The Freedom Cycle

Jeremiah 34:11 

“But afterwards they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.”

Every seven years, the Israelites were supposed to free the Hebrew slaves and cancel their debt. They were free to go after that. Needless to say, they did not follow this decree from the Lord. Many years and decades of this went on, making slavery a lifestyle for some. The stage had already been set for the Babylonians to take and burn down the city and take the people into exile. Once they were captured, the Israelites belonged to the Babylonians, so you could say, what was the use of even keeping slaves at this point?

Just think how great it would be if all your debts were canceled every seven years. I doubt we would have a 30-year mortgage or credit cards. Business structures would have to change to fit within a timeframe of seven years. Proverbs says that the borrower is a slave to the lender, meaning you are a slave if you owe money, time, or possessions to someone else. For the Israelites, this seven-year clock was forgotten and not followed. So people stayed in debt, families stayed in debt, and their ancestors remained in debt because of their father or grandfather. You can see how this would play out. Heck, we can see it in our lives today. Slavery comes in many different forms, enslaving men, enslaving money, enslaving someone else’s time, you get the picture. Debt was okay with the Lord because you had six years to take care of it. It was not okay to be enslaved for longer than that.

In the verse above, the Israelites took back the people they had enslaved, going against the word of the Lord from Jeremiah. They freed them on the word of the Lord in verse 10, but by verse 11, they changed their minds. The Bible does not say why, but it angered the Lord. Today, understand that debt is not evil. The Hebrew slaves were working off debt in most cases, paying it back to the people they owed money to. That debt was supposed to be canceled in the seventh year. For some of us, debt is a thing we live with, but the Lord was never a fan of this. We have all heard of Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace, and I would implore you to get it, read it, and do the plan. But more so, go through your heart and cancel any debt of wrongs you may have against your friends, family, or coworkers. Give it over to the Lord and set them—and yourself—free from wanting paybacks.

1 Samuel 17:47 – And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

The battle is the Lord’s. Stop fighting with spears and swords against someone else’s heart—cancel the debt and give it to the Lord. He promised to give us peace that surpasses our understanding. You cannot experience that peace while holding onto someone in slavery.

Prayer: Father, I pray that we cancel the debt, forgive the wrongdoer, and wipe clean the slate of all the debts we harbor against anyone. I pray and thank you for a supernatural abundance of the fruit of the Spirit in my life, in Jesus’ name. I pray and thank you for a supernatural abundance in my finances that more than takes care of all of my debts. I pray that we use the wisdom You gave us in Your Word to never get into debt we cannot pay off quickly. In Jesus’ name, amen.