Deuteronomy 15:8
But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
The verse commands an open hand toward a poor brother in need, lending enough to meet the actual lack and supply what is wanting rather than withholding help or giving less than is needed. The duty does not end because the seventh year of release is near, and to withhold a loan for that reason hardens the heart and wrongs the poor, since any debt still unpaid at that year could no longer be recovered. Such help must be given without interest and without exploiting hardship, with a willing heart and without grudging or resentment, so that the needy can live and not be oppressed. The command reveals the Father's character to be reflected in practical mercy, and God promises blessing on the giver's work so that faithful obedience need not fear want and will not lose its reward. It requires doing the work of sufficient practical help today, aiding those fallen into hardship such as ministers unable to work and their families, a helpless sister needing regular support, and poor families facing sickness and failure, and using God's resources for necessities like food, clothing, and housing rather than for display.
Meaning and Original Setting
The verse commands an open hand toward a poor fellow Israelite or brother in need. It requires lending enough to meet the person's actual lack and supplying what is wanting. Aid is not to be withheld, and it is not to fall short of what is needed. The instruction was given through Moses to Israel among his final words to the nation. It was joined to the warning that the poor would always remain in the land, making care for them a continuing duty.
The duty does not cease because the seventh year of debt release is near. To withhold a loan for that reason hardens the heart and wrongs the poor. Any debt still unpaid when the year of release arrived could no longer be recovered. Such lending was to be made without interest and without exploiting hardship. God's concern is that the needy person can live and not be oppressed or denied what is due.
The help is not indiscriminate giving to everyone who asks, but aid sufficient for genuine need. In light of Christ's teaching it is to be given as a gift rather than as a loan expected to be repaid.
Divine Character and Promise
The command to open the hand wide reveals the Father's character, and God's own mercy and goodness toward people are to be reflected in compassion and tenderness toward fellow believers and in practical mercy toward the poor and needy. Its instruction to provide generously for one in need shows what is right toward a brother, where doing right matters more than insisting on one's own claim.
Help must meet the actual lack with an open hand and a willing heart, lending enough for what is wanting rather than withholding aid. The heart must not be hardened and the hand must not be closed because the year of release is near, and giving must not be done grudgingly, with resentment, or with selfish withholding. Neglect of this practical and generous duty is unjust and brings a charge against God's people.
Faithful obedience is met with God's promised blessing on the giver's work, so generosity belongs to obedience that prospers rather than to fear of being left in want. No duty done for those in need will lose its reward. Care for the poor gives opportunity to resist selfishness and to share the gifts entrusted by God.
Christ repeated this command at the Pharisee's house, affirming that it remained binding and applied to practical care for the poor and afflicted. The needs of the poor, together with the needs of the church, test God's people and reveal character. God uses these claims upon entrusted means to develop moral perfection fitting them for translation to heaven.
Practical Duties Today
Deuteronomy 15:8 requires doing the specified work of practical, sufficient help in response to another person's need, rather than professing belief while neglecting service. The command is to open the hand wide and lend enough to meet actual lack, and it applies when someone who once could help has himself fallen into hardship, with those able to assist held accountable for caring for him. Help must not be withheld because the year of release is near, nor must selfishness be allowed to harden the heart, but aid is to be given willingly and without resentment. This duty includes providing for faithful ministers who become unable to work and for the families who depend on them, with giving to be willing rather than grudging and with blessing promised on the giver's work. It likewise extends to supporting a poor and helpless sister with regular financial help rather than withholding aid when means to give are present, and to a poor family facing sickness, failed crops, and hardship, whom the church is to help liberally with openhanded generosity sufficient for need.
The principle governs debt disputes among believers, where doing what is right toward a brother matters more than insisting on one's claim, since wrongdoing brings lasting harm to one's name and eternal interests. It calls for forgiving a debt and releasing claims against fellow believers as a duty owed to God, in keeping with the forgiveness one seeks from God, rather than withholding help from a poor brother's lack. Those with means are to help people made unable to give by sickness or misfortune so they can still bring even a humble offering to the Lord. At the same time the poor are not excused from giving when they can do so but are to practice economy and self-denial, and this mutual support preserves a shared interest in giving.
Practical help must supply what the needy lack, and it belongs especially to believers who suffer want because they keep God's commandments, whose support resources are not to be diverted to sustain people who persist in breaking God's law while expecting others to support them. God's resources are to be used to help the poor with necessities such as food, clothing, and housing, giving them enough to meet their needs. Using those resources instead for ambitious projects and personal display diverts them from their proper purpose and leaves the poor suffering and burdened. Remembering the poor and supplying their necessities would make the world a different place.