The 7th Year

Have you ever noticed that numbers in the bible have particular meanings.  7 God created the world in 7 days. On the seventh day you should rest.  The seventh year is the year for forgiveness of debts.

Deuteronomy 15:1-3

New International Version (NIV)

The Year for Canceling Debts

15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. ² This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. ³ You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you.

 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2015:1-3&version=NIV

 

It was a command given to the Israelite nation to others within their nation.  As I have shared before, I have a goal to become debt free.  Through a series of changing events in the last month, I have been forced to look at a couple of things differently.  About two weeks ago, I felt God telling me that I needed to pay off my main house loan earlier than I was planning.  (The plan had it paying off in about 18 months.)

 

Over the past year, I had put a significant amount of money away into a Roth.  I also have a 401K that was there from what I had put away but wasn't gaining much.  Looking at the interest I would be paying out versus the loss from the fee of an early draw it made financial sense to pay off the loan.  I called my financial advisor and reviewed the plan.  When I told him what I wanted to do and how much I would need in my pocket he calculated what the draw would need to be and it came to an amazing amount.  $7,777.7777777777 (or rounded up $7,777.78) and isn't that amazing. 

 

The Hebrew word for seven occurs a total of 392 times in the Bible.⁽¹⁾ This is not only a multiple of seven but of seven times seven, 392 = 8 x 7 x 7. 392 is also remarkable for being the sum of the square of seven and the cube of seven, ie. 392 = (7 x 7) + (7 x 7 x 7) or 392 = 7² + 7³.

 

I accepted the amount as a final confirmation that this was the right thing to do with God's blessing.  As of 12/31/2013 my original house loan will be paid off.  I will still have a house renovation loan but I will be able to divert the payments that I was making on my main loan to that loan and retire it earlier than anticipated.  I have been in my house for 5 years and with this change and if I diligently divert the payments then my house will be paid off at the end of the 7th year.

 

My house is not perfect.  But it will be mine and I will be debt free.  Praise be to God and the favor that he has bestowed upon me!