Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land

Deu 15:10  Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. 

Here is a law with regards to helping the poor. Needless to say, there will always be poor people everywhere and therefore God commanded: “Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land” (verse 11).

Israel is here commanded to lend or give when they have the means to do it: “Thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother” (verse 7). They are to be ready to lend to the poor among its brethren, not to harden its heart, or withheld their hands from a poor brother who asks for help.

Charity should be part of God’s children’s virtue. If the hand be shut, it is a sign the heart is hardened. A hardened heart is a sign of lovelessness. John wrote: “But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (1 John 3:17).

Bowels of compassion will produce liberal distributions: “Thou shalt not only stretch out thy hand to him to reach him something, but thou shalt open thy hand wide unto him, to lend him sufficient” (Deuteronomy 15:8). Sometimes, we are tempted to think when an opportunity to do charity presents itself, whether we should give anything. And, sometimes we gave reluctantly, blaming ourselves we were at the wrong place and at the wrong time. But God commands us to give cheerfully: “Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him” (verse 10).

We must carefully watch against all those secret suggestions which would divert us from our duty or discourage us in doing charity. When we have an occasion of demonstrating our Christian charity, we must do it: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

If a brother is hungry, feed him and not just pray for him. James wrote: “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?” (James 2:15-16).

Do not be grieved when you have to part with your money or possessions. The wise king wrote: “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase” (Proverbs 3:9). Thank God that you have the means to give. It shows you have been blessed by Him. Therefore, you are honouring God with the blessings He has blessed you when you do good works (Matthew 5:16).

God will remember our good works done to the saints and reward us for them: “because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto” (Deuteronomy 15:10b).

We serve Christ when we are serving our fellow brethren. When we show love for a brother, we are showing love for our Lord. Our Lord reckons a kindness shown to a Christian for His sake is if it were done to Him: “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

Opportunities to do good works are abundant; don’t miss it! Because if you miss it, you are missing out on an opportunity to serve Christ. 

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.