“You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there” (24:18). So, how should a free people live?

Most obviously, they should help other people gain their freedom. In fact, God insisted that His people allow slaves who managed to escape to live in freedom among them – they were not to be returned to their masters against their will (verses 15 and 16).

Of course, there is more than one way to lose your freedom, and many modern people still find their options limited by the amount of money they owe. But God warns His people not to make matters worse for those who find themselves in debt – we are not to try to make a profit off of the poor by charging them ruinous rates of interest (verses 19-20).

But we are also not to abuse our freedom to take advantage of others. For while it is certainly appropriate to enjoy our freedom to take a handful of grapes or kernels of grain while strolling through our neighbor’s field or vineyard, it would be wrong to fill up a basket, all the while claiming just to be having a snack (verses 24 and 25). We must not presume upon others’ hospitality as an excuse for theft, for our freedom ends where our neighbors’ rights begin.

And while the ancient Israelites had been set free from bondage to Pharaoh, and while Christians are free from bondage to sin and death, we have a responsibility to serve the God Who has redeemed us. That’s why we must keep all the promises we have made to Him (verses 21-23). That’s why we must worship Him only in the way He prescribes (verse 17). That’s why we must bring Him only the best and most pure of our offerings (verse 18). Does the One Who set us free deserve anything less?

Deuteronomy 23:15-25 (NASB)

15 “You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.
16 “He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.
17 “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute.
18 “You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the LORD your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.
19 “You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest.
20 “You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countryman you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.
21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you.
22 “However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you.
23 “You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God, what you have promised.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket.
25 “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.