Provision for the Poor

God Instructs the People of God

Listening for God in Changing Times:

Empowering the Needy

Leviticus 19:1-10

The Message

 ^1-2 God spoke to Moses: "Speak to the congregation of Israel. Tell them, Be holy because I, God, your God, am holy. ³ "Every one of you must respect his mother and father. "Keep my Sabbaths. I am God, your God.
 ⁴ "Don't take up with no-god idols. Don't make gods of cast metal. I am God, your God.
 ^5-8 "When you sacrifice a Peace-Offering to God, do it as you've been taught so it is acceptable. Eat it on the day you sacrifice it and the day following. Whatever is left until the third day is to be burned up. If it is eaten on the third day it is polluted meat and not acceptable. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has violated what is holy to God. That person will be cut off from his people.
 ^9-10 "When you harvest your land, don't harvest right up to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings from the harvest. Don't strip your vineyard bare or go back and pick up the fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am God, your God.
 

For Reflection
How do we provide for the provision for the poor? Many churches have special funds to help those in need.  Many of us give money in response to special fund raising efforts to help those in need.  How can we see the pictures of those in Africa suffering famine and not be moved?

How would your life change if you had no appreciable assets and you lived alone on a government provided stipend of $800 a month?  Where would you live? How would you eat and cloth yourself?  In what kind of culture would you be immersed?  What tole would poverty take on your faith?

Through federal and state taxes we fund programs intended to provide food, housing, clothing and medical care to the needy.  Today all of those programs are in jeopardy.  As our national wealth erodes, law makers are looking for places to cut spending.  Nearly sixty percent of the national budget is dedicated to medical, social security and other essential care.  Think about what you would advocate in these economic times.  Where would you cut?  Would you be willing to give more in taxes?  Try to establish a God-centered response. What would you leave for gleaning?

Pray
that the poor of our nation are not sacrificed for a "balanced budget."  Pray that our lawmakers find solutions to our current economic problem that are not at the expense of those who can least afford them.  Pray for all people that suffer famine and the evils of tyrannies all over the world.  Pray that we find compassion for those whose needs are great.