Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 15
Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 15
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 15 (KJV)
"At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 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. Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again; but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release. 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; 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. 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 you" (vv. 1-6).
It is edifying to note the way God was always seeking to draw the hearts of His people close by means of various sacrifices, solemnities and institutions of the Levitical ceremonial. There was the daily morning and evening lamb; the weekly holy Sabbath; the monthly new moon; the yearly Passover; the third year tithing; the seventh year release; and the fifty year jubilee.
In all these lovely institutions we notice two prominent characteristic features: glory to God and blessing to man. These two things are linked together by a divine and everlasting bond. God has ordained that His full glory and the creature's full blessing should be indissolubly bound up together. This is deep joy to the heart and helps us better understand the force and beauty of that familiar sentence: "We rejoice in hope of the glory of God." When that glory shines forth in its full luster, then human blessedness, rest and felicity will reach full and eternal consummation.
We see a lovely pledge and foreshadowing of all this in the seventh year. It was "The Lord's release" – its blessed influence was to be felt by every debtor from Dan to Beersheba. Jehovah would grant unto His people the high and holy privilege of having fellowship with Him in causing the debtor's heart to sing for joy. He wanted them to learn the deep blessedness of forgiving all. This is what He delights in, blessed forever be His great and glorious Name.
The human heart is not prepared to tread this heavenly road. Sadly, because of a low and miserable selfishness, it is cramped and hindered in grasping and carrying out God's principle of grace. It is not at home in a heavenly atmosphere. It is ill-prepared for being the vessel and channel of the royal grace that shines so brightly in all the ways of God. This accounts for the cautionary clauses of the following passage.
"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; but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. 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. 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. For the poor shall never cease out of thy 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" (vv. 7-11).
Here the deep springs of the selfish heart are discovered and judged. There is nothing like grace for manifesting the hidden roots of evil in human nature. Man must be renewed in the deepest springs of his moral being before he can be the vehicle of God's love. Even those who are renewed through grace have to continually watch against the hideous forms of selfishness in which our fallen nature clothes itself. Nothing but grace can keep the heart open to human need. If we would be channels of blessing in the midst of a scene of misery and desolation then we must abide by the fountain of heavenly love.
What lovely words: "Thou shalt open thine hand wide." An open heart and a wide hand are like God – they breathe the very air of heaven. "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver" because that is precisely what He is Himself. "He giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not." And He would grant unto us the rare and most exquisite privilege of being imitators of Him. Marvelous grace – the very thought of it fills the heart with wonder, love and praise. Not only are we saved by grace, but we stand in grace, live under the blessed reign of grace, breathe the very atmosphere of grace, and are called to be the living exponents of grace, not only to our brethren but to the whole human family. "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially unto them which are of the household of faith."
Let us diligently apply our hearts to God's instruction. It is precious; but its real preciousness can only be tasted in the practical carrying out of it. Many forms of human misery, human sorrow, and human need surround us. There are broken hearts, crushed spirits, and desolate homes all around us. In our walks we daily meet the widow, the orphan and the stranger. How do we carry ourselves in reference to all these? Are we hardening our hearts and closing our hands against them? Or are we seeking to act in the lovely spirit of "the Lord's release"? We are called to be reflectors of God's nature and character, to be direct channels of communication between our Father's loving heart and every form of human need. We are not to live for self; to do so is a miserable denial of every feature and principle of that morally glorious Christianity we profess. It is our high and holy privilege; it is our special mission to shed on others the blessed light of that heaven to which we belong. No matter where we are; in the family, in the field, in the mart or the manufactory, in the shop or in business, all who come in contact with us should see the grace of Jesus shining in our ways, our words, our very look. And if any need comes before us, if we can do nothing more, we should drop a soothing word into the ear, shed a tear or heave a sigh of genuine heartfelt sympathy.
Is this true with us? Are we living so near the fountain of God's love and breathing so much of the air of heaven that the blessed fragrance of these things will be diffused around us? Or are we displaying the odious selfishness of nature, the unholy temper and dispositions of fallen and corrupt humanity? A selfish Christian is such an unsightly object – a standing contradiction, a living, moving lie.
The Lord grant that all who profess and call themselves Christian may live a daily life as an unblotted epistle of Christ known and read of all men. In this way, infidelity will at least be deprived of one of its weightiest arguments, its gravest objections. Nothing affords a stronger plea to an infidel than the inconsistent lives of professing Christians.
Not that such a plea will stand or even be urged before the judgment-seat of Christ, because each one who has within reach a copy of the Holy Scriptures will be judged by the light of those Scriptures, even though there were not a single consistent Christian on the face of the earth.
Nevertheless, Christians are solemnly responsible to let their light so shine before men that they may see their good works and glorify our Father in heaven. We are solemnly bound to exhibit and illustrate in daily life the heavenly principles unfolded in the Word of God. We should leave infidel without a shred of a plea or an argument; we are responsible to do so.
By taking these things to heart we will have occasion to bless God for our meditation on the delightful institution of "The Lord's release."
Let us now quote the touching and beautiful institution in reference to the Hebrew servant: "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. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty; 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."
How beautiful, God would not have the brother go away empty. Liberty and poverty would not be in moral harmony. The brother was to be sent on his way free and full, emancipated and endowed, not only with his liberty but also with a liberal fortune with which to start.
Truly, this is divine. Where are such exquisite ethics taught? Wherever it is, they have the ring of heaven about them; they emit the fragrant odor of the paradise of God. Has not our God dealt with us in this way? All praise to His glorious Name. He has not only given us life and liberty, but He has furnished us liberally with all we can possibly want for time and eternity. He has opened the exhaustless treasury of heaven for us; He has given the Son of His bosom for us, and to us – for us, to save; to us, to satisfy. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness; all that pertains to the life that now is and to that which is to come is fully and perfectly secured by our Father's liberal hand.
It is deeply affecting to note how the heart of God is expressed in the style in which the Hebrew servant was to be treated. "Thou shalt furnish him liberally." Not grudgingly or of necessity. It was to be done in a manner worthy of God. The actions of His people are to be the reflection of Him. We are called to the high and holy dignity of being His moral representatives. He has not only delivered us from the flames of an everlasting hell, but He calls us to act for Him and to be like Him in the midst of a world that crucified His Son. Not only has He conferred this lofty dignity on us, but He has also endowed us with a spiritual fortune to support it. The inexhaustible resources of heaven are at our disposal. Through His infinite grace "All things are ours." May we fully realize our privileges and faithfully discharge our holy responsibilities.
At verse 15 of Deuteronomy 15, we have a touching motive presented to the heart of the people, one eminently calculated to stir their affections and sympathies. "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 today." The remembrance of Jehovah's grace in redeeming them out of Egypt was to be the ever-abiding and all-powerful motive-spring of their actions toward the poor brother. This is a never failing principle; and nothing lower than this will ever stand. If we look for our motive-springs anywhere but in God and His dealings with us, we will soon break down in our practical career. It is only as we keep before our hearts the marvelous grace of God displayed toward us, in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that we will be able to pursue a course of true, active benevolence, whether toward our brethren or those outside. Mere kind feelings bubbling up in our hearts or drawn out by the sorrows, distresses and necessities of others, will prove evanescent. Only in the living God Himself can we find perennial springs.
At verse 16, a case is contemplated in which a servant might prefer remaining with his master: "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, then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever."
In comparing this passage with Exodus 21:1-6, we observe, as we might expect, a marked difference arising in the distinctive character of each book. In Exodus, the typical feature is prominent; in Deuteronomy, the moral. Hence, in the latter, the inspired writer omits all about the wife and children, as foreign to his purpose here, though so essential to the beauty and perfectness of the type in Exodus 21. We notice this merely as one of the many striking proofs that Deuteronomy is far from being a barren repetition of its predecessors. There is neither repetition, nor contradiction, but lovely variety in perfect accordance with God's object and scope of each book. So much for the contemptible shallowness and ignorance of those infidels attaching this magnificent portion of the oracles of God.
In this 15th chapter, we have the moral aspect of this interesting institution. The servant loved his master and was happy with him. He preferred perpetual slavery with a master whom he loved, to liberty and a liberal portion away from him. Of course, this would argue well for both parties. When the connection is of long standing, it is a good sign for both master and servant. As a general rule, perpetual changing may be taken as proof of moral wrong somewhere. No doubt, there are exceptions; and not only so, but in the relation of master and servant, as in everything else, there are two sides to be considered. For instance, we have to consider whether the master is perpetually changing his servants, or the servant perpetually changing his masters. In the former case, appearances would tell against the master; in the latter, against the servant.
The fact is, all must personally judge in this matter. Those who are masters have to consider how far they really seek the comfort, happiness and solid profit of servants. In reference to servants, one should bear in mind that there is more to think of than the amount of work received from them. Even on the low-level principle of "live and let live," one is bound to make servants happy and comfortable; to make them feel that they have a home; that the labor of their hands is not as important as the love of their hearts.
The Christian master is called to stand on a higher-level altogether; he is privileged to be an imitator of his Master, Jesus Christ. The remembrance of this will regulate all his actions toward the servant; it will lead him to study his divine model with ever-deepening interest and solid profit in order to reproduce Him in all the practical details of daily life.
This is also true in reference to the Christian servant, regarding his position and line of action. As well as the master, he has to study the great example set before him in the path and ministry of the only true Servant that ever trod this earth. The Christian servant is called to walk in His blessed footsteps, to drink into His Spirit, to study His Word. It is not a little remarkable that the Holy Spirit has devoted more attention to the instruction of servants than to all other relationships put together. This we can see at a glance in the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Titus. The Christian servant can adorn the doctrine of God our Savior, by not purloining and not answering again. He can serve the Lord Christ in the most commonplace duties of domestic life just as effectually as the man who is called to address thousands on the grand realities of eternity.
Thus when master and servant are mutually governed by heavenly principles, both seeking to serve and glorify the one Lord, they will get on happily together. The master will not be severe, arbitrary and exacting; and the servant will not be self-seeking, heady and high-minded; by the faithful discharge of their relative duties, each will contribute to the comfort and happiness of the other and to the peace and happiness of the whole domestic circle. Would that it were more after this heavenly fashion in every Christian household on the face of the earth. Then indeed would the truth of God be vindicated, His Word honored, and His Name glorified in domestic relations and practical ways.
In verse 18, we have an admonitory Word that faithfully and with delicacy reveals a moral root in the human heart: "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."
This is very affecting. Think of the most High God condescending to stand before the human heart; the heart of a master, to plead the cause of a poor servant and set forth his claims. It is as if He were asking a favor for Himself. He leaves nothing unsaid in order to strengthen the case. He reminds the master of the value of six years' service, and encourages him by the promise of enlarged blessing as a reward for his generous acting. This is simply beautiful. The Lord would not only have the generous thing done, but done in such a way as to gladden the heart of the one to whom it was done. In other words, our Father not only thinks of the substance of an action, but also the style. At times, we may brace ourselves up to the business of doing a kindness as a matter of duty; all the while thinking how hard it is to do it; thus robbing the act of its charms. It is the generous heart that adorns the generous act. We should do a kindness in such a way that assures the recipient that our heart is made glad by the act. This is the divine way: "When they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both." "It is meet that we should make merry, and be glad." "There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth" May we be a brighter reflection of the precious grace of our Father's heart.
Before closing our consideration of this interesting 15th chapter, we quote its last paragraph: "All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God; thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep; thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God year by year, in the place which, the Lord shall choose, thou and thy household. And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt eat it within thy gates, the unclean the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, as the hart. Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof. Thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water" (vv. 19-23).
Only that which was perfect was to be offered to God. The first-born, unblemished male, the apt figure of the spotless Lamb of God offered on the cross for us, the imperishable foundation of our peace, and the precious food of our souls in the presence of God. This was the divine thing; the assembly gathered together, around the divine center, feasting in the presence of God on that which was the appointed type of Christ, Who is our sacrifice, our center, and our feast – eternal and universal homage to His most precious and glorious Name.
