The Lord Blesses Those Who Bless Others
Today’s Passage – Deuteronomy 15 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Galatians 1 – 3; Proverbs 6; Psalm 26 – 30)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 51:11
Read the “0306 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this passage –
Have you ever hesitated to give because you worried about having enough left for yourself?
“Did You Write Your Bible Today?”
“1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release. 3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; 4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: 5 Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. 6 For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. 7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.” (Deuteronomy 15:1-8)
In our reading today, God, through Moses, is continuing to prepare the Israelites for life in their new home. They are about ready to cross the Jordan River and possess the Land of Canaan. God promises them that He is going to bless them abundantly and that they would have way more than they needed; so much so, that God commands them to release anybody that owed them money of the debt that they owed every seven years. Every seventh year, all debts would be forgiven. The reason why the creditors could do this was because God was going to see to it that they would make so much in the first six years that the loss they took in the seventh year would not matter. The shrewd and selfish businessman might think that he would only lend out money in the early part of the six years so that he could make the most interest on the debt as possible, but God commanded them to make sure the poor people got the money they needed even if it was close to the seventh year. The fact is that God made sure that His people were very prosperous, though He acknowledged that there would always be a few poor among them.
The Blessings of Generosity
However, in a godless society there is more than just a few poor, there will be many who are poor and few that are prosperous. The blessings that God gave Israel made the whole nation prosperous with few exceptions, which allowed them to be very generous with the relatively small number of poor people who were among them.
“11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11)
“7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.” (Mark 14:7)
How much is enough? When will you have enough that you finally get to the place where you can start giving some of the excess away to others that have a need? I am reminded of the conversation that Esau had with his brother Jacob. Jacob had prepared a valuable gift of livestock for his brother, but Esau said: “I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself” (Genesis 33:9). The problem with most of us is that we think that we will never have enough and that what we have will run out, and that fear keeps us from giving away anything. The truth is, however, that when we realize that God is the source of everything that we have and that God wants us to be generous to others, we can then let go; and when we finally let go, God blesses us with more. I have had this struggle my whole life. I worry about running out, but God keeps giving us more. God just keeps giving to us, but He expects us to keep giving back to Him by giving to the work of the Lord and by giving to people who have need.
Lessons from Proverbs
Consider the following verses from Proverbs:
“He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.” (Proverbs 14:31)
“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” (Proverbs 19:17)
“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.” (Proverbs 21:13)
“He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)
“He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.” (Proverbs 28:27)
“The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.” (Proverbs 29:7)
Application
Our church has an “Others Fund” which is set up to be a help to people within the church who are struggling to pay their bills or keep food on the table. Giving to this fund is a way for people to be a blessing to those who are struggling. But, there are many other ways to help individuals. Offering them a ride to someplace they need to go; watching their kids for them so they can go to an appointment or to the store; having them over for a meal; etc. The key is for you and I to think of people other than ourselves, and consider what we can do to make their lives a bit easier.
This week, look for one person in need and bless them intentionally (a meal, a note, financial help if able).
Posted in Devotions, Thoughts from Deuteronomy and tagged Biblical Generosity, Blessing Others, Cheerful Giving, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 15, Generosity, Giving, Giving to the Poor, God's Provision, Overcoming Fear, Proverbs, Scarcity Mindset by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Remember Who Butters Your Bread: A Warning from Deuteronomy for Christians Today
Listen to today’s passage – Deuteronomy 6 – 8
Follow along on Blue Letter Bible – Deuteronomy 6
Second Milers also read – 2 Corinthians 1 – 4; Proverbs 3; Psalms 11 – 15
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 119:105
Read the “0303 Evening and Morning” devotion by Charles Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from today’s passage – “Let’s Get Back to the Bible“
Childhood Wisdom: “Don’t Forget Who Butters Your Bread
When I was a kid, my grandparents commonly used to say: “Don’t forget who butters your bread.” It meant that I should remember to be appreciative to the person or people that provided the food that I ate, the clothes that I wore, and the home that I lived in. In our passage today, we see God warning Israel many times that once they got into their new land, they should not forget that it was God who had delivered them from slavery and gave them this wonderful, prosperous, and plentiful place that flowed with milk and honey.
God’s Warnings to Israel
“10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” (Deut 6:10–12)
“20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? 21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: 22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: 23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.” (Deut 6:20–23)
“2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. … 11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: 12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; 16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; 17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. 18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” (Deut 8:2, 11–18 KJV)
The Dangerous Cycle of Forgetting
In the passages of Scripture referenced above, God admonished the children of Israel not to forget the Source of all of their wealth and success. He was about to give them a land with houses and vineyards and farms; none of which they would have to build or work for. The Israelites would be walking into a great situation. It would be like you or I inheriting a beautiful home, fully furnished, with two cars in the driveway; and then we were given a profitable business to further add to our wealth. Sounds like a great deal, doesn’t it?
The problem with all of this was that somewhere along the way the people would slowly begin to forget about where all of this blessing came from. At first they would appreciate it, but then they would begin to think that they deserved it and were entitled to it. Finally, they would come to the conclusion that they had earned through their own efforts. At the end of the cycle, they have bitten the hand that fed them, and they have completely forgotten Who it was that buttered their bread.
This Happens in Christian Lives Today
I have observed this attitude in many Christians today. People often come to Christ when their lives are in a mess. They are sometimes in financial distress, or their marriages are falling apart; or both. They come to Christ and He begins to turn things around for them. At first, they greatly appreciate what God has done for them, but slowly and gradually they forget Who it is that is blessing their lives. They stop attending the church services, they stop tithing, and they stop serving. Somewhere along the line they think that they fixed their problems all by themselves. What happens next is not good. God has to stop blessing them, and they can end up right back where they started.
A Sobering Warning for America
America is doing the same thing. We are the wealthiest and most powerful nation on planet earth. Why? Because God has blessed us. It is not because we are smarter or better than other nations. We are just blessed. But we are quickly forgetting the Source of our blessing. Unless we get it turned around, it cannot end well for America. As a nation, we had better remember who butters our bread.
Final Thought / Application
Are there areas where you’ve started taking credit for what God provided? How can you course-correct?
This week, take a moment to list 5 blessings in your life and consciously thank God for each one.
Posted in Devotions, Thoughts from Deuteronomy and tagged Appreciation, Christian living, Deuteronomy, God's Blessing, God's Provision, Gratitude, Humility, Pride, Thankfulness by Phil Erickson with 4 comments.