Sermon(Deut 15:1-11): Consideration for the poor neighbors
The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025251379
>> 1 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed. ... 4 But there will be no poor among you (for the Lord will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to possess), 5 if only you will obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment which I command you this day. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you. .... 9 Take heed lest there be a base thought in your heart, and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye be hostile to your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and it be sin in you. .... (Deut 15:1-11)”<<
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My brethren, be a rich man, but a rich man with healthy body and mind. Don't eat too much. Some people are so fat that they have lost the line of their neck and the shape of their navel, that their flesh hangs down, and that they have all kinds of adult diseases. What a terrible situation! If you have already obesity though not yet suffering from such illness like hypertension or diabetes, you must make a long-term plan of more than a year to steadily reduce the food and to exercise in order to have a normal body shape. My brethren, if you are a rich man, please use money in a good personality. Today's words of Bible tell us about the healthy spirit (the view on the wealth) that the rich needed to harbor in Israel where God was worshiped, or today, in the church.
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God tells the rich that they should release the poor from their debt in the release year if they couldn't pay the debt until then. It was God's strict order. What does it mean? There is no basis for the rich to reject this order of God. No, not at all! A lot of grain that the rich had kept in the storehouse at that time was God's gift. Of course, a lot of grain is the result of the hard work of the rich, but the health and the diligent nature are God's gifts, and the good method to earn money is the wisdom that God gave them. Yes, my brethren. We must know that our property is God's blessing. Therefore we must spend our money on things that God points at, without any murmur.
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Where is the first place that God commands you to use your wealth on? First, give food to poor neighbors. I've never suffered hunger so far thanks to God's grace. So I can't understand fully the anguish of those who go hungry. Perhaps the worst pain in the world is the pain of starvation. Some parents sigh at the sight of their children who are thin from hunger. Poverty is an extreme mental and physical pain, so some families commit collective suicide. on the other hand, others eat too much and suffer obesity. It's a disharmony. God orders you not to refuse to help but to lend grain or money to people who are suffering from poverty if they want to borrow it from you. What does it mean? It means that God will take it as your sin that you, despite the commandment of God, let the poor people starve to death or let them shed a lot of tears due to the pain of life. It is a murder to hurt and kill others. However, God will see you as a murderer if you didn't give food to the poor, so they died, though you haven't inflicted such a physical hurt on them. Insulting others will hurt their heart. It also is a sin. But God will punish you even when the poor suffer in heart due to your indifference for them.
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The law of God is so. This law requires that you should help him who need help indeed so that he can live. It defines the suffering of the poor as the responsibility of the rich. Then how much must you help them? Is it obligatory for you to lend 100 million won to a believer who needs it for his business, so asks you to lend him the money? No. You don't have to lend him such money if you do not want. The obligatory aid God says of is the basic cost of living. Perhaps today the items of basic living expenses may be considered up to the cost of high school education for children. You (don't have to give but) should lend money without hesitation to him who does not have money for basic living of his family, and should exempt him from the debt if he can't pay you back until the release year (if you lived in Israel in the time of Old Testament). In that case, there will be less chance of repayment if the release year is the next year. Nevertheless God's order is that you should lend him the money. But nowadays it is a time of individualism, and people are all self-respecting, and they do not ask others to lend money when they have no money. Many people do not beg neighbors to lend money, instead they borrow money from banks and suffer from a high interest. Therefore the church needs to secure a lot of relief money to reach out to those suffering from poverty, and to help them unilaterally. Look at Abraham. He bowed to the travelers who would pass his house, and invited and treated them well. “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, >>My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on – since you have come to your servant.<< (Gen 18:1-5)” Later, Abraham knew that they were God's companions, however, at first he thought they were just passersby. We know this from the words 'that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on'. My brethren, Abraham was well aware of how great the blessing would be for the man who serves his neighbors with all his heart, so he served them so humbly. Brethren, do you want to be blessed like Abraham? Then make the poor your lords, and believe that the fastest way to be blessed is to serve the poor, and live so! Abraham called himself a servant of them. If the lord requires, the servant must give him what he requires right away without complaint. You are a sinner before God if you think your wealth is yours and refuse to help the poor with it. You will be a righteous rich man and be praised by God if you think your wealth is entrusted to you by God and use it for the poor. To be a righteous rich man is more difficult than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, but it also is possible for anyone who humbly obeys God's commands.
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Let's read verses 7 and 8, "If there is among you a poor man, one of your brethren, in any of your towns within your land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him, and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be." In a word, you should hand some of your wealth over to someone as he requires, not reluctantly but humbly, without frowning at him, of course, within the scope of the basic cost of living. The unwilling mind is a haughty mind. You still think so because you think it is yours, which is an arrogant mind. The humble service and relief is a clean and fragrant offering God really delights in. God will be glorified because of you if the man whom you have helped gives thanks to God for your generous heart. The scent of your fragrant offering will last long (in God's heart).
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What blessing does God give to those who obey God's word so and humbly helps their neighbors? God says, "There will be no poor among you for the Lord will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to possess. (v. 4)" God promises that he will bless men of your house with the blessing of wealth so that there will be no poor men in your house, if you hear the supplication of the poor neighbors and help them live. My brethren, do you want your descendants to live rich? one way is to leave them a large fortune. A better way is as follows: God promises that today and in the future he will make rich the descendants of those who have compassion on, and help the neighbors a lot. Do sons and daughters who have inherited a lot of wealth always live enjoying true happiness? Not all of them live so. But if you are very generous to your neighbors today, God will give your family and descendants the ability and chance to make much money in a just way so that they can live well like you. Isn't it a better blessing for your descendents? It is good to inherit much money from parents and to live opulently, however, it, too, is good to receive ability and good chance from God, to work hard, and to be a multimillionaire. How proud would you be then?
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In addition, God promises to give you the power of wealth. "You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. (v. 6)" God promises Israelites to bless all Israel with much wealth so that their power of wealth will reach to the neighboring nations, if they obey his commandment and care for the poor among them. If the power of the wealth of Israelites extends to other countries, they can have the best goods of the world. If the wealth of the Israelites overflows unto the neighboring nations, they can buy and enjoy the best things that are produced even in the ends of the world. If you (Koreans) have the power of the wealth, you can have Americans or doctors from Harvard University as your servants, and even can wield power over the people of the communist countries. 'Employees' is a better ｅxpression than 'servants' here. May you receive the blessing of God that the geniuses of the world salute you politely. It is possible for you if you have the power of wealth by God's blessing.
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And God promises you to give you the power to rule over the world. "You shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you. (v. 6)" God says that, if Israelites care for the poor as he commands, he will give Israel strong political and military power to govern its neighboring countries. My brethren, if you obey God and help the poor a little, you'll be blessed even with the blessing that you and your descendants will be in high office. Obedience, obedience, and obedience! If you obey God, your wealth will increase bigger and bigger, and your political, economic, and social status will be raised higher and higher. And this blessing will be inherited to your descendants.
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But if the rich disobey God and the complaints of the poor over the rich reach the heaven, God will revoke the blessing of wealth they received, make them poor borrowers, make them suffer invasion of neighboring countries, and make them live painfully. In fact, the rich men of Israel didn't listen to God's command to take care of the poor, but instead exploited and persecuted them. So God brought the strong army of the neighboring countries into Israel, and punished the rich in Israel harshly. A foolish man fixes the barn after losing his cows. You must not be such a man.
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My brethren, Luxury clothes are good. Luxury cars are good, too. But the best thing is God's good evaluation and praise for you, and people's appreciation and respect for you. It makes you more splendid to live frugally and to help others rather than to adorn yourself with expensive things. To help others is to increase your value even further. If you have given enough money to your sons and daughters, now you have to use the rest of your wealth for the kingdom of God. There are many places to spend your money on. God says that he will regard the money you have given to the poor as his own debt. Will he not repay? No! If the poor can't repay, God himself will surely repay double.
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May God help you who help the poor so that from now on you can succeed in everything you undertake.
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Chong Tack Kim
- Dongtoma Sunshine Church -
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