Deuteronomy 15: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Deuteronomy 15 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

At the end of every seven years, creditors must cancel debts owed to them by neighbors and brothers (vv. 1-3). The text promises that if the people obey Yahweh, they will experience abundance and will lend to many nations (vv.

Key verse

“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, and serves you six years; then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.”
Deuteronomy 15:12 (WEB)

Outline

Deuteronomy 15:1–3 Debt Cancellation Every Seven Years
Deuteronomy 15:4–6 Promise of Abundance
Deuteronomy 15:7–11 Generosity to the Poor
Deuteronomy 15:12–18 Releasing Hebrew Servants
Deuteronomy 15:19–23 Dedication of Firstborn Animals

Discussion questions

In v1, what happens to 'debts' at the end of every seven years?
What does Yahweh command in v7 regarding a 'poor man'?
In v9, why might someone have a 'wicked thought' about the seventh year?
In v15, what does Moses mean by 'remember that you were a slave'?
When have you felt compelled to 'open your hand' to someone in need?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Deuteronomy 15: Deuteronomy 28, Luke 6, Exodus 13.

Before next time: read Deuteronomy 16.