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Prov. 21:13 "Whoever shuts his ears to the
cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be
heard." |
The above two verses are worthy of a long hard look. This
is the "other side of the coin" which
must not be ignored. This is the word of God! Now, Malachi 3 makes sense:
God was telling the
Israelites they were cursed because they robbed Him, by not following HIS
ORDINANCES and
not having food in His storehouse. In Deuteronomy chapters 14 and 26 He speaks
specifically of
the portion of the tithes that goes to the storehouse, not only to feed the
Levites but also the poor.
So, part of the tithes given by the believers, belongs to the poor.
Here is another verse which will clearly demonstrate what
God thinks about those who don't allow
the poor their portion:
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Deu. 27:19 "Cursed is the one who perverts the justice
due the stranger, the fatherless, and
widow." |
The following verse is very interesting:
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Prov. 22:16 "He who oppresses the poor to increase his
riches, and he who gives to the
rich, will surely come to poverty." |
Have you ever given to any of those "needy" ministries
who claim to be in debt, like $40 million,
or whatever? How many needy people do you know who managed to get into such
debt? Or, to
those ministries whose "head pastor" flies his own private airplane? Consider
the above proverb: if
you help their "needs" you are helping the rich. And what is the consequence?
You will end up in
the same boat with the one who robs the poor, that is, in poverty. Who is
the one who robs the
poor? If someone is poor there is nothing to rob him of - you may say. Not
so! Poor have their
inheritance from God: they stand side-by-side with the "Levite" to get THEIR
portion from the
"storehouse" where TITHES are stored. So, whoever denies them access to that
"storehouse", he
is oppressing the poor. And what is his destiny? He will come to poverty,
says the Lord.
We all know about God's judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah,
and think of the "sodomites" as the
cause of this judgment. But, let's see what the Word says about it.
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Eze. 16:49 "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister
Sodom: She and her daughter had
pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; NEITHER DID SHE
STRENGTHEN
THE HAND OF THE POOR AND NEEDY." |
Another passage from the OT is worth mention in connection
with taking care of the poor and
needy.
|
Isa. 58:6-12Is
this not the fast that I have chosen:... Is it not to share your bread with
the
hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when
you see the
naked, that you cover him... then your light will break forth like the morning...
your
righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear
guard. Then you
shall call and the Lord shall answer... |
Right here is the "formula" to get God's attention to
our prayers. We don't have to starve
ourselves for days on end, expecting God's pity and His answer to our prayers.
His method is
much easier and His burden much lighter.
You may say, "That is the Old Testament". So, let's see
what the New Testament teaches on this
subject. I would not think that the God of the New Testament is less concerned
with the well-being
of the poor, than the God of the Old Testament - He is one and the same God,
He changes not! |
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