In their writings, the Bible’s authors included many of God’s provisions for the poor, the strangers, the widows, and the fatherless. We have records of this all the way back to Mount Sinai. “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove” (Exodus 23:10-11, , NKJV).
Read Leviticus 23:22 and Deuteronomy 15:11. However different the context may be from our lives today, what principles should we take away from these verses?
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It generally is understood that “brother” here refers to fellow Israelites or fellow believers. We also think of them as the worthy poor or “the least of these My brethren.” The Psalms give direction on how we should treat those in need. “Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3-4, , NKJV). This passage indicates our involvement in ways beyond just providing food.
Then there are promises to those who help the needy. “He who gives to the poor will not lack” (Proverbs 28:27, NKJV). “The king who judges the poor with truth, his throne will be established forever” (Proverbs 29:14, NKJV). And King David noted, “Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalm 41:1, NKJV). This, then, always had been a priority in ancient Israel even if, at times, it had been lost sight of.
In contrast, even in more modern times, particularly in England, under the impact of what has been known as “Social Darwinism,” many thought that not only was there no moral imperative to help the poor but that it was, in fact, wrong to do so. Instead, following the forces of nature, in which the strong survive at the expense of the weak, “Social Darwinists” believed that it would be detrimental to society to help the poor, the sickly, the indigent because, if they multiplied, they would only weaken the social fabric of the nation as a whole. However cruel, this thinking was the logical outgrowth of belief in evolution and the false narrative it proclaims.
| How should the gospel, the idea that Christ died for everyone, impact how we treat everyone, regardless of who they are? |
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/monday-gods-provision-for-poor/
