Freely Received, Freely Give
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 15:1-11 (NASB)
“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. 2 This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the Lord’s remission has been proclaimed. 3 From a foreigner you may exact it, but your hand shall release whatever of yours is with your brother. 4 However, there will be no poor among you, since the Lord will surely bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, 5 if only you listen obediently to the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
7 “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; 8 but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. 9 Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you. 10 You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. 11 For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’
SUMMARY
Moses reminds the Israelites to cancel the debts of their neighbors and fellow Israelites at the end of every seven years. God also promises many blessings when obeying His commands to be generous to those in need. The Israelites were commanded to give generously to the needy and the poor.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
My husband and I have been looking for a Christian charity organization to donate a part of our wedding funds. We found out through the Compassion International organization that many children around the world lost their sponsors during the pandemic. We were planning to make a one-time donation and then we saw so many kids waiting for sponsors on the website. Deuteronomy 15:10-11 says, “You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’” We felt God was speaking to us through these passages and decided to sponsor one more kid from Compassion International. Yay!! We are so excited to share the love of Jesus with another kid!!
APPLICATION & PRAYER
Father God, I praise You for all Your blessings You have given me to live comfortably in this world. Thank You for Your message on giving generously to the poor. I pray that You help guide us on how we should use our resources to help those in need and pray for all the people who are struggling during this difficult time. We thank You for speaking to us through today’s QT passage and touching our hearts to love others more during this time of difficulty. We pray that the child that we sponsor can escape from poverty in the name of Jesus and find the new hope and comfort in Jesus. I pray that the child that we sponsor will be a light for those in darkness and that her heart will be touched by God’s love through us.
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