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Scripture Reading: Deut. 15:12-18; 23:15-16, 19-20; 24:6, 10-15, 17-22
In this message on the rehearsing of the general statutes and judgments, we will consider some further matters concerning aid to the needy.
Deuteronomy 15:12-18 speaks of the freeing of a Hebrew male servant or female servant. Such a servant was one of God's people who sold himself to be someone's slave.
"If your brother, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years; but in the seventh year you shall set him free" (v. 12). The reason a Hebrew servant was to be set free after six years of service is that God is a God of rest. After doing the work of creation for six days, He rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2). The people created by God were also to work for six days and rest on the seventh day. In Deuteronomy 15:12, the principle of resting after a period of work is applied to a Hebrew servant. From this we see that God is not only wise but also that He sympathizes with man. God is concerned for man and cares for man.
"When you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed; you must supply him richly out of your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress; as Jehovah your God has blessed you, so shall you give to him" (vv. 13-14). God is not a God of scarcity but a God of riches, plenty, and surplus. For this reason, the master was to richly supply the servant who was being released.
"If he says to you, I will not go forth from you, because he loves you and your household, for it goes well with him to be with you; you shall take an awl and run it through his ear and into the door, and he shall be your servant forever; and thus also shall you do to your female servant" (vv. 16-17). This is an excellent type of us as slaves of the Lord Jesus. We love Him, we love His family, and, not wanting to leave Him, we tell Him that we want to remain in His service forever. Whenever we make such a free-will offering to the Lord Jesus, He will never reject it but will always accept it. Then He will run an "awl" through our "ear," representing us, and into the "door," representing God. The ear thus becomes one with the door, and there is much traffic between the ear and the door. From that time onward, our relationship with the Lord is one in which we have a listening ear. We are at the door, waiting to hear the voice of the Master and to serve Him.
All the full-timers have had their ears "awled" by the Lord. We may say that they have had their ears "nailed" to the doorpost. Now there is a hole in their ear. This hole is not for an earring (something for beautification) but for service, which requires a hearing ear. If we have a hearing ear, nothing will keep us away from our Master.
As the Slave of God, the Lord Jesus had His ear run through with an awl (Isa. 50:5). On His ear there was a hole, so between Him and God the Father, whom He served, there was a thorough traffic. The situation with us should be the same.
For a Hebrew servant to be his master's servant forever meant that he gave up his liberty and no longer had any freedom. At the end of six years, the servant was free to go, but once he decided to stay and had his ear run through with an awl, he would never again have the freedom to leave. I can testify that, as a servant of the Lord, I consider myself as having no freedom and no future. In a very real sense, I am "finished," for my ear has been nailed to the doorpost of my God. I hope that the young ones will have this kind of feeling about themselves and that they will say, "I belong to the Lord Jesus forever. My ear has been nailed to His doorpost, and I have given up my freedom."
"You shall not view it as a hardship when you set him free; for he served you for six years, saving you double the wages of a hired hand, and Jehovah your God will bless you in all that you do" (Deut. 15:18). The masters might have felt that they had lost both the cost of buying the servant and the servant himself, and this could have caused them to be sorrowful. Therefore, Moses, an old man who surely knew human nature, charged the masters not to view the release of a servant as a hardship. They were not to be greedy or sad but happy, realizing that the servant had saved them much in wages and that Jehovah their God would bless them.
In 23:15-16 Moses gave a word about taking care of an escaped slave.
"You shall not deliver to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you" (v. 15). Contrary to what we might think, God did not allow an Israelite to send an escaped slave back to his master. Rather, the one to whom the slave escaped was to help the slave.
"He shall dwell with you, even in your midst, in the place which he chooses among your towns, wherever he pleases; you shall not oppress him" (v. 16). It seems that, according to God's arrangement, a slave had a right to escape and then to dwell in the place of his choice. This reveals what kind of heart our God has. God's heart is always willing to forgive and to release, not to condemn. This indicates that we should have the heart to forgive our brothers in the Lord.
An Israelite was not to make a brother pay interest on money, on food, or on anything on which one pays interest (v. 19). An Israelite could make a foreigner pay interest but was not to make a brother do so, in order that Jehovah his God might bless him in all his undertakings (v. 20). This was a matter involving not only an Israelite and his brother but also God, who is above all and sees everything.
"One shall not take a handmill or an upper millstone as a pledge, for he takes the livelihood as a pledge" (24:6). The Hebrew word for "livelihood" here is nephesh, which means soul, life. In this verse we see that an Israelite was not allowed to take one's handmill or upper millstone as a pledge, for that would be to take one's livelihood as a pledge. God would not tolerate this. Even if a borrower had nothing other than a handmill or upper millstone to give as a pledge, the lender was not to take such a pledge. Instead, he was to make the loan without a pledge. This statute reveals that God is loving and full of care.
Deuteronomy 24:10-13 speaks concerning taking a pledge from the borrower.
When the children of Israel lent anything to their neighbor, they were not to enter his house in order to take his pledge (v. 10). Rather, they were to stand outside, and the borrower was to bring the pledge out to them (v. 11). These small points indicate that our God is detailed in His care for His people.
Verses 12 and 13 go on to say, "If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge; you must return his pledge to him when the sun goes down, so that he may sleep in his mantle and bless you; and it will be righteousness to you before Jehovah your God." If the lender did not return the pledge by sundown, the borrower could accuse him before God, saying, "Lord, my lender will not let me have my mantle, and I have nothing to sleep in." Not returning the mantle could cause the lender to have suffering instead of blessing. But if he returned the mantle before the sun went down, the borrower would bless him, and God would count the lender's returning the mantle as righteousness before Him.
In 24:14 and 15 we have a word concerning the wages given to the poor hired servant. The children of Israel were not to oppress a poor and needy hired servant among their brothers or among the sojourners with them (v. 14). On the day that the hired servant earned his wages, the children of Israel were to give him his wages before the sun went down (v. 15a). They were not to owe anything to the one who worked for them. Otherwise, he could cry against them to Jehovah, and it would become sin in them (v. 15b).
In 24:17-22 we see that the children of Israel were to remember the need of a sojourner, an orphan, or a widow. This indicates that the children of Israel were not only to give to aid the needy ones but were also to remember their need. Instead of waiting for the needy ones to come to them, they were to remember them and then do something for them.
The children of Israel were not to distort justice due a sojourner or an orphan, nor were they to take a widow's garment as a pledge (v. 17). They were to remember that they were slaves in Egypt and that Jehovah their God had ransomed them from there (v. 18).
When the children of Israel reaped their harvest in their field and they forgot a sheaf in the field, they were not to turn back to gather it. This sheaf was to be for the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, in order that Jehovah their God might bless them in all their undertakings (v. 19). What was left in the field was to be God's harvest for the poor ones. If the one who reaped the harvest did not turn back to gather the forgotten sheaf but left it for the poor, this would give God an opportunity to bless this one in all his undertakings, that is, in all his business.
When the children of Israel beat down the fruit of their olive tree, they were not to go over the boughs afterwards. The olives that remained on the tree were to be for the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow (v. 20).
When the children of Israel cut the grapes from their vineyard, they were not to glean afterwards. The remaining grapes were to be for the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow (v. 21).
After giving this statute, the Lord said, "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing" (v. 22). For the people not to glean after cutting the grapes from their vineyard was for them to remember that they were slaves in Egypt. They were to have such a remembrance and leave some grapes in the vineyard for the needy ones.
Suppose the owner of a vineyard, knowing that he was not allowed to glean after cutting the grapes, decided to be very careful and strict in cutting the grapes, trying not to leave any clusters of grapes behind. The one who was so strict would have been dealt with strictly by God. God would have withdrawn His blessing from the work of such a strict one. At the end of the year, he would not have much profit. But the one who was not strict in cutting the grapes but left clusters for the needy ones would be blessed by God. At the end of the year, he might be surprised to see that, because of God's blessing, his profit greatly exceeded his expectations.
The statutes and judgments concerning aid to the needy indicate that God is living and real. In all that we do in the matters of lending and harvesting, we should remember God's need with respect to the needy ones. If we remember this need, then secretly God will remember us and bless us in all our undertakings, in all our business. We all have to believe this.
As we are doing our business, we should remember the needy ones among God's children and have a heart toward them. If we have a heart to care for the needy ones, spontaneously we will set aside a portion for them. God will see this and He will be happy about it. Then, in a secret way, He will come in to bless our work or business. Not only will we be blessed, but the body of God's people will be under His blessing. As a result, instead of scarcity, there will constantly be surplus upon surplus. This continual surplus will show forth the riches of God.
