5-13-20 REsiST Coercion

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 NET

Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

Deuteronomy 15:1–18 NET

At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation of debts. This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person; he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite, for it is to be recognized as “the Lord’s cancellation of debts.” You may exact payment from a foreigner, but whatever your fellow Israelite owes you, you must remit. However, there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that he is giving you as an inheritance,if you carefully obey him by keeping all these commandments that I am giving you today. For the Lord your God will bless you just as he has promised; you will lend to many nations but will not borrow from any, and you will rule over many nations but they will not rule over you. If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition.Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs.Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned.You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land. If your fellow Hebrew—whether male or female—is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant go free.If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed. You must supply them generously from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress—as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you to do this thing today. However, if the servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, you shall take an awl and pierce a hole through his ear to the door. Then he will become your servant permanently (this applies to your female servant as well). You should not consider it difficult to let him go free, for he will have served you for six years, twice the time of a hired worker; the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

Deuteronomy 15:1–5 NET

At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation of debts. This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person; he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite, for it is to be recognized as “the Lord’s cancellation of debts.” You may exact payment from a foreigner, but whatever your fellow Israelite owes you, you must remit. However, there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that he is giving you as an inheritance,if you carefully obey him by keeping all these commandments that I am giving you today.

Deuteronomy 24:17–22 NET

You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do all this. Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there, you must not return to get it; it should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow so that the Lord your God may bless all the work you do.When you beat your olive tree you must not repeat the procedure; the remaining olives belong to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard you must not do so a second time; they should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt; therefore, I am commanding you to do all this.

Deuteronomy

Society Demands from: Sabbath Depends upon.

“Sabbath is not simply the pause that refreshes; it is the pause that transforms.”

“Moses knows that prosperity breeds amnesia”

“Moses is very big on remembering, because he knows that forgetting is a huge temptation in an affluent environment.”

Society Idolizes: Sabbath Idles.

“Godmaking amid anxiety is a standard human procedure.

“Sabbath breaks that gradation caused by coercion. On the Sabbath:

You do not have to do more

you do not have to sell more

you do not have to control more

you do not have to know more

you do not have to have your kids in ballet or soccer

you do not have to be younger or more beautiful

you do not have to score more

Because this one day breaks the patter of coercion, all are like you, equal - equal worth, equal value, equal access, equal rest.”

Society Consumes: Sabbath Contributes

“It the land is possession, then the proper way of life is to acquire more. If the land is inheritance, then the proper way of life is to enhance the neighborhood and the extended family so that all members may enjoy the good produce of the land.”

Society Coerces: Sabbath Cooperates