03/15/26 Weekly Bible Lesson: Giving Generously

Background of Text — The year of Jubilee is upon the people of Israel, and God gives specific instructions about how they are to deal with the poor among them. In the year of Jubilee, debts are to be forgiven, and the debtors who could not pay their debts are set free from their debt. God wants us to be generous to the poor among us. Specific instructions are given here that will help us address this issue in our day and age. In Matthew 25, Jesus addresses how to minister to Him. We do so by meeting the needs of the less fortunate among us.  

Deuteronomy 15:4-5 — God promises an opportunity for all of Israel to experience prosperity in the new land of promise, but it is a promise based on their complete obedience to all of God’s commands. In the land of promise, there shouldn’t be any poor among them. God would richly bless them if they obeyed all He commanded. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? However, some were missing out on this blessing from God because of disobedience. Some were poor. They had become poor through bad business decisions, which led them to borrow what they knew they couldn’t repay, but the crux of their bad decision was their disobedience to God. 

Deuteronomy 15:6 — Three promises are mentioned in this verse. First, God will bless them as He promised if they obey Him. A similar promise is made in Deuteronomy 28:11-12. “The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.” The second promise is, “you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.” Israel would be blessed with an overabundance of riches to share with others. The third promise is they would “rule over other nations, but no other nation would rule over them.” If they obeyed God, they wouldn’t have to be concerned about other nations ruling over them. 

Deuteronomy 15:7-8 — Two key words in these verses reflect a person who does not trust in God. They are significant in how some deal with the poor among us. Some are hard-hearted and tightfisted. Being hard-hearted and tightfisted is a sign that we lack the Lord’s compassion and empathy. A true sign of one who doesn’t trust God in everything is to be hard-hearted and tightfisted when it comes to the poor among us. Instead, God wants us to be generous. Give to the poor person what he needs. Open your heart and your fists and give as the Lord has blessed you. 

Deuteronomy 15:9-11 — To the hard-hearted and tightfisted, Moses gives a warning not to have a wicked heart in this matter. The words “be careful” are a command. With the year of Jubilee approaching, the lender might be thinking this isn’t a good time to be lending. With the year of debt forgiveness approaching, he might be thinking he will never see this loan repaid. The tendency not to give anything to the needy brother at this time would be showing ill will toward him. If we fail to be generous, the one in need may appeal to the Lord. If he does, then we may be found guilty of sinning against God. Verse 5 says we are to be careful to obey all his commands. God is commanding us to be generous even if the debt is never repaid. The realization is that the poor will always exist, so the command given is to be open-handed and give to their fellow Israelites and the poor and needy who were living among them. Being open-handed is the opposite of being tightfisted. It’s the result of having a heart of compassion. 

Matthew 25:42-45 — Jesus addresses the failure of the unrighteous. They had many opportunities to minister to Jesus by ministering to the needs of the less fortunate. They didn’t have the hearts of compassion that Jesus desires for those who follow Him. They were inactive and totally neglected the needs of the people around them. They missed the mission of Jesus. They had failed to help Jesus by failing to see and meet the needs of others. They simply did nothing to show they understood Jesus’s mission in coming to the world. 

God’s word instructs us to address the needs of humanity. Neglecting the least is a sin, and the result is eternal punishment. We must always heed and obey God’s word. James 4:17 teaches, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”  

Similarly, 1 John 3:17-18 says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 

Discussion Questions — What are some tangible ways we can help the poor today? How do we do this without questioning why they are poor in the first place?