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Awesome Hands – part 148

“The Lord’s release”

January 26, 2019

In old testament, specifically in Deuteronomy, we have been given instructions on how to release our brothers from debt to us. Though we are not operating our lives in the physical ways that the Israelites were in the Old Testament, we still follow the spirit behind the words found in Deuteronomy 15.

In our study this evening, we will be looking further into the concept of forgiving our brothers debt to us.

Forgive to be forgiven

A lot of the Christian world is familiar with the so called “Lord’s prayer”. In fact, it is a popular set of verses which is usually memorized due to its popular concepts.

Specifically for this study, we will find a very instructive phrase contained within the verses referred to as the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6.

Mat 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Our study today finds us looking into the next mentioning of the word yad, which is found in several different verses in this chapter. It is with these verses that we will connect the Lord’s prayer with parts of Deuteronomy 15.

Deu 15:1  At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
Deu 15:2  And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release.
Deu 15:3  Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;
Deu 15:4  Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:
Deu 15:5  Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

There are a few interesting things that are happening at the beginning of Deut 15 as it pertains to the Lord’s prayer.

It is at the end of seven years that we are to make a release of our brother’s debt according to Deut 15.

The judgment of our brother’s debt has met its completion at this point. It is notable that a foreigner’s debt is not forgiven during this time.

We also learn that the Lord tells us that we will not have poor among us, and there are a few reasons for this.

In the OT, the Lord’s blessing upon you and your household was often seen in your wealth and well-being. If we carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord, to observe all His commandments, then we will not be poor.

For us today, we are looking at these words through spiritual eyes. So, we want to observe the commandments of the Lord for the Lord’s release, but we want to do so in a spiritual way that glorifies the Lord.

Matt 6 and the Lord’s prayer are how we do that in a general sense, but how do we do it practically?

The simplest way is usually the easiest, so we don’t need to over complicate this.

Let us look to scripture for the answer. Please bear with me as we go through these verses to find the answers we seek.

Mat 18:21  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Mat 18:22  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Mat 18:23  Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

The first thing to note is that forgiveness comes with repentance. Without repentance, we do not have the first ingredient needed for forgiveness that frees the other person. What do I mean by that?

Well, a big part of Deuteronomy 15 is slavery versus freedom. Debt is a form of slavery because you have to serve your debt in order to resolve it.

When I forgive someone, that is always good for my own heart and mind. However, it is also very freeing to a person who has received that forgiveness and knows about it, especially when they are seeking said forgiveness.

Mat 18:27  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Mat 18:28  But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
Mat 18:29  And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:30  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
Mat 18:31  So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Our spiritual application of forgiving our brothers their debts comes in the form of forgiveness of sins against us.

Anyone of the household of faith should be willing to forgive so that we receive forgiveness from the Lord. Likewise, the children of the Lord should also be seeking to repent when needed due to the trespasses we commit against others.

Additionally, and not the least among consideration, is forgiveness that we grant to ourselves. Guilt is a very powerful deterrent or motivator depending on how guilt affects a person.

Forgiving ourselves for past actions or inactions is very important for our walk with the Lord. He is not able to forgive us if we do not forgive ourselves because we are an extension of Him.

Think about it this way. We are the body of Christ. Therefore, if we do not forgive ourselves, then we are not forgiving a part of who He is. Therefore, we are not forgiving Christ in us. That simply will not do.

That of course doesn’t mean we continually do what we know to not do, but that is also where Godly repentance comes in. That is why forgiveness and repentance are important compliments to one another.

Deu 15:6  For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
Deu 15:7  If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
Deu 15:8  But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
Deu 15:9  Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
Deu 15:10  Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
Deu 15:11  For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

The first point taken from these verses is that we do not owe any nation anything, but we are owed by many nations. We of course are spiritual Jews, and we have many nations within us.

We will not borrow anything from those nations. This is a spiritual statement. We are able to sell our goods to other nations, but we never borrow of their goods. These goods are speaking of doctrine.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

When we are “of the beast”, which we all start off from and as, then we buy and sell in the wares and goods of the world.

Once we are adopted as sons of God, we can deal in and trade the goods of God, His gold tried in fire so to speak.

The next point of these verses is to recognize that there will be “poor among us”. You might be thinking that we were just told, “Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it”.

However, this happens because being poor happens from not obeying, “Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day”.

The poor among us are those who need the gold tried in fire. This is how we sell to the nations in others. This is what being a light to the world is all about.

We all still have lands, giants and cities in our heavens that need to be conquered by Christ. It just so happens that Jesus Christ is in all of His body, so we fill the role of Christ for everyone around us especially those of the household of Faith.

A very important point for us to understand when speaking about forgiving sin or trespasses, is that we cannot hold anything back. We cannot hold grudges or things against those of whom we have given forgiveness to.

We see this in the form of, “Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.”

Seeing that the sabbatical year is all about releasing debt to our brothers at the end of the seventh year, it would be easy to see why we naturally wouldn’t want to let someone take on debt from us if it were near the end of that seven year cycle. After all, they would gain from us near the time that they would be freed from that debt to us.

We are warned of the Lord not to think this way. We need to offer “complete forgiveness”, signified by the number 7.

The last point to take away from Deut 15, as it pertains the word “yad” or hand is found in verses 12 to 18.

Deu 15:12  And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
Deu 15:13  And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:
Deu 15:14  Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
Deu 15:15  And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.
Deu 15:16  And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee;
Deu 15:17  Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
Deu 15:18  It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.

When someone has been given our forgiveness, we cannot simply forgive with a “cold” heart. Cold heart is my phrase, but it is a concept that portrays a heart which is not really sincere.

Given the verse we just read, this concept can be seen in telling someone we forgive them and they should be happy that we did or be thankful to us that we are being so kind to them, or any other reason that that proves we do not fully forgive.

Instead, we should be letting them know that we forgive them and then following that up with kind words of our Lord which let them know that they have a place to turn to when they need help in the form of spiritual guidance, etc.

Something along the lines of the thought process of, “I forgive you, but it is all of the Lord that He has given me the heart of forgiveness”, is an example of this mindset. If that thought or comment leads into further conversation, etc., then the Lord will be glorified in the process.

It may be that certain situations calling for forgiveness leads into someone wanting to find out more about the Lord and what He has done for you in order for this forgiveness to happen in your life.

This can be seen in the form of the slave who doesn’t want to leave your side after being given their freedom. Again, debt is a form of slavery. When someone has trespassed against us, and against the Lord in the process, the Lord is going to require an accounting for the trespass.

Therefore, when we offer forgiveness / freedom from that debt, to the person on the receiving end, they may want more of that “good stuff”. In that case, we will have another blessing of the Lord seeing that the Lord has used the situation as a way to welcome another one of His flock into the fold.