Chapters 15-16

 

LITV

Deu 15:1  At the end of every seven years you shall make a release. 

Deu 15:2  And this is the manner of the release: Everyone who has a loan to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because a release has been proclaimed for Jehovah. 

Deu 15:3  You may exact it from a foreigner, but your hand shall release whatever is yours with your brother, 

Deu 15:4  only that there shall be no one in need among you. For Jehovah will greatly bless you in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you for an inheritance, to possess it, 

Deu 15:5  only if hearing you listen to the voice of Jehovah your God, to take heed to do all this command which I am commanding you today. 

Deu 15:6  For Jehovah 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. 

Deu 15:7  If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers inside any of your gates in your land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother. 

Deu 15:8  But opening you shall open your hand to him, and lending you shall lend him enough for his need in that which he lacks. 

Deu 15:9  Beware that there is no evil thought in your heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release draws near; and your eye be evil against your needy brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to Jehovah against you and it be sin to you. 

Deu 15:10  Giving you shall give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because Jehovah your God will bless you for this thing, in all your work, and in all that you put your hand to. 

Deu 15:11  For the poor will never cease from the midst of the land. On account of this I command you, saying, Opening you shall open your hand to your poor and needy brother in your land. 

Deu 15:12  If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 

Deu 15:13  And when you send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away empty. 

Deu 15:14  You shall richly adorn him from your flock, and from your threshing floor, and from your winepress, with that which Jehovah your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 

Deu 15:15  And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah your God redeemed you. On account of this I command you this thing today. 

Deu 15:16  And it shall be, if he says to you, I will not go out from you, because he loves you and your house, because it was good for him with you; 

Deu 15:17  then you shall take an awl, and shall put it through his ear, and through the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And you shall do so to your slave-girl also. 

Deu 15:18  It shall not seem hard in your eyes when you send him away free from you. For to the double of the hire of a hireling he has served you six years. And Jehovah your God will bless you in all that you do. 

Deu 15:19  The firstling males that are born of your herd and of your flock, you shall sanctify to Jehovah your God. You shall do no work with the firstling of your ox, nor shear the firstling of your flock. 

Deu 15:20  You shall eat it before Jehovah your God year by year in the place which Jehovah shall choose, you and your household. 

Deu 15:21  And if there is any blemish in it, lameness, or blindness, or any evil blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Jehovah your God. 

Deu 15:22  You shall eat it inside your gates; the unclean and the clean alike, as the gazelle and as the hart. 

Deu 15:23  Only, you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water. 

Deu 16:1  Observe the month Abib, and perform the Passover to Jehovah your God. For in the month of Abib Jehovah your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 

Deu 16:2  And you shall sacrifice a Passover to Jehovah your God of the flock, and of the herd, in the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there. 

Deu 16:3  You shall eat with it no leaven. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction. For you came out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day that you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 

Deu 16:4  And there shall be no leaven seen with you in your borders seven days; nor shall any of the flesh which you sacrificed the first day at evening remain all night until the morning. 

Deu 16:5  You may not sacrifice the Passover offering inside any of your gates, which Jehovah your God gives you. 

Deu 16:6  But at the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, you shall sacrifice the Passover offering at evening, at the going of the sun, at the time when you came out of Egypt. 

Deu 16:7  And you shall cook and eat in the place which Jehovah your God shall choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go into your tents. 

Deu 16:8  You shall eat unleavened bread six days, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to Jehovah your God. You shall do no work. 

Deu 16:9  You shall number to yourself seven weeks. When the sickle begins to reap in the standing grain, you shall begin to number seven weeks. 

Deu 16:10  And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to Jehovah your God according to the measure of the freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give according as Jehovah your God blesses you. 

Deu 16:11  And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your slave-girl, and the Levite that is inside your gates, and the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow that are among you, in the place which Jehovah your God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there. 

Deu 16:12  And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall take heed to do these statutes. 

Deu 16:13  You shall keep the Feast of Tabernacles seven days after you have gathered in from your threshingfloor, and from your winepress. 

Deu 16:14  And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your slave-girl, and the Levite, and the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow that are inside your gates. 

Deu 16:15  You shall keep a solemn feast seven days to Jehovah your God in the place which Jehovah shall choose; for Jehovah your God shall bless you in all your produce, and in every work of your hands, and you shall be altogether joyful. 

Deu 16:16  Three times in a year shall all your males appear before Jehovah your God in the place which He shall choose: In the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before Jehovah empty, 

Deu 16:17  but each with his gift of his hand, according to the blessing of Jehovah your God, which He has given you. 

Deu 16:18  You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates which Jehovah your God gives you, tribe by tribe. And they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 

Deu 16:19  You shall not pervert judgment. You shall not regard faces, nor shall you take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous. 

Deu 16:20  You shall follow perfect justice, that you may live and possess the land which Jehovah your God is giving you. 

Deu 16:21  You shall not set up for yourself pillars of any trees, which you make for yourself near the altar of Jehovah your God. 

Deu 16:22  And you shall not raise up for yourself any standing image, which Jehovah your God detests. 

 

Main Point(s): Community institutions: The year of “release”, taking care of the poor. Specific festivals that were to be observed at the appointed place God chooses (not common, but sacred).

 

1.    What happened every seven years (1-7)? How does this foreshadow God’s future working? It was a year of “release.” shemiṭṭâh shem-it-taw' From H8058; remission (of debt). Also there was a directive to NOT borrow from foreigners, though it was ok to lend to them. The thought of “remission” is prolific to the Christian, in that Jesus sets us free from the debt of sin. The Christian understands that this is wholly a blessing from God, and looks to do the same in their life for others. The Christian also understands that borrowing puts them in a position of servitude to the lender. In the spiritual sense, Christians do not allow undue influences in their life. Things that could cause a compromise toward God are not to be  included in the Christian life.

2.    What was to be the heart of the people (8-18)? What would God do if they had this heart? Verse 15 applies context, “remember you were a slave in the land of Egypt.” If a brother (fellow countryman) is in need, LEND money to him. Do not regard the fact that the 7 year cycle happens before he can repay you. Just GIVE him the money, God will take care of you. (Don’t have a grieved (spoiled attitude about it)). IF you own a Hebrew slave, release them after six years of service, and make sure they leave with property for their service. If they decide they want to stay, then a ceremony was performed to seal the deal (to signify the slave being “attached” to the house (owner). That person would become a slave for their lifetime and “forever.” I assume there were some rights that would come to the slave at that point.
If they leave, don’t be upset about it, they were to consider the value that person brought to their life. With these guidelines God will bless them.

2a. God at this point also dedicates the first-born of the flocks to Himself and describes them as to be without defect….a strong foreshadowing of the Christ. He does this before re-institutionalizing the Passover.

 

 

3.    What was the purpose of the Passover (16:1-8)? How does this foreshadow God’s future working? “For you came out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day that you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.” This was a remembrance of “where they came FROM” and where God had “brought them TO.”  However, it was not just about them. It was more about God. There are strict guidelines for the sacrifice and the PLACE where those sacrifices were made. In the same way Christians do this when we examine ourselves together in communion. We gather at the appointed place by God. We look to the perfect sacrifice given by God and consider its impact on our lives….where He has brought us to spiritually.

4.    What was the purpose of the Feast of Weeks and Feast of Booths (9-17)? It was initiated at harvest and was to be a joyous festival to God. It celebrated God and His blessings. It was to be a reminder to them where they came from (slavery) to where God had brought them (prosperity). It was a reminder for them that points back to Jehovah.

Note also these three instances that are a requirement for them to gather at the place God establishes. Passover-Feast of Weeks-Feast of Passover. These are a to be a constant cultural mainstay for Israel.

 

5.    What must be important when they come into the land (18-20)? They were to appoint judges in their territories. These were to be people of respect and integrity.  “You shall follow perfect justice” is the commandment. This marks and official end to the Patriarchal system.
God’s perfect sense of justice is exhibited in the statements: “You shall not regard faces, nor shall you take a bribe”
Imagine being that judge. You are given power and sometimes may need to discern against friends or family. Not an easy place to be.