Seven Years

The title to this post is not to be confused with the chilly line from the horror movie The Ring. It does, though, carry with it some significance.

During my devotional this morning, I read Deuteronomy 15, the first eleven verses read like this:

¹ At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. ² This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. ³ You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. ⁴ However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, ⁵ if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. ⁶For 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.

⁷ If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. ⁸ Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. ⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. ¹⁰ Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. ¹¹ There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

The ideal set forth about the cancellation of debts is a difficult one for us to wrap our heads around in our day and age. If enforced today, everything from credit card debts to student loans and even whole home mortgages and car bills would be wiped clean every seven years! That just doesnt seem sensible, does it? I mean, it seems very appealing to us, the folks with these kinds of debts, doesnt it?!

And did you catch verse 9? It hints that there will be times when debts are incurred right before the seventh year, and we are still to oblige. Everyone would be purchasing their new cars and homes and maxing out their credit cards THEN, wouldnt they?

None of this seems logical in today's economic world. We do, admittedly, operate is vastly different ways than the world did back when Deuteronomy was written.

But I think that the seventh year isnt the point. The point trying to be made here, I believe, is this:

God has blessed us all with much, and He doesnt want us to mistake His blessing for our property. This exercise for the Israelites was one of humility and recognition. It wasnt intended for financially sound reasons, but for spiritually sound ones. And God calls us to much the same. Even beyond that, He promises in verse 10 that He will not leave us with empty pockets should we choose to empty them for the right reasons for which He details in this passage.

Old school economics: Less reliant on our hands and more reliant on His.