Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Deuteronomy chapter 15, verse 4, but there will be no poor among you,

for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you

for an inheritance to possess.

So that's Deuteronomy 154, and Deuteronry 1511 says,

for they will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, you shall open wide your

hand to your brother, to the needy, and to the poor in your land. So you put these verses together,

and clearly God is telling his people, especially as they go into the promised land, care for one another, provide for one another, guard against

poverty in one another, there will be no poor among you. God desired for all of his people

to be supplied for plentifully. And you see in God's law all kinds of provisions

to keep people out of poverty, to rescue people from poverty, which is why when you get to

Deuteronomy 1511, God acknowledges that in this sinful, broken world where his commands are not obeyed, that there will be poverty for so many

different reasons. So God commands his people, you shall open, wide your hand to your brother,

to the needy, to the poor in your land. What a phrase, open wide your hand to the poor, to those in need. And I think the

takeaway as we pray is obvious, isn't it? Sure, things are very different from being a part of

God's people going into the promised land and even the physical promises of blessing that were

associated with the promised land. But clearly we see all throughout the Bible,

Old Testament and New Testament commands

to care for the poor,

to open wide our hands,

to brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need,

and to people around us who are in need,

...