Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 25:35-55
Harold stepped out of the downtown bank, his tailored coat sheltering him from the cold weather. The sidewalks were wet from rain. At the corner, an old man sat on the sidewalk holding a sign that read: “Lost my job. Anything Helps. God bless.”
Harold looked briefly at the beggar and then walked right past him. As he walked away, Harold said to himself, “Every man has to pull himself up by his own bootstraps. My father suffered hardship, but never asked for a handout. I have what I have because I worked hard for it. Charity only creates dependency.”
It is true that charity can create dependency, but that doesn’t mean we should never be charitable. In fact, throughout Bible history, Yahweh consistently commanded His people to help the poor. One example is Leviticus 25.
The middle of the 25th chapter of Leviticus contains instructions regarding the ownership of land and houses. If an Israelite became poor and needed to sell his land, then he and his kinsman-redeemer had the right to buy it back. If that never became possible, then the land became his again in the Year of Jubilee.
On the other hand, if a man became poor and sold a house inside a walled city, then he only had one year to redeem it. After that the ownership transferred permanently.
Lev. 25:35 ¶ ‘Now if a brother of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a sojourner or a foreign resident, that he may live with you.
Take note of the word “sustain”. The Israelites were commanded to sustain a brother who became poor.
Lev. 25:36 Do not take usurious interest from him, but fear your God, that your brother may live with you.
Look at the words “usurious interest”. One way to help a poor man is to lend him money at 0% interest.
Lev. 25:37 You shall not give him your silver at interest nor your food for gain.
Lev. 25:38 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
Lev. 25:39 ¶ ‘If a brother of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service.
Lev. 25:40 He shall be with you as a hired man, as if he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee.
One option a poor man had was to sell himself as a slave. If that happened, the owner had to treat him as a hired man. The slavery ceased at the year of jubilee.
Lev. 25:41 He shall then go out from you, he and his sons with him, and shall return to his family, that he may return to the possession of the land of his fathers.
The reversion of the ownership of the land to the original owner in the year of jubilee prevented permanent poverty.
Lev. 25:42 For they are My slaves whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold in a slave sale.
Lev. 25:43 You shall not have dominion over him with brutality, but you shall fear your God.
Don’t miss the word “brutality”. Israelites were prohibited from treating each other brutally.
Lev. 25:44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the nations that are around you.
Lev. 25:45 And also you may acquire from the sons of the foreign residents who sojourn among you, from them and their families who are with you; as for those whom they have begotten in your land, they also may become your possession.
Lev. 25:46 You may even give them as an inheritance to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your brothers, the sons of Israel, you shall not have dominion over one another with brutality.
The rules regarding owning other people were different depending on whether they were Israelites or foreigners.
Lev. 25:47 ¶ ‘Now if the means of a sojourner or of a foreign resident with you becomes sufficient, and a brother of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a sojourner who resides with you or to the descendants of a sojourner’s family,
Lev. 25:48 then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him,
Lev. 25:49 or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
Once again we see that an Israelite had the right to redeem himself or be redeemed from slavery.
Lev. 25:50 He then with his purchaser shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years. It is like the days of a hired man that he shall be with him.
When an Israelite sold himself to a foreigner, it was not a permanent sale. He always became a free man in the year of jubilee.
Lev. 25:51 If there are still many years, he shall return part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption;
Lev. 25:52 and if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he shall return the amount for his redemption.
Lev. 25:53 Like a man hired year by year he shall be with him; he shall not have dominion over him with brutality in your sight.
Foreigners were also prohibited from treating an Israelite brutally.
Lev. 25:54 Even if he is not redeemed by these means, he shall still go out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him.
Lev. 25:55 For the sons of Israel are My slaves; they are My slaves whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.
Charity can create dependency, but that doesn’t mean we should never be charitable. Just as Yahweh commanded the Israelites to help their fellow Israelites who became poor, so too helping the poor is a theme throughout the Bible.
Multiple proverbs teach the concept that kindness to needy people is kindness to God Himself (see Proverbs 14:31 and 19:17). One of the Psalms of Asaph contains a command to protect the poor (see Psalm 82:3-4). The prophet Isaiah reminded the Israelites that giving food to hungry people was a method of fasting (see Isaiah 58:6-7).
Jesus blessed the poor (Luke 6:20) and preached the gospel to them (Luke 4:18). He declared that giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, and clothing to the naked was the equivalent of doing it to God (see Matthew 25:34-40).
Shortly after the day of Pentecost, the new believers in Jerusalem who had wealth sold property and possessions in order to give help to those who were without (see Acts 2:44-45). The apostles appointed seven men to make sure the Hellenistic widows were included in the daily serving of food (see Acts 6:1-7). When the prophet Agabus predicted a famine, the believers in Antioch sent money to help the disciples in Jerusalem (see Acts 11:27).
James wrote that if a Christian blesses a destitute man without giving him material help, then his faith is dead (see James 2:14-17). Likewise John wrote that if a Christian has material goods and does not give some of it to people who need it, then the love of God is not in him (see 1 John 3:17).
It is good to avoid creating dependency, but we must help those who have need. We need to find the balance where we help those who genuinely need help without creating a mentality of entitlement and dependency.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”