I heard a story about a group of American soldiers who went into a little town in the Middle East and built an orphanage. Years later they came back to find the orphanage looking very much like it looked when it was built and there were no children living in it. The soldiers asked why this was and the people of the town told them that in their culture, when a child loses their parents, the surrounding neighbors or other family members automatically just take them into their home. There is never a question about this. These people know how to love, care and show grace to one another. Please open your Bible and read Deuteronomy 15 or just click here.
"At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you."
Sounds like an Israeli credit card was the way to go! Every 7 years, it was required to forgive any debt that a fellow Israelite owed to you. You could, however, still expect foreigners to pay you back. They were not under any of these laws and I would imagine God probably didn't think they should keep His money, inheritance and blessings that He was giving to the Jews. He also reminds them that they will lend to many nations but never borrow. God's intention was for the Israelites to be able to help other nations but never have to receive help from anyone but Him. His other beautiful intention was that there would be no poor people among His children so He made this plan so that the Jews could show grace to one another every seven years. I would imagine there were many issues because of this that we don't read about. There were probably some regular sixth year borrowers and I wonder if there happened to be less family get-togethers during that last year before the year of forgiveness. The Lord told them not to think of the seventh year coming up but to give freely when needed. He did not want money to rule them. The bigger issue that I see here is the need for love, care and grace. I feel like God wanted to teach them to tend to their own flock, just as Jesus did as the Good Shepherd in the New testament.
We learn other lessons in this chapter that also end up being demonstrated by Jesus's disciples. In Acts 2:42-47 we read, "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." After Jesus left and went up to Heaven, all the believers had to be united in this same kind of love, care and grace that chapter 15 discusses. They all lived together, ate together and shared everything. And just as the Lord blessed the Israelites who upheld this law, so did He bless the disciples by adding to their number daily. God is building a group of people who can reach out to others and be the hands and feet of Christ. Do we live like this today? Do we ever take a moment to get our eyes off of ourselves and place them on the people around us, the people who God has placed in our lives. That is the challenge today. Maybe right now you are really striving to reach personal goals. Maybe you are trying to give up a bad habit or make a lifestyle change. For me, I am praying for breakthrough and a change of heart and mind so that I can become a healthier person. Today I had a conversation with someone that really bummed me out. I was shocked at this person's rude and arrogant comments. I walked away frustrated and angry, which doesn't happen very often with me. I had a mean thought in my head and wondered if I was not going to like this individual any longer. And then God reminded me of this chapter. In that moment, I was able to forgive her. She has her own story, her own problems, her own ignorances and it doesn't take much for me to just move beyond the conversation and see the person. Nothing we ever reach to attain should come before another human being. Let us not get so focused on our own plans that we neglect the hurting, lonely, arrogant, frustrated, overwhelmed, poor people around us.
Father, help me to think of other people today before myself. Thank you for reminding me that everything I have belongs to You and I am called to share and forgive. Give me a heart like yours that will love like you do. I love you! Amen
Now Choose Life.
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