Memory verse: Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything.  1 Chronicles 29:11

Memory verse 2: “Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender” Proverbs 22:7

 

 

Old Testament views on debt

There is a fascinating promise in the old testament that I think deserves a look. It’s found in Deuteronomy 28

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. ² You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

⁷ “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

⁸ “The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

⁹ “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do.¹⁰ Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.

¹¹ “The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. ¹² The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. ¹³ If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. ¹⁴ You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.

Now i realize this story is addressing the nation of Isreal, but it is in the bible for a reason and we must look at the heart behind this passage. What was God trying to teach us here. I believe the lesson we can learn from this story is that one of the rewards for being obedient was being out of debt. My favorite verse in this story is 13; “… the Lord will make you the head and not the tail…”.  If i could put it a different way when it comes to our finances, “will you control your money, or will your money control you?” Do we want to take back control of our financial situation? Or are we content with struggling, living paycheque to paycheque, paying for things we’ve already lost interest in, or living in fear of that next big expense? Following the Lord’s way is the path to freedom! Including financial freedom! But warning, it requires hard work and perseverence.

 

Subsequently, if you continue the story in Deuteronomy, you will see the exact opposite for disobedience to the Lord, the curse of debt.  (read Deut. 28:15-44)

 

The story in Deuteronomy is a great reminder as to why we should strive to remove the shackles of slavery, our debts. As we learn more of what God says about money management, our obedience can only begin to grow (if we choose to follow the Word) We should treat debt elimination like our life depends on it.

Over the next couple days, we will continue to look at more aspects of debt such as co-signing, does God say anything about that?  As well as how to get out of debt; what’s your plan.

Prayer: Lord you are so good. All you ever wanted of us was to allow you to rule over our lives. To be number 1. God, forgive where we get distracted, where our desires overrule our logic, where our desires are bigger than our wallet. Lord, show me exactly how to break free of this bondage. Thank you that you will us all to freedom if we follow your ways, your Word promises that! In Jesus name, amen.