Caring For The Poor (28 Bible Verses)

Caring for the poor is near and dear to God’s heart. There are dozens of Bible verses about caring for the poor. The Proverbs indicate that when one lends to the poor God repays. Jesus was constantly caring for the poor. The apostle Paul and Barnabas made remembering the poor one of their primary activities (Galatians 2).

Caring for the poor is ingrained in every Christian’s spiritual DNA. We need to dig into the Good Book and align our hearts with the heart of God. When our hearts are reconciled with God’s we will begin to imitate Christ in compassion and generosity.

Exodus 23:10-11 (ESV) For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.

The Charity Tithe

Deuteronomy 14:28-29 (ESV) At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

Should Christians Tithe When They Are Broke? Find out more here.

Deuteronomy 26:12-13 (ESV) When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.

Psst, there were three tithes in the Old Covenant. Click here for more information.

Gleanings For The Poor

Farmers were commanded to leave a portion of the harvest behind for the poor. The poor were legally able to harvest what remained.

Grain Gleanings

Deuteronomy 24:19 (NIV) When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Leviticus 19:9 (NIV) When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

Olive Gleanings

Deuteronomy 24:20 (NIV) When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.

Vineyard Gleanings

Deuteronomy 24:21 (NIV) When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.

Leviticus 19:10 (NIV) Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

What could Christians learn from the Gleaning Laws found in Deuteronomy and Leviticus?

Gleanings in the Book of Ruth

The book of Ruth is much deeper than it appears. Christ’s lineage originated from the poor gleaners. Ruth was King David’s great-grandmother. Many things can change in a couple of generations.

Ruth 2:2 (NIV) And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.”

It’s doubtful that Ruth was fully aware of the gleaning rules. Yet, Boaz was kind and gracious.

Ruth 2:8-9 (NIV) So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”

Boaz went beyond what was expected.

Ruth 2:15-16 (NIV) As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”

Tithing In The Sabbath Year

Exodus 23:10-11 (NIV) For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

Leviticus 25:3-5 (NIV) For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.

The Israelites disobeyed these commands and went into Babylon captivity as a result.

Tithing can be confusing. Click here for the Ultimate Guide To Tithing.

Debt Cancelation In The Bible

Many in the prosperity gospel discuss what they deem SUPERNATURAL DEBT CANCELATION. They stray from the Biblical text. However, there is a precedence for it.

Deuteronomy 15:1-2 (NIV) At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.

Deuteronomy 15:9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.

The American legal system appears to have mirrored bankruptcy laws according to the law of Moses. We took the letter of the law but we’ve misunderstood and misapplied the spirit.

What Did Jesus Say About Helping The Poor

Matthew 19:21 (NIV) Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Jesus wasn’t building a perpetual doctrine around giving 100%. He identified the idol in this man’s heart! Money blocked this man from surrendering to Christ.

Luke 12:33 (NIV) Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Jesus also talked about tithing. If you would like to know more about what He said, click here.

Caring For The Poor — Grace Giving

Every scripture to this point was before the death and resurrection of Christ. As such, it was subject to the law of Moses. We are not required to care for the poor but have the privilege to do so. It’s not a “have to” but a “get to” situation.

Galatians 2:9-10 (NIV) James, Cephas, and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

What can you and your family do this week to bless a struggling family? People are hurting financially in your family, church, and neighborhood. It won’t be difficult to find a person in need of help.

‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

— Jesus of Nazareth, Acts 20:35