Deuteronomy 14.28, 29

“‘At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.’”

Gleaning was not the only provision made for the poor in the Law of God for ancient Israel. Every three years the tithe was to be devoted to the needs of the poor, as well as the Levites. Perhaps the tithe was kept in store by the Levites and given to the poor when the gleanings were slight. This would be much like the way churches administer their “deacons’ funds” in our day.

There would always be poor in Israel – a simple sociological fact. On the other hand, God insisted that there should be no poor among His people, none who went without and were reduced to the status of beggars (cf. Deut. 15.4). God knows how to provide for His own, and as there were to be none in Israel without material resources to enjoy and to use on behalf of others, so, in the Church, the Spirit of God ensures that all members are endowed with gifts to share in the work of building up the Body of Christ (Acts 4.32-37; 1 Cor. 12.7-11).

Churches must encourage all their members to receive the good gifts of God not as instruments for self-satisfaction, but as means to enrich all the members of the community in the grace and truth of God.