7-8, 12-15: “7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. 12 And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. 13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: 14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. 15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.”
Main Point: We should treat others the way Christ treats us.
In this chapter, the children of Israel are told that they should be very generous, giving people. The reason that this should be the case is because they had experienced the generosity and giving of God Himself. They were to becoming giving to the poor. They are encouraged to do so by saying they should give in the land the God gave them. They had been given blessings from God, now they were to bless others. Also, they were to be generous to slaves that they released on the 7th year. The reason they were to be generous was because they were to remember that God was generous to them. They had to remember that they too were slaves and God turned things around for them. They were to treat others like God treated them.
I need to remember this. The way I treat people should be defined and dictated by the way my Savior treats and treated me. Forgiving, gracious, generous, giving, loving, etc. That must become who I am because that is how Jesus treats me. Always treat people the way God would.
God treated us, not how we deserved, but how we needed. Jesus dying for us was not because we merited salvation or deserved it. How God treats us if actually very unfair, but that’s grace. We deserve to go to hell and be separated from Him forever. Instead, he treats us in such a way that it begins our life and also defines it.
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