How are Christians called to help the poor? In Moses’ time, children without fathers and older women without husbands had no one to care for them. And aliens were by definition people without roots in the community, without homes or land. And in an agricultural society, if you had no land, you had no job.

So, how did Moses tell the people to help those who were helpless? It’s interesting that he didn’t prescribe some sort of institutional program. He didn’t tell the people to give more offerings to the priests and Levites so they could minister to the needy. No, he told the people to do something themselves, to get directly involved.

But it’s also interesting that he didn’t tell the people to just give things to the poor. Instead, he said that they should be a little sloppy in their harvesting, leaving some of their crops in the field (verses 19-21). Those who were needy would therefore be able to work for a living, gathering the leftover wheat or olives or grapes. This is exactly what Ruth did when she and Naomi came back to the land of Israel.

So, what is the modern equivalent of this kind of help for the needy? Basically, it means we should provide less of a handout and more of a hand up. Oh, sure, in crisis situations direct aid is still necessary. But the long-term solution to poverty is not largess but labor. Work is what most of our modern sojourners, our recent immigrants want. And in one way or another, some sort of honest work is what everyone needs.

But here’s the catch – in order to provide job opportunities for the poor, the people of Moses’ time had to forego some of their own income – they had to leave some of their crops in the field. Just so, we might have to pay someone to do something for us that we could very well do ourselves. But providing such work helps us build relationships, and it helps the poor develop some skills and some self-respect. And isn’t that better for everyone than just putting a check in the mail to some charity or some government agency?

But let’s also remember the reason Moses said his people should be kind to immigrants – after all, they had all been sojourners, strangers in the land of Egypt (verse 22). In the same way, everyone now living in America has immigrant ancestors – whether they came over a land bridge across the Bering Strait or on ships from Europe or Africa or Asia. In fact, no human being has any inherent right to anything in this world – all we have is what the Creator has entrusted to us. So let’s remember to be generous with one another, not only with our gifts but with our mutual respect and with opportunities for success that are so important for everyone.

Deuteronomy 24:10-22 (NASB)

10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge.
11 “You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you.
12 “And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge.
13 “When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.
14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.
15 “You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he may not cry against you to the LORD and it become sin in you.
16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 “You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge.
18 “But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
20 “When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.
21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.
22 “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.