Leviticus 19:9, Corners of your field.Leaving the corners of the fields unharvested, and leaving the gleanings in one’s field for the poor was a wonderful way to help the impoverished and disadvantaged. There was no welfare system in the Torah for those who were able to work. The Bible teaches that if a man doesn’t work, neither should he eat (2 Thess 3:10), and that a righteous man provides for his household (1 Tim 5:8). At the same time, Yeshua said that there will be poor people (John 12:8). Helping the poor is a timeless principle of how YHVH expects his people to show love for others. The Torah here as understood by the Jewish sages teaches that we are first obligated to help the needy of our spiritual family, immediate physical family, extended family, and then any poor in general (Deut 15:7–8 cp. Deut 14:28–29 and 26:12–13). What do you do to help the poor? When was the last time you extended your hand of love to a person in need? (Let’s not forget what Yeshua teaches us in Matt 25:31–46. Also note Jas 1:27; John 3:16.)
Psalm 41:1, Blessed is he who considers the poor. This passage makes it clear that helping the poor is like a spiritual insurance policy that pays off in one’s own time of need. The old adage, “What goes around comes around” applies here. The only difference is that this law of reciprocity isn’t chance driven, but YHVH instituted and orchestrated, for verse one says that YHVH will deliver the who blesses the poor in his own time of trouble.
From verse one to verse three, YHVH promises to care for those who help the poor in the following ways:
Protect and preserve his life (verse 2).
Deliver him from his enemies (verse 2).
Sustain and restore one who is sick (verse 3).
This is an insurance policy pays rich dividends in YHVH’s spiritual economy.
The Bible on Giving to the Poor
Multiple times, the Scriptures enjoins those who have been blessed materially to help those who are poor. In fact, YHVH even has a special place in his heart for a certain class of individuals who have fallen into poverty, namely, the widows and the fatherless (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19; 26:12–13; 1 Tim 5:3). Moreover, Yeshua declared that the poor would always be among us (Matt 26:11), so there will never be a lack of opportunity for the so-called haves to help the have-nots. Furthermore, YHVH promises to bless us when we give to the poor (Ps 41:1–3) as well as to those who have dedicated their lives to serving YHVH’s people through the ministry (Deut 14:29; 16:14; 26:12–13).
In Deuteronomy 15:7, we discover that there should be levels of priorities in our giving to the poor. Our first responsibility is to help a poor person who is a brother, that is, who is a member of our immediate family, or someone who is like a brother to us. Second, we are to help those in need who reside in our gates, or are a member of our immediate community. Finally, and last, our charitable is to go toward those who are in need in our own land or country. The idea here is that our charitable giving is to go first to those who live the closest to us, and then go out from there geographically as we are able to do so financially.
