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This Debt Relief Practice Was No Scam

Hidden Nuggets Series #36 – “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release.” Deuteronomy 15:1-2

letters on small tiles that spell out the words "Debt Relief)How would the world be different if creditors were required to release the debt of individuals every seven years?

This actually happened in the Old Testament of the Bible as you can see from the verses above. God required the Hebrew people to release the debts of the poor every seven years. That’s right…if they still owed money at the seven-year interval, their debt was cancelled.

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If this seems like an odd thing, consider God has always had a special place in his heart for the poor. There are many verses in the Bible related to the proper treatment of those less fortunate. I see this as God’s way of giving them a fresh start and squashing any potential exploitation of the poor at the hands of the wealthy to carry on indefinitely.

Whatever the reason it’s clear God did not want his people staying in a perpetual state of debt.

I’ve often wondered how this practice impacted their feelings about borrowing and lending.

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