thinking bible.

You asked

how do new testament teachings on forgiveness or economic sharing relate to this ancient debt release law?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Deuteronomy 15:1-2

At the end of every seven years you shall make a release. This is the custom of the release: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because Yahweh’s release has been proclaimed.

Deuteronomy is a book attributed to Moses, delivered as a series of speeches to the Israelites on the plains of Moab before they entered the Promised Land. These verses are part of laws detailing how the community should live justly, particularly regarding economic and social practices, ensuring that poverty doesn't become a permanent state within the community.

What systems or practices in our communities today might benefit from a similar principle of periodic release or redistribution?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Leviticus 25:8-12

    Describes the Jubilee year, a larger-scale release of debts and return of land every fifty years.

  • Matthew 6:12

    Jesus teaches his disciples to pray for forgiveness of debts, connecting spiritual and financial themes.

  • Acts 2:44-45

    Describes the early Christian community sharing possessions and distributing to those in need.

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