What is the year of release mentioned in this passage?

The year of release is a law where, at the end of every seven years, Israelites were to cancel debts owed by their fellow Israelites. A creditor was not to press his “brother” for payment, because this was called “the Lord’s release.” It was God’s way of guarding people from being crushed by debt and of reminding the nation that their wealth and land came from Him. It created regular times of mercy, so that no one stayed trapped in debt forever among God’s people.

Why could debts from foreigners be collected but not from Israelite brothers?

The passage makes a clear difference between “brothers” in Israel and foreigners. Debts from fellow Israelites had to be released in the seventh year, but debts from foreigners could still be collected. This showed special care inside the covenant family. God wanted His own people to treat each other with extra mercy and generosity, as those who shared in His promises. Foreigners did not live under the same covenant rules, so they did not share in this specific protection.

What does it mean to not harden your heart or shut your hand to the poor?

To not harden your heart means you should not become cold, stubborn, or uncaring when you see a poor brother in need. To not shut your hand means you should not hold back help when you are able to give. Instead, God says, “open your hand wide” and lend enough for their need. The command reaches deeper than simple duty, because it speaks to both the heart and the hand. God cares about our inner attitude and our outward actions toward those who lack.

Why does God warn against thinking about the coming year of release when lending?

God warns people not to think, “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” and then refuse to help a poor brother. Someone might fear losing their money if the debt is soon canceled. God calls this an evil thought. If a poor person cries to God because they were refused help, it would be counted as sin. This shows that God sees selfish thoughts, not just actions, and He wants His people to trust His promise to bless them when they give.

How can God say there will be no poor and then say the poor will never cease?

This passage uses both ideas. God says there will be no poor among them if they listen carefully to His voice and obey His commands, because He will bless them in the land. At the same time, He also says, “the poor shall never cease out of the land.” Faithful readers have seen this as showing two sides: God’s blessing is linked to obedience, yet in real life there will always be needs. So God’s people must always be ready to show mercy.

What does it mean to open your hand wide to your brother and the needy?

To “open your hand wide” is a picture of generous and willing giving. It means not giving in a stingy, reluctant way, but freely and fully, according to the need that is in front of you. God repeats this command to stress that His people should be ready to help brothers, the poor, and the needy in their land. He also connects this openhanded giving with His own blessing, saying He will bless the work of those who give without a grudging heart.

Why were Hebrew servants freed in the seventh year and given goods when they left?

If a Hebrew man or woman became a servant, they were to serve six years, and in the seventh year they were to go free. The master was not allowed to send them away empty. Instead, he was to give from his flock, his grain, and his wine, sharing from what God had blessed him with. This guarded the servant’s dignity and gave them a fresh start. God ties this to Israel’s memory of being slaves in Egypt and being redeemed, so they must treat others kindly.

Why would a servant choose to stay forever and have his ear pierced?

Sometimes a servant loved his master, felt well treated, and did not want to leave in the seventh year. In that case, he could choose to stay. The master would take an awl and pierce the servant’s ear at the door, marking him as a permanent servant. This was not forced; it was based on love and contentment in that household. It shows that service in a good home could be a willing, lifelong choice, not only a burden.

What is the command about firstborn males from the herd and flock?

All firstborn males from the herd and flock were to be set apart for God. People were not to work the firstborn bullock or shear the firstborn sheep. Instead, they were to eat it before the Lord, year by year, in the place He chose, together with their household. If an animal had a blemish, it was not offered on the altar as a sacrifice but could be eaten at home, by both clean and unclean persons. The only limit was that they could not eat the blood, which had to be poured out on the ground.

How does this passage speak to the character of God?

This passage shows God as generous, just, and merciful. He cares that no one in His people is crushed by endless debt or locked forever in harsh service. He commands those who have more to help those who lack, not grudgingly but with a cheerful heart. He reminds Israel of their own rescue from slavery and ties their duty to help others to His saving work. God’s laws here are not cold rules; they reveal His desire for a community marked by grace and kindness.

Deut.15.1

Deuteronomy 15:1

KJV

At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.

The Seventh Year

1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.

2 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.

3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;

4 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:

5 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.

6 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.

Generosity in Lending and Giving

7 ¶ 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.

Hebrew Servants

12 ¶ 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.

16 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.

18 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.

Firstborn Animals

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.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.