Tuesday after the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on September 5, 2023 by under
Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:7-15 (NKJV)
15:7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.”
Devotion
In many ways and in many places in Scripture, God commands that we should show generosity. This can be very hard for us to do; if we have labored for what we have, it can be difficult to let it go. In this passage God also makes it very clear that He understands how we can justify a lack of generosity in our own minds. For example, if we know that the needy person’s debts are about to be canceled, we may think that this would be good reason not to show generosity. In this passage, that is very specifically called a “wicked thought.”
This passage also warns us against doing the bare minimum, especially for those who are newly set free. Those who would be in bondage would otherwise have next to nothing as they become free again. Generosity would demand that we give them something to live on as they get established.
The Law bids the Jews to remember—and it bids us to remember—we are not our own; we were bought at a price. The Jews who first heard this Law remembered their time in Egypt as slaves. We should remember that we were once enslaved to sin. Since we were redeemed, we should be generous with our brothers and sisters who are in need, because God has been exceedingly gracious and generous to us.
Collect: Almighty and Everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain that which Thou dost promise, make us to love that which Thou dost command; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
