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Leviticus 25.35-38
35 “‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.’”
Leviticus 25.39-43
39 “‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.’”
Helping the poor in our day is typically a project accomplished “at a distance,” as it were. Christian advocates for the poor insist that we cannot truly help the poor unless we develop relationships of love with them, and this can mean having them live with us or going to live among them.
The Law of God never wants us to forget that people, even sinners and the poor, are human beings, made in the image of God. As such, they are to be the objects of our love, not our indifference or scorn. We cannot love those we do not know, and we cannot know people with whom we do not associate. Even the poor have much to offer in the way of help and work, and the Law of God expects them to be willing to offer what they can. Thus the poor love those who love them, and both of them love God as He directs, following the wise counsel of His holy and righteous and good Law (Rom. 7.12).
T. M. Moore
The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.