Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Thursday January 1 2026
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Deuteronomy 15:4, 11 (ERV)-There should not be any poor people in your country, because the LORD your God is giving you this land. And the LORD will greatly bless you…There will always be poor people in the land. That is why I command you to be ready to help your brother or sister. Give to the poor in your land who need help.
Throughout the Bible, we are reminded of the plight of the poor and needy. Indeed, it is often how God’s people respond to the impoverished that stands as the real “test” of a person’s faithfulness to God. One scholar provides a fantastic breakdown of how the Old Testament instructed God’s people to respond to those in need. Notice a few of his observations:
“What is distinctive about the Old Testament response, according to Lohfink, is the unique and prototypical event of the exodus as an act of liberation and removal of the poor from the system that oppressed them.19 Let us, then, survey a selection of the documents as we find them in the different sections of the canon…. 1. The law insists that poverty must be addressed, and redressed, whatever its causes may be. The series of clauses in Leviticus 25 beginning ‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor . . .’ (vv. 25, 35, 39, 47) give no hint as to possible causes. It is not a matter of assigning blame. The question is, what is now to be done if a brother is in danger of sinking into poverty?…2. The law emphasizes the kinship/family structure of society as the key factor in preventing poverty and restoring people from it…. 3. Israel’s law included a range of measures which, taken together, formed an impressive and systemic welfare programme for those who were truly destitute; that is, mainly the landless and familyless.20 Thus there was the right of annual gleaning in the various harvests (Exod. 23:10–11; Deut. 24:18–22); the triennial tithe, during which 10% of all produce was stored to create a social fund for the support of the needy (Deut. 14:28–29);21 and the sabbatical year arrangements, which included the availability of what grew of itself on the fallow land (Exod. 23:10–11), the cancellation (or suspension) of debts (Deut. 15:1–11), and the freeing of Hebrew slaves (Deut. 15:12–18). The combination of all of these would have meant that something was available every year for the benefit of those who truly had no means for their own economic support. 4. The law insisted that the poor be treated with judicial equality in the whole legal process…. 5. The law typically addresses not the poor themselves but those who wield economic or social power. Whereas it is common to see ‘the poor’ as ‘a problem’, and to blame them or lecture them on what they must do to redeem their situation, Israel’s law puts the focus instead on those who actually have the power to do something, or whose power must be constrained in some way for the benefit of the poor. Thus the law addresses the creditor, not the debtor (Deut. 24:6, 10–13); employers, not day labourers (Deut. 24:14); slave-owners, not slaves (Exod. 21:20–21, 26–27; Deut. 15:12–18)…. 6. The law builds around its whole system of legislation on poverty a broad moral and emotional ethos. This includes the familiar Old Testament emphases on gratitude to, and imitation of, God as a motivation (see chapter 1), and compassion and generosity as key virtues (see above).23 7. The law makes care for the poor the litmus test of covenant obedience to the whole of the rest of the law. This is the remarkable thrust of Deuteronomy 26:12–15. The Israelite worshipper, bringing his offering in gratitude for the gift of the land and the harvest, is to declare that he has given the sacred portion to the LORD, and also to the poor and needy, as required by the triennial tithe law (Deut. 14:28–29). Only on that basis could he claim to have ‘not forgotten’ any of God’s commands…. It would be difficult to exaggerate the extent of the prophets’ engagement with the struggles of the poor in Israel…. That the victims of exploitation were also becoming materially destitute is clear from the way Amos, for example, contrasts their plight with the affluent lifestyle of those he refers to as wicked (e.g. Amos 4:1; 6:4–6); or Isaiah contrasts the accumulating estates and mansions of the wealthy with those who have no place left to live (Is. 5:8). Jeremiah contrasts the exploitative greed of Jehoiakim with the justice and generosity of Josiah towards the poor (Jer. 22:13–17)…. “2. Perhaps the major contribution of the prophets, and the major lesson we can learn from them in terms of the prophetic responsibility of the church today, lies simply in the fact that they saw what was going on. They were the mouthpiece of the God who sees–as Israel should have known ever since Exodus records that God had seen their suffering in Egypt, heard their cries of pain, and intervened on their behalf (Exod. 2: 23–25; 3: 7). A major part of the problem is that poverty becomes invisible and the poor inaudible. But not to the God of Israel. ‘I have been watching! declares the LORD’ (Jer. 7: 11). So the prophets first notice, then expose the grievances, then challenge those in power (kings and judges especially), who would prefer to look the other way. No wonder, then, that Ahab called Elijah ‘you troubler of Israel’, even though Ahab himself was the source of the trouble (1 Kgs. 18: 17–18). A government capable of doing what Jezebel and Ahab did to the family of a peasant farmer, Naboth, needed to be severely troubled, and Elijah did not shirk the task. 26”. (Christopher J. H. Wright, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, 172-177 (Kindle Edition): Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic)
A few things stand out here.
First, notice that the responsibility for helping the poor was placed upon every level of society: individual, familial, and civil. The last is very interesting when we consider that governing authorities were instructed to create a storehouse to help those in need.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29-At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Some criticize a “welfare” program by national government, which is unfortunate. The idea of such is based on the Word of God itself. Indeed, one of the reasons that God designed government was to help provide for those who were impoverished and mistreated. We see that from the instructions of King Lemuel to his son regarding the responsibilities of kings:
Proverbs 31:8-9-Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Notice that some of God’s greatest words of honor are for those in civil government who minister to the poor and needy, while some of His harshest condemnations are for kings and others who neglect the destitute.
Psalm 72:1-2-A Psalm Of Solomon. Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son. 2 He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice.
Isaiah 1:23-Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
Jeremiah 22:15-19-Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. 16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?” says the LORD. 17 “Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence.” 18 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They shall not lament for him, Saying, ‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’ They shall not lament for him, Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’ 19 He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
According to the Old Testament, God’s people were required to care for the poor and needy.
Second, the same ethics are taught in the New Testament for God’s people to care for the poor and needy (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37; John 12:1-6; Acts 6:1-6; Romans 13:1-8; Galatians 6:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 1 Timothy 5:3-16; James 2:14-26; 1 John 3:17-18). This work may be accomplished both individually and collectively (2 Corinthians 9:12-13).
What can we do-both individually and as a church-to better help those who are in need?
Lord, give us a heart for those in need. Help us to be more like Jesus. Amen.
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