If there be amongst you a poor man, any one of thy brethren in one of thy gates, in thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy brother in need;
Deuteronomy 15 sets the rules for the seventh year, when Israel cancelled debts. This verse turns from national policy to the single heart. It names two ways to fail a poor neighbour: a hard heart and a shut hand.
The whole chapter teaches generosity, and the release year stands behind it. The verse also sets the need inside the land God gives, and one writer draws the conclusion:
Chapter 15 teaches each one among the people to consider their poor brothers with liberality and grace. That care was also made sure to them by the year of release, which applied to debts and to Hebrew slaves. The one who respected the Lord in His poor was to place his dependence in God. God would bless him for acting according to His commandment, for the poor were His poor.
The verse calls the needy man one of your brothers. Israel broke that bond in Nehemiah's day, and one writer names two things wrong with their conduct:
There was more than forgetfulness of relationship in this conduct on the part of the Jews. There was also positive disobedience... As those who had themselves received grace, they were to express that grace to their brothers. But instead they denied the truth of their redeemed position. They showed a spirit of harshness and oppression for the sake of gain, and broke the plainest instructions of the word of God.
The command starts inside. The hand closes only after the heart hardens, so a law about money exposes more than money:
Here the deep springs of the poor selfish heart are uncovered and judged. There is nothing like grace for bringing to light the hidden roots of evil in human nature. A man must be renewed in the very deepest springs of his moral being before he can carry divine love. Even those whom grace has renewed have to watch constantly against the ugly forms of selfishness that our fallen nature dresses itself in. Nothing but grace can keep the heart wide open to every form of human need.
The positive side of the command, repeated twice in the passage, is not merely to give but to open the hand wide. That posture is borrowed from God Himself:
How lovely are those words, "You shall open your hand wide!" They breathe the very air of heaven. An open heart and a wide hand are like God. "The Lord loves a cheerful giver," because that is exactly what He is Himself... We are not only saved by grace. We stand in grace, live under the blessed reign of grace, and breathe the very atmosphere of grace. And God calls us to be the living display of grace, not only to our brothers but to the whole human family.
The next verses warn against a specific piece of arithmetic: refusing a loan because the release year is close and the money will never come back. That calculation is ruled out:
If there was a case of genuine need, even though the year of release was near, this could not be an excuse for refusing help at the time (v.9), though it was then almost certain that the debt would never be repaid. But God always repays faith. So they should willingly give with a full heart, expecting nothing in return, for when this is our attitude, God will always reward it in the most fitting way.
Another common excuse — that the poor man brought it on himself — is answered just as directly:
Whatever the reason a person may be poor, the Lord did not excuse Israel from the responsibility of helping with material support. Some have dared to say that if a person is poor it is his own fault, but whether we think this way or not, it is our fault if we fail to give him help.
Nabal shows the closed hand in action. He was a rich man who refused David's request for help:
Grace would keep the heart wide open to every object of need, while selfishness would close it against every applicant. Nabal should have obeyed the word, whatever he knew about David. But his selfishness ran too deep. It kept him from obeying the Lord's word and from loving the Lord's anointed.
The New Testament uses the same shut hand as a test of love for God:
One has the means of helping and relieving, but instead of this he "shuts up his heart" from him, the sufferer... The apostle puts it carefully and calmly, but earnestly and searchingly: "How does the love of God dwell in him?" He does not ask me to die for my brother. He does ask that my love should go out to someone who is suffering — from cold or sickness, hunger, or other pains. It should go out with means beyond my own real needs.
- Open, because God is open. A wide hand is not extra credit; it is a family likeness — "an open heart and a wide hand are like God."
- Open the heart first. The hand shuts only after the heart hardens. So the command reaches the "deep springs" of selfishness before it reaches the wallet.
- Open toward a brother. The needy man is bound to you by relationship, and those who have received grace are meant to pass grace on.
- Open without excuses. Whatever put the man in poverty, the duty stands. If he goes without help, the fault is ours, not his.
- Open, and God settles the account. The giver depends on God, who blesses him for it. And the closed hand, as Nabal shows, refuses God's own word.
but thou shalt open thy hand bountifully unto him, and shalt certainly lend him on pledge what is sufficient for his need, [in that] which he lacketh.
Deuteronomy 15 sets the rules for the seventh year, when Israel released debts. Verse 8 turns from the calendar to one poor neighbour at your gate, and settles both what your hand does and how much it gives.
One writer reads the whole chapter as a call to grace, with the year of release standing behind it.
Chapter 15 teaches every one of the people to treat their poor brothers with generosity and grace. The year of release made that certain to them as well, and it covered debts and Hebrew slaves. The man who in this way respected the Lord in His poor was to depend on God. God would bless him for acting according to His commandment, for the poor were His poor.
Older translations read "open your hand wide." That open hand describes God before it describes anyone else.
How lovely are those words, "You shall open your hand wide!" They breathe the very air of heaven. An open heart and a wide hand are like God. "God loves a cheerful giver," because that is precisely what He is Himself. He "gives generously to all without reproach." And He would grant to us the rare and most exquisite privilege of being imitators of Him. Marvellous grace! … We are not only saved by grace. We stand in grace, live under the blessed reign of grace, and breathe the very atmosphere of grace. God calls us to be living displays of that grace, not only to our brothers but to the whole human family.
The verse fixes the amount by the borrower's lack, not by the lender's convenience.
So verse 8 tells Israelites to "open your hand wide." They were to lend a poor person whatever he needs, without the least grudging. This was under law. The person had to pay it back if he was able, though the seventh year would cancel the debt. The New Testament urges believers to give, not just to lend. If we give as to the Lord, the Lord will take full account. Proverbs 19:17 already says this: "Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed." So how good it is to gladly give with no strings attached. Faith can surely rest simply on the Lord.
Israel had a personal reason to lend freely.
In Deuteronomy 15 we find a similar principle in the year of release. We need not go into detail, but the passage reminds them of their own place. They had been slaves themselves, and if God had delivered them, they should cultivate the same spirit He had shown. This was how they were to imitate God.
Israel later did the very opposite of this command.
Since they were themselves recipients of grace, they were to express that grace to their brothers. But instead of this they denied the truth of their redeemed position, and, showing a spirit of harshness and oppression for the sake of gain, they violated the plainest commands of the word of God.
The command meets resistance inside the giver.
Here the deep springs of the poor selfish heart are uncovered and judged. There is nothing like grace for making the hidden roots of evil in human nature show themselves. A man must be renewed in the very deepest springs of his moral being before he can carry divine love. And even those whom grace has renewed must watch constantly against the hideous forms of selfishness that our fallen nature puts on.
One writer was asked whether a Christian should turn to public relief. He answered from this verse.
We consider it a disgrace to Christians to let a brother or sister turn to public relief, if they know about it. It is their high privilege to minister to their brother's need. "You shall open your hand wide to your poor brother." This was a command under the law of Moses, and surely it should speak to our hearts. If a Jew was told to open his hand wide to the poor, how much more should we? We believe there is ample provision in the Church of God to meet the need of all its members. What we need is more grace — more faith.
- Received — Israel had been slaves, and God set them free. Having received grace, they were to pass it on. To refuse was to deny their own place.
- Opened — the wide hand is God's own. He gives generously to all without reproach, and calls His people to imitate Him.
- Measured — the neighbour's need sets the amount, not the giver's comfort. The New Testament turns the loan into a gift, and the Lord keeps the account.
- Guarded — the command exposes selfishness, so we must watch our hearts. More grace, not more willpower, keeps the hand open.
- Enlarged — if this bound Israel under law, it binds us far more. The shortage is never supply but faith.