Deuteronomy 15 Devotional

Generosity Without Keeping Score

“Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.”Deuteronomy 15:15 (BSB)

Every seventh year, Israel was to cancel the debts of their neighbors, and Hebrew servants were to go free after six years of service (15:1-2, 12). Moses anticipates the calculating heart that sees the year of release approaching and refuses to lend (15:9). He forbids it. Israel is to open wide their hand to the poor and give without a grudging heart (15:8, 10). A released servant was not to leave empty-handed but loaded with gifts from the flock, the threshing floor, and the winepress (15:13-14).

The reason is given plainly. Israel had been slaves in Egypt, and the LORD redeemed them (15:15). His people were to treat the poor the way he had treated them. These laws reveal a God who notices the person who cannot repay, who hears the poor when they cry out to him (15:9), and who wants generosity to come from the heart, not from pressure. Since he has released you from far more than any debt, there is someone you can be generous toward today without keeping score.

To think about: Where have you been giving with a closed or calculating heart, and what would open-handed generosity look like there?