And you will be blessed… | Sunday, March 27, 2022

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. (Deuteronomy 15:1–2)

When God balances the economic scales, exploitation brings a curse—but open-handed obedience brings overflowing blessing.

A National Conversation About Money

This last Tuesday, the state of Florida became the eleventh and most populous state in the nation to mandate financial literacy courses for graduating high school students. Senate Bill 1054 passed unanimously in both houses of the Florida legislature, and currently 26 states have finance education bills pending. While there are heated political debates over so many things in the United States, on the subject of financial literacy there seems to be a unanimous consensus.

One journalist writing on Florida's bill noted that while the coronavirus pandemic upended financial education across the country, it also highlighted the importance of teaching solid financial habits. There is a real need, especially among those approaching adulthood, to learn sound financial habits. Inflation is at a 40-year high—many of you have seen your gas bill increase by as much as 50 percent in the last six to eight weeks. I know that's the reality in my household.

Consumer debt—credit card debt, student loans, mortgage debt—is at a record level again in 2022, some $15.4 trillion. That works out to about $45,000 per citizen, and that doesn't include the national debt, which stood at $30.3 trillion when I checked the debt clock this last week, adding another $90,000 per citizen. So over $130,000 per citizen in debt, both national and consumer. When you consider all of that, we probably need some sound financial literacy education in our nation.

Financial Wisdom and Its Roots in Scripture

A financial literacy course covers things like understanding a balance sheet, developing a budget, principles of saving and banking, owning versus renting, investing in stocks and bonds, diversification, risk and return, controlling debt, using credit wisely, and the basics of how loans work. Some of you might benefit from such a class. We actually offer one here at the church called Faith and Finances, which we'll probably offer again in the late spring.

A lot of these sound financial principles find their roots in Scripture, or at least have clear corollaries to what we find in the Bible. If you were here last time, we talked about one of these issues of economics from a biblical perspective—at least for the children of God. As a child of God, my Father in heaven has a say in how I see my money and how I prioritize my spending. That's a challenging consideration, especially for someone who would not call himself a child of God. But if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, He has given you the authority to be called a child of God, and your Father has a say in your finances.

Following that point, we considered the biblical principle of the tithe—the first tenth of all the fruits of all my labors, which belongs to the Lord and should be given back to Him as worship. For many that is not an easy principle to accept, and even harder to apply. But we also saw in Deuteronomy that God blesses those who truly honor Him with their increase. I won't re-teach that message, but if you missed it you can find it at lifeinconnection.com or on YouTube.

The Sabbatical Release of Debts

As we continue into Deuteronomy 15, Moses shifts from the tithe to additional principles regarding money, possessions, and wealth—and not just money, but my time, my talents, and my treasure. He writes, "At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts." Some of you feeling the weight of student loans, credit card debt, or a home loan with a climbing variable interest rate are wishing for exactly that—a sabbatical release of your debts.

The word translated "release" here is the Hebrew word shemitah. Every seventh year in Israel was to be a sabbath year of rest, and part of that was the release of debts. Notice the totality of the requirement: every creditor shall release all the debts that they have. If you think it's a stretch of faith to give a tenth of everything you bring in every year, imagine the stretch of releasing every debt and setting aside one year in every seven as a rest for the Lord.

The children of Israel were farmers and herdsmen, and in the seventh year they were not to farm; they were to let the land lie fallow and take a sabbath rest, and during that period they were to release all debts. It takes great faith to be faithful—that's an important thing to consider. The release was not only of anything owed to you, but also of any slave serving you, addressed in verses 12 through 18. Biblical slavery is not identical to the chattel slavery of Europe and the early Americas, though it still carries major issues; we'll get into that at another time.

Moses adds, "Of a foreigner or a stranger you may require the payment of the debts; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed to you by your brother." It is worth noting that scholars hold different views about this passage. Some believe the release applied only to interest payments—a holiday from the interest. Others believe it was a complete remission, the loan forgiven entirely. Others believe it was a holiday from both principal and interest, picked up again in the eighth year. Interestingly, during COVID some people whose work slowed had their mortgage companies grant them a kind of sabbath rest from payments, which sparked big and challenging discussions in our nation.

The Core Principle: Exploitation Is Always Wrong

I don't believe we can be dogmatic on the details, because my aim in these passages of the Torah is to look for the principle or the spirit of the law over the precise letter. Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary on Deuteronomy, captures it: "The sabbath year was part of God's wise plan to balance the economic scales in the nation of Israel so that the rich could not exploit the poor or the poor take advantage of the rich."

Boiled down, the core principle is this: for the child of God, economic exploitation is always wrong and will result in a curse. Even many people who never go to church and have never opened Deuteronomy would agree with that statement. The curse that results from economic exploitation is often the failure or collapse of society. Society breaks down under the weight of economic exploitation and what we could call usury.

This exploitation goes both ways. When I say "economic exploitation," many imagine the rich taking advantage of the poor—and that certainly is exploitation—but the inverse is also true: the poor taking advantage of the rich. One example in our culture within the last 25 years is the subprime lending of the early 2000s and the collapse that followed in 2008. People without good credit took advantage of the system to get loans they shouldn't have, and very wealthy people took advantage of those borrowers to acquire their assets. Exploitation ran in both directions.

What the Bible Does—and Doesn't—Promise

The major expectation of modern, enlightened, progressive Western liberal democracies—the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand—is a utopian end: an equitable society in which the stratification of rich and poor is leveled, with not only equal opportunity but equal outcomes. You've heard the vision: "You will own nothing and you will be happy." College is free, healthcare is free, robots do the heavy lifting, and everything is provided through some redistributive universal basic income.

Economic exploitation is always wrong—that I can prove from the Bible. But the idea of equal outcomes and the abolition of rich and poor is not what this text means. That vision doesn't fit reality, and the Bible poses a different picture: "the poor will never cease from the land" (Deuteronomy 15:11). Jesus echoes this exactly in the Gospels: "The poor you will have with you always." The Bible speaks truth—that which accords with reality. There will be those who are rich and those who are poor, and God's people are expected to deal properly within that context.

When there is a huge gap between the have-nots and the have-lots, society is in danger of collapse. We are watching an increasing wealth gap in Western societies, and we can expect destabilizing effects. These truths are important for our culture, for such a time as this.

The Blessing of Obedience

But if we obey the principle of the law, there is a blessing. Moses continues:

For the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God... You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you. (Deuteronomy 15:4–6)

These are key grounding statements. Verse 1 gives the command—you shall grant a release of debts—and verses 4 and 6 give the grounding result: "for the Lord will greatly bless you." Those who honor God in how they handle their finances will experience God's abundance and blessing. This is true nationally—Moses spoke it to the nation of Israel—and it is also true for individuals.

That begs the question: how should I honor God in my finances? The full answer requires a whole class, which is why we teach Faith and Finances. But I'll give some brief insights at the end. To "lend and not borrow" means there will be abundance and no lack. It does not mean there will be no rich or poor, because verse 11 says the poor will never cease from the land. We live in a broken, fallen world, and that reality remains until the Lord comes and rules in righteousness.

Open Hearts and Open Hands Toward the Poor

If there is among you a poor man of your brethren... you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. (Deuteronomy 15:7–8)

Notice that God distinguishes between the tithe and generous giving to the poor—they are not the same thing. The focus here is on the heart and the hand. The hearts and hands of the people of God should remain open to those in need. There are several important keys here.

First, a hard heart and a closed fist do not represent God. Our God is a giving and loving Father. The most famous verse in Scripture makes this clear: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Second, Moses says you shall open your hand willingly. If you can't do it willingly, you should question whether your heart is right, because God loves a cheerful giver and is Himself a loving, cheerful giver.

Third, both giving and lending are mentioned. Giving has no strings attached; lending carries the expectation of repayment. Circumstances change, and because the shemitah is coming, sometimes what you lend becomes a gift, immediately released. So whether it is a charitable gift or a loan, you should be ready to give. Fourth, notice the word "need," repeated twice. The poor may want what the wealthy have, but those who have more should seek to give sufficient to meet a person's genuine need—not always everything they want, but what they need.

A Wicked Heart and an Evil Eye

Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, "The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand," and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you. (Deuteronomy 15:9)

This could hardly be clearer. It is a wicked heart and an evil eye that thinks to withhold from someone the aid they need. Proverbs reminds us that if it is in the power of your hand to give, and you withhold it, that is a hard and evil heart. This means you can be very religious—go to church, give a tithe, serve, read your Bible—and still be unrighteous in how you handle your wealth.

Jesus illustrates this in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. A religious lawyer, wanting to justify himself, asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus told of a man beaten and stripped by thieves. A priest passed by; a Levite passed by—the very religious people gave no help. But a despised Samaritan, a member of a hated minority people, came and provided all that was needed and more. When Jesus asked who proved to be a neighbor, the man answered, "The one who showed mercy." Jesus said, "Go and do likewise." We can be very religious and still withhold what is needed, failing the righteous requirement of the law.

God Commands a Blessing

You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. (Deuteronomy 15:10)

Do you want God to bless you in all the work which you put your hand to? Of course we all do. Look at Moses's closing summation:

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God... that the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you... Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country... Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. (Deuteronomy 28:1–6)

God will command a blessing to those who do not withhold their goods to bless those in need. It is fascinating that we Christians, under the influence of the early ascetics, the monastics, and the Puritans, have inherited an aversion to desire—especially desire for pleasure and blessing—yet routinely in Scripture God appeals to our desire to urge our obedience. Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over... For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6). That truth has been misused by the prosperity gospel in a very bad way, but the misuse does not negate the truth: God will bless us as we bless others.

How Should I Honor God in My Finances?

Let me briefly share some of the key points from our Faith and Finances class. First, it is essential that the child of God recognizes that he is a manager, not the owner, of all that he has. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6 that "you are not your own, you were bought with a price"—so I belong to God and ought to glorify Him with my life. Everything belongs to God: my time, my talents, my treasure.

Second, once I understand that everything belongs to God, I must understand that I am a steward, and as a steward I will be held accountable for how I manage what I possess. I will give an account to God for how I have used my time, talents, and treasure. Third, because I am an accountable steward, I should keep a good accounting of what I have been given and how it is being used. As it relates to finances, that requires a budget. Some struggle with that idea, but it flows directly from the principles of Scripture. From what we considered about tithing last time, both the first fruits and charity should be part of that budget.

If teaching on this would be helpful to you, send a text with the words "Faith and Finances" to 760-814-1223, and we'll follow up when we offer the class. It's completely free.

Reviewing the Principles

Let me summarize what we've seen in Deuteronomy 15. First, for the child of God, economic exploitation is always wrong and will result in a curse. In some respects we are watching that curse play out in our culture right now—because of the horrible ways we handle finances nationally, locally, and even in our own homes, we are experiencing the resulting curse.

Second, those who honor God in how they handle their finances will experience His abundance and blessing. I have experienced this personally and witnessed it in others who took God seriously on this. If you honor God with your first fruits and see yourself rightly as a manager rather than an owner, God will bless you in a wonderful way.

Third, the hearts and hands of the people of God should remain open to those in need—but this requires significant discernment and prayer. Just giving money to every person on the street who seems poor may not actually help them and may hurt them. We clearly have a significant homelessness problem here in California, and simply throwing money at it—free phones, nearly a thousand dollars a month, lessened theft laws—is highly unlikely to actually help and probably hurts. So keep your heart open and your hands ready, but use wisdom and discernment from the Lord, seek the counsel of wiser believers, and ask God for wisdom, as James instructs.

Fourth, God will command a blessing on those who do not withhold their goods to bless those in need. I am convinced that God blesses us to be a blessing. As we hold the blessings of God with an open hand, He is pleased to give us more so that we can be a conduit of further blessing to others. God said to Abraham in Genesis 12, "I will bless you, and you shall be a blessing." Why did God promise to bless Israel with blessing upon blessing in Deuteronomy 28? You are blessed to be a blessing. It's so easy for us to constrict and hold on like a miser, but God says, "No—I want you to have an open hand. I have blessed you to be a blessing." I have seen this in my own life and in the lives of many here at Cross Connection Church, and I know it is biblically true.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray that You would help us to think through this passage and to consider how we ought to use the wealth You have given us—not just wealth in money and possessions, but the wealth of our time, our energy, and our talents, all the things You have given to us. We will give an account for how we have used those things, so I pray that You would help us to use them in a way that honors and glorifies You. For we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.