Lending To The Poor

Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. – Deuteronomy 15:9  (NET)

The above is preceded by the following statement: “If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition” (15:7).  This is rather straightforward, as it demands compassion towards those that are poor and impoverished.  The next verse informs us as to the response that should be undertaken as a result of this compassion, which is “Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs” (15:8).  As we explore what surrounds this statement, we’ll also come to find that there is no insistence that there needs to a determination as to the reason for the impoverishment.  In addition, while the language of lending does indicate that this is not necessarily to be a hand-out (as the ninth verse brings in the context of the Jubilee and the release of debts), the language also carries the connotation that one should lend with the expectation that it is a gift that will not be returned. 

Also, we note with interest that the responsibility for provision for the poor lies with the community of individual Israelites, as they act with compassion towards the impoverished based on personal relationships.  This then makes these activities truly charitable, marking yet one more way in which God’s chosen people would function as lights to the surrounding nations, reflecting the glory of God as they were intended to do.  It is impossible to escape the fact that what it is that Moses, who speaks to Israel on God’s behalf, describes as sin, in that it is not lending to the poor (because of a calculation that it will not be returned) when it is in one’s power to do so, that is regarded as sin.  Certainly, this must be quite important to those that earnestly desire to avoid sin and to please God. 

Reinforcing what has been said, we then read “You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt” (15:10).  Earlier in the chapter, we find it said that “there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that He is giving you as an inheritance” (15:4).  This seems to stand at odds with what is to be found in the eleventh verse, which is that “There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land” (15:11).  Clearly, the statement of the fourth verse, that “there should not be any poor among you,” is meant to be idealistic, motivating the community to sacrificial and compassionate sharing that will alleviate poverty; whereas the statement of the eleventh verse is indicative of the reality that there will always be those that, for one reason or another, are poor.  Again, we are not here asked to ascertain the reasons for the poverty.  That which we accept as the Word of God simply informs us in regards to that which experience confirms, which is that, regardless of the level of affluence achieved by a particular society, there will always be those left unreached by prosperity.  Thus, neither prosperity nor poverty is condemned, whilst God commands that poverty be addressed, directly, by His people (not through the mediation of governmental entities). 

From this, we learn that in this age, and in this present world that awaits the consummation of God’s new creation, poverty will never eradicated.  The poor will always be with us.  Some, regardless of how much compassion is exercised towards them through the members of the community, and regardless of how much is lent to them in response to their impoverished state, will always be poor.  Apparently, this is irrelevant.  We are to lend.  We are to share.  We are to exercise that compassion (again, directly, as the people of God) again and again, without regard to the fact that it may be wasteful.  While we certainly bear in mind the necessity of stewarding what has been given to us by God, we also humbly and rightly acknowledge that it is what God has given His people that He demands to be generously lent, while also trusting that He will meet the needs of His people that are seeking to please Him.  Yes, this is what God demands of His people; and honestly, it looks and feels a bit foolish.  At a certain level, it makes absolutely no sense.  Based on the fact that the lack of poor among us is an ideal, whereas the reality is that there will always be poor among us, the constant lending seems like a patently ridiculous exercise.  It is almost as if we are being informed that all of the compassion, and all of the generosity, and all of the lending without calculation accomplishes nothing. 

Indeed, it is almost as foolish as the idea that God would carry out His activity of redemption for the world through the event of the cross.  It’s as ridiculous as the notion of proclaiming that a man that was crucified as a criminal at the hands of the Romans was resurrected from the grave and now lives as the Lord of all creation.  It is as nonsensical as the idea that there is power that goes forth, transforming humanity and creation itself, when individuals speak of that individual as crucified and resurrected and Lord of all.  Surely, we have no qualms in engaging in a little bit of foolishness.