Openhanded and Tenderhearted
Notes
Transcript
Jesus said “In as much as you have done it to the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.”
God desires that His People be people of generosity and charity (love) toward others.
Today’s message is about being open handed and tender hearted.
We will talk about how this plays out in Israel’s dealings with various groups of people.
7 “If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.
8 Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has.
Whatever we have comes from the Lord.
We should take opportunity to help those who need it
We will not miss what we give away.
We can give while are hands are warm.
Israel was called to demonstrate this tenderhearted and openhanded attitude in _______ arenas of life.
The Tithe
The Tithe
22 “Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields.
In order to understand the whole concept of tithing in the Old Testament you would have to read several places. When you put it all together you learn several things.
God’s People tithed before God have Moses the Law.
God’s People were to give 1/10 off the top of all that they grew and raised.
God’s People were to celebrate when they brought their tithes, even having a meal in the presence of the Lord that was from the tithe. (See verse 23)
God’s People were to take care of God’s house and the Priesthood with the tithe
5. God’s People were to take care of the “alien,” orphan, and widows among them. (See verse 28-29)
Israel was not to be far right (He taught them to have compassion and care) nor the far left (He taught them ownership, boundaries, borders, and even walls).
Bottomline- The giving of 1/10 of all the yield was celebratory and other’s focused. It was a picture of God’s expectation that His people would be tender-hearted and open-handed.
Debt forgiveness
Debt forgiveness
1 “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
We need to be very clear here. Israel’s religion was also it’s government. They were a theocracy. So what was in place governed there spiritual life, but also their civil life, and their criminal code.
We don’t live in a theocracy, so we can’t rightly tell the government “it’s the 7th year and so you need to release me from my student loans and mortgage.”
As a matter of fact this is not institutional banking (no such thing) It was one of God’s people trying to help another. (This command didn’t apply to debt owed by those outside of the Jewish people)
But we can learn the principle behind this: Tender-hearted and open-handed.
Note: Some think this means return the collateral you took and the debt remains… some think this means the debt it put on hold for the year and resumed after the year is up.
I think it means the debt goes away.
This will be an ongoing issue.
11 For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, ‘You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother in your land.’
4 “There will be no poor among you, however, because the Lord is certain to bless you in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance —
These two verses seem to be in conflict, but I don’t believe they are: You will have poor people in every generation, but when God’s people do their job, they are not really poor, because tender-hearted and open-handed people will always be there.
Freedom for Servants
Freedom for Servants
12 “If your fellow Hebrew, a man or woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, you must set him free in the seventh year.
This passage and others have been used in America’s past to justify chattel slavery. Let me say emphatically, NOT THE SAME. It is both shameful and sinful to think this.
As a matter of fact, the whole point of this passage, it to PREVENT in ancient Israel the horrible kind of slavery that was a part of our history.
It gave people who reached the bottom a promise of a way out.
IF someone got in such a bind that all they could do was turn themselves into a servant, God provided that this was NOT forever.
Furthermore when the 7th year came, the servant was not to leave empty handed. They were to be well supplied to make a fresh start.
Three points to note:
Israel was to be kind, remembering the harshness of their past in Egypt. (15)
Allowance was made in situations where the servant had it better as a member of the household than he did on his on. Verse 16… I don’t want to leave, I love you, I am well off with you. (16-17)
An attitude of gratitude for the servant was in order for all he had saved the household (18)
Once again we see the attitude of tender-heartedness and open-handedness.
Three arenas
In the tithe
In debt forgiveness
In Freedom for servants.
God promised that as they were tender-hearted and opened handed God would bless (see end of)
18 Do not regard it as a hardship when you set him free, because he worked for you six years—worth twice the wages of a hired hand. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
This is all rooted in the character and nature of God.
He is good, kind, compassionate and redemptive.
We are all sinners, deserving death, hell, and the grave.
But God is so good, so kind, so compassionate, so redemptive that is willing to forgive us our sin, save us, and call us to be his sons and daughters.
He blesses us with so much, he forgives our sin debt, and sets us free from Satan, the hardest and cruelest master ever!