the “servant” of the Lord. Paul wrote in Romans 1:1, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 15:18-23, “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.[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.[20] Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household.[21] And 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.[22] Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.[23] Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.” Verse 18 is talking about properly rewarding an indentured servant once he is set free. It is only fair to properly recompense someone for the labor that they have done. What is fair is fair. You do not want to be in a situation where you have taken advantage of someone just because you could.

The issue that is talked about starting in verse 19 of dedicating the first-born of the herd to the Lord has two implications. We should always put the Lord first and give to Him our best. Secondly, this is symbolic of the fact that God gave His best for us: He gave His only begotten Son that we should not perish, but have everlasting life. And then in verse 21 when the Israelites were told not to give anything to the Lord that had a blemish of any kind, this symbolizes that Jesus, the Lamb of God, was without sin. “He that had no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 16:1-7, “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.[2] Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there.[3] Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.[4] And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there anything of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.[5] Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:[6] But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.[7] And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.” Of course, these verses and others in the Old Testament put a great emphasis on the Passover because the Passover so clearly symbolizes the work and the accomplishment of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. The Passover involves a sacrificial lamb. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.” Jesus is our Passover lamb. It is not a coincidence that Jesus was crucified during the Passover. At the core of the meaning of the Passover is the fact that God and His judgment will “pass over” anyone who has the blood applied to their soul. God’s judgment could have fallen on any believer and should have fallen, but because of the blood of Christ, we receive no judgment. The avenging angel passes by us.

In Deuteronomy 16:3 God explained another part of the Passover week. God said, “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.” There are a couple of spiritual ideas behind unleavened bread. One is the fact that leaven symbolizes sin. A little bit of sin enters in, and then the entire thing gets corrupted. Leave the sin out at the start, and then the entire thing stays pure. It says in both First Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” The problem with life is the sin problem. Sin corrupts. Sin spreads. Sin ruins. That is why we need a Savior to save us from our sins. Your daily bread should have no leaven. Go through life avoiding sin as much and as often as you can. That is what God wants.

In regards to unleavened bread at the Passover, God said there was an additional symbolism. The original Passover took place just before the children of Israel departed from Egypt and went on their forty year trip wandering through the wilderness. There was hardship involved. There were unpleasant experiences involved in getting from Egypt to the Promised Land. Eating unleavened bread is kind of like eating a dried up cracker instead of delicious hot-baked bread. That is why God called it the “bread of affliction.” God wants us to remember that our journey in life was not meant to be a walk through a rose-garden. We are not in heaven yet: far from it. Jesus said in Mark 8:34, “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

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