Repay
“One who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed.” Proverbs 19:17
Repay – Just in case you are still unconvinced that this verse is about accounting, the Hebrew word gemul makes it certain. Gemul is a word that means “a deserved receipt for something.” This is God’s word for Accounts Payable.
God’s Accounts Payable ledger includes some interesting names. There are people we have never heard of. There are kings and queens. There are good people and evil people. There are even entire nations on this ledger (see Obadiah 1:15). In fact, in one sense, every person ever born is somewhere on this ledger. It’s a big database, but God is up to the task.
The scary part about this ledger is that it has both black ink entries and red ink entries. Repayment is not always good, but it is always fair. Psalm 28:4 uses this word to tell us that God will repay the wicked according to their deeds, but the repayment will come as wrath rather than blessings. How you get repaid is up to you. Red ink entries will result in red ink repayments. Sometimes with interest.
Solomon’s words offer us an amazing opportunity to deal directly with the Bookkeeper. Graciousness to those in need results in good loans that will be repaid with solid assets. God is no miser. Solomon’s father knew all about God’s easy-loan program. In Psalm 103:2 he wrote, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits.” God has the best loan program in the universe. Anyone can participate. God always provides us with those who are in need. The only question left is this: have you made a loan to God today?
If your immediate response was doubt, then why not take care of it now?
1 in 24: Father, when the opportunity comes today to make you a loan, let me see it and follow through.
P.S. Just because this day comes only once in 4 years does not mean that God’s loan program won’t come around for another 1460 days. His offer is good every day. God has a slightly different calendar than we do.
