14:22–27 Only Deuteronomy mandates a tithe of all produce be set aside and taken to the central sanctuary. Other texts give instructions for tithing, but they have more the appearance of an offering than an obligation (Num. 18:21–32; Lev. 27:30–32). In Deuteronomy this is one of the obligations of worship. It may also be a part of the special concern in Deuteronomy for those dependent on the tithe. The tithe here is specified only for three types of produce. This tithe would amount to over a month’s supply of these foods. The details of how it is to be dispensed at the temple are not specified, other than that it is eaten as a festival celebration. It may be that the tithe is to be brought at the time of the fall festival pilgrimage, when the harvest is complete, since that is the only time it can be calculated. Since there are three festivals, each a week in length, it may be that food is to be stored there until the next harvest.

It is not intended for the entire tithe to be consumed by the person bringing the offering. Rather this is the means by which all the Levites (which would include the priests) could join together in the celebration, as specified in Deut. 14:27. Such festivals are not merely a means of celebrating redemption and the divine blessing; they are also a means of supporting the whole temple system and all the dependents of the people. The logistics would change over time, as evident from the support system of the temple outlined in the last chapter of Leviticus. The tithe there also includes animals (Lev. 27:32–33), which could not be redeemed but belonged to the temple.

It would not be practical to bring the tithe to the central sanctuary from a distance because of the great quantity of food “when the Lord your God blesses you” (Deut. 14:24). The food would be sold for silver (minted coins did not exist at this time in Israel) and then exchanged for any kind of food desirable for the festival. The tithes and provision of the firstborn animals legislated in Deuteronomy would be a generous contribution for the Levites and all other needy people, as well as providing for a celebration for the farmer of the blessing of harvest.

14:28–29 The tithe of the third and sixth years are taken not to the central sanctuary but to the gate of the local city. These tithes are to be distributed there to the landless, namely, the Levites, non-Israelite neighbors, orphans, and widows. This provision would extend for two years and would be an important way of honoring the Lord with daily work. This kind of generosity is the means of blessing. Societies that provide for their poor will always receive much more benefit in return.

This tithe for the Levites is not reconciled with the tithe for the Levites specified in Numbers 18:21–32. There the entire tithe is given to the Levites; the Levites in turn give a tithe of this amount to the priests. Since Deuteronomy envisages a much later time in the history of Israel, with a king, central sanctuary, and pilgrimages, it may be that the legislation of Numbers provides for the earlier centuries, when Israel is a tribal federation.

No tithe is specified for the seventh year, since in that year the land is not to be cropped. One aspect of the Sabbath confession is a seventh year in addition to the seventh day (Ex. 23:10–12). In that year it is made clear that all of the land belongs to the Lord, as the yield of the land is made freely available for everyone.

15:1–6 These verses speak of a seven-year cycle, much like the requirement for the land to lie fallow in the seventh year for the sake of the poor (Ex. 23:10–11). These verses seem to presume that practice but add to it the requirement for debts to be released as well. This was the practice in the time of Nehemiah, at least (Neh. 10:31). Debts would normally come due at harvest time, the occasion of new revenue. If debts cannot be paid in years in which there is crop revenue, they must be waived in the seventh year, which includes no harvest for the landowner. The person owing the money is “his neighbor, his brother” (Deut. 15:2), most likely an actual relative but certainly a fellow Hebrew. This remission does not pertain to business debts that might be made with other non-Israelites. The main objective is to provide relief from indebtedness that can result in the inability to recover the use of one’s own land.

Remission of debt establishes stability within the community. This is fundamental to covenant relationship, as emphasized in the exhortation of verses 4–6. Israel is not to have within her bounds any poor who are not in some way provided for by the care of the community.

15:7–11 Since the seventh year can be calculated, it might be tempting to deny help in the fifth or sixth year, knowing there might be no repayment at all. But the spirit of the covenant is not to do as little as possible in order to meet the demands of the covenant. The goal is always to provide as much help as needed; when the poor are provided for, everyone fares better. This is the way that “God will bless you” (v. 10). That “there will never cease to be poor” (v. 11) might seem to be a contradiction to the assertion that “there will be no poor” (v. 4), but each of these statements speaks to the same reality. There will always be people who come into poverty; illness and death are not respecters of persons. On the other hand, a society that always cares for those in difficult circumstances will always benefit.

15:12–18 Provision for forgiveness of debt is to be made in accordance with the seven-year sabbatical cycle. A more severe form of debt would be a case in which someone can no longer borrow money but is required to give up land as collateral and enter the service of his creditor. The time of such servitude is limited to seven years. The seven-year period of labor is not related to the sabbatical cycle but begins when the person starts the term of service. The provisions for a maximum of six years of service are related to those found in Exodus 21:1–2. Deuteronomy augments those provisions in several respects. Freedom is inclusive of female as well as male servants (Deut. 15:12). In Exodus a woman in debt servitude is under the control of her master (Ex. 21:4, 7–10); if the master has given the servant as a wife, she remains with the master. If a man gives his daughter for debt, the master must let her be redeemed or treat her as a wife. As in the case of the tenth word, concerning coveting (Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21), the woman is given an independent status in Deuteronomy, demonstrating a consistent concern for the rights of the woman. A further benefit in Deuteronomy is that all debt servants must be given abundant provision in order to enable them to regain independent status (15:13–15). The regulations for indebted servants make provision for someone to permanently work for another person if he decides that is preferable.

The jubilee regulations for release of debt servants and restoration of property make provisions for the clan, aggregates of families that are a subset of the tribe. Those regulations prevent loss of property to the tribe. Under those regulations, release from debt and the restoration of property happens on the fiftieth year (Lev. 25:10, 13, 28). If a family becomes indentured to a benefactor, it works only until the fiftieth year, at which time it returns to its clan (Lev. 25:39–41). A fifty-year span would encompass most of the life of an individual. Freedom in the fiftieth year is thus not as relevant to the individual as it is to the group, which is to be reintegrated with its tribal family. In this way one tribe does not lose property to another. This is in keeping with the principle that women who inherit land must marry within their own tribe (Num. 36:5–9). In addressing situations of debt relating to the clan, Leviticus makes no mention of the seven-year release provided for in Deuteronomy.

It is likely that the jubilee law of Leviticus addresses the situation of the person who chooses to become a permanent debt servant. The commitment of servitude would not extend perpetually for the family, which would receive its freedom in the fiftieth year. In this way property would always revert to the original clan and families would be able to live in self-sufficiency. There were to be no permanent debt-servant clans.

Israel is reminded repeatedly of the redemption that they received when slaves in Egypt. They are children of God (Deut. 14:1), and thus they are expected to conduct their lives according to the mercy they have received from their father. Laws of debt relief are to be regarded not as a burden but as a testimony to their own beliefs about how God redeemed them from slavery.