But I am poor and needy, yet the Lord takes thought for me; you are my help and my savior; delay not, O God. Psalm 40:18 (Hebrew World) I am poor – Back up one verse. “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You, let those who love Your salvation say…
He that oppresses the poor blasphemes his maker, but he who is gracious unto the needy honors Him. Proverbs 14:31 (translation A. Heschel) Blasphemes – What would you think of someone who curses God? You might be shocked, dismayed or disturbed. Who would do such a thing? You might understand the circumstances that would lead…
“He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is this not to know Me?” says YHWH. Jeremiah 22:16 Know – What does it mean to know God? The quick answer in our culture is “having a personal relationship with Him.” And what does that mean? A reference to a point…
They have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of wickedness; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; they do not defend the rights of the poor. Jeremiah 5:27-28 Do Not Defend – Is Jeremiah speaking about us? Have we grown fat and sleek at…
“and you shall not glean your vineyard and you shall not gather what has been left of your vineyard: you shall leave them to the poor and the alien; I am YHWH your Elohim.” Leviticus 19:10 Poor – We glean. We reap. We take everything we can get. Capitalism without holiness results in wrath. It…
When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield –in the third year, the year of the tithe – and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, Deuteronomy 26:12 Tenth Part – Every year it seems like we hear the same questions: “Do I really…
