Week 9 | Monday

Read: Deuteronomy 24:19-22

These are some of God’s property laws: God’s instructions on money management to the people of Israel. Theirs was an agricultural community. Crops were their currency. So, many of God’s instructions for the stewardship of their income had to do with their harvest.

God uses two words in this passage that provide straightforward instructions for giving. Each of these words comes from the overflow of becoming more generous as we become more like Jesus.

Leave. God says, “Do not go over your crop a second time to collect as much as possible so that you may maximize your income. Once is enough. Yes, there will still be fruit on the vine. Leave it there for the fatherless, the foreigner, and the widow.”

He gives that instruction three times, naming a different crop each time, as if to say, “However you earn your living, leave some of it to take care of those who were once like you.”

“Once like you?”

“Yes,” God replies.

Remember. “Remember, you were once slaves in Egypt. You were foreigners. Many of you did not have a father or a husband to care for you. You were slaves. You had nothing and were dependent on the generosity of others. That’s no longer the case. Remember what that was like. Remember that I brought you out and gave you everything you needed. I will still give you everything you need. Now it’s your turn.”

Our hands close around our resources when we fail to remember how we’ve been blessed and from whom all blessings flow. It’s hard to leave something when your hands are clenched around it.

In this passage, God starts with how we become more generous, then tells us why we should become more generous. The best way to reflect God’s heart might be to remember the why as we’re moved to practice the how. In short, God is intentional with how He blesses us, so we should intentionally set aside income to bless others. 

Reflect on the ways God has blessed you. How has He provided for your tangible and intangible needs? How has He used others directly or indirectly to do that? Praise Him for His blessings.