Mercy in debts, servants, and firstborn

15:1 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation of debts. 15:2 This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person; he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite, for it is to be recognized as “the Lord’s cancellation of debts.” 15:3 You may exact payment from a foreigner, but whatever your fellow Israelite owes you, you must remit. 15:4 However, there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that he is giving you as an inheritance, 15:5 if you carefully obey him by keeping all these commandments that I am giving you today. 15:6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as he has promised; you will lend to many nations but will not borrow from any, and you will rule over many nations but they will not rule over you. 15:7 If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition. 15:8 Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs. 15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. 15:10 You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. 15:11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land. 15:12 If your fellow Hebrew – whether male or female – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant go free. 15:13 If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed. 15:14 You must supply them generously from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress – as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them. 15:15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you to do this thing today. 15:16 However, if the servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, 15:17 you shall take an awl and pierce a hole through his ear to the door. Then he will become your servant permanently (this applies to your female servant as well). 15:18 You should not consider it difficult to let him go free, for he will have served you for six years, twice the time of a hired worker; the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. 15:19 You must set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male born to your herds and flocks. You must not work the firstborn of your bulls or shear the firstborn of your flocks. 15:20 You and your household must eat them annually before the Lord your God in the place he chooses. 15:21 If they have any kind of blemish – lameness, blindness, or anything else – you may not offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. 15:22 You may eat it in your villages, whether you are ritually impure or clean, just as you would eat a gazelle or an ibex. 15:23 However, you must not eat its blood; you must pour it out on the ground like water.

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God tells Israel to live with open hands. Debts are released in the seventh year, needy brothers are helped, Hebrew servants are freed and given provisions, and the firstborn animals belong to the Lord.

This passage teaches that covenant life must not be hard or selfish. Israel is to remember the Lord’s blessing and act with mercy. A creditor must release debts owed by a fellow Israelite in the seventh year. The people are told not to shut their hands when a brother is poor. They must give freely, because refusing help out of fear of loss is sinful. The Lord promises blessing to those who obey.

The same mercy applies to Hebrew servants. After six years of service, they must be set free. They must not be sent away empty-handed. They are to receive gifts from the flock, the threshing floor, and the winepress. This command is tied to Israel’s own redemption from Egypt. Since the Lord redeemed them, they must not treat others with harshness.

The chapter then turns to the firstborn of animals. These are to be set apart for the Lord. They are not to be worked or treated as ordinary property. The people are to eat them before the Lord at the chosen place. If an animal has a defect, it may not be offered as a sacrifice, though it may be eaten locally. The blood must still be poured out on the ground. The whole chapter joins worship and daily life. What is first belongs to God, and God’s redeemed people must reflect his mercy.

• God commands regular debt release among his covenant people.
• The Lord forbids hard hearts and closed hands toward the poor.
• Refusing help out of self-protection is called sin.
• God promises blessing to those who obey his commands.
• Hebrew servants must be freed in the seventh year.
• Freed servants must not be sent away empty-handed.
• Israel must remember its own redemption from Egypt.
• The firstborn of herds and flocks belong to the Lord.
• Animals with blemishes may not be offered as sacrifices.
• Blood must not be eaten; it must be poured out on the ground.

• Do not harden your heart against a poor brother.
• Open your hand and lend generously to the needy.
• Do not refuse help because the release year is near.
• Set Hebrew servants free in the seventh year.
• Do not send a freed servant away empty-handed.
• Set apart the firstborn male animals for the Lord.
• Do not use the firstborn of bulls for work or shear the firstborn of flocks.
• Do not offer blemished animals as sacrifices.
• Do not eat blood; pour it out on the ground.
• The Lord promises blessing to those who obey.

The Lord’s blessing is meant to produce mercy, not greed. He redeemed Israel from Egypt, so their life in the land must show compassion, release, and holiness. The firstborn laws also remind the people that what is first and best belongs to God.

God’s people should be generous, fair, and careful with what belongs to the Lord. We should not let prudence turn into hardness of heart. Mercy, stewardship, and worship belong together.

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