Several portions of Deuteronomy speak concerning aid to the needy (14:28-29; 26:12-15; 15:1-18; 23:15-16, 19-20; 24:6, 10-15, 17-22).
The statute concerning aid to the needy ones has many items. First, there was to be the aid by the tithes at the end of every three years (14:28-29; 26:12-15). God charged the children of Israel to offer Him the tithes yearly. Every year a tithe of their produce was to be offered to God. In addition, there was a further command regarding tithes in 14:28. "At the end of every three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce for that year and lay it within your gates." Every three years they were to lay aside another tithe within their gates as a surplus to show the fullness of the rich produce of the good land.
What was laid within their gates was to be for the needy. "And the Levite shall come—for he has no portion nor inheritance with you—as well as the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow who are within your gates; and they shall eat and be satisfied, so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do" (14:29). The Levites, who had no job or other source of income but who lived on God, serving Him full-time, were to be taken care of in this way. There was also to be provision for the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow. Today we should also care for the needy ones among us. Under the Lord's covering, I can testify that I cannot bear to see that any saints are lacking what they need to live properly; I have the feeling that I must do something to meet their need. In the Lord's recovery, we need to care for the full-timers and the other needy ones.
Those who gave the tithes of their produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, could say before Jehovah their God, "I have removed what is holy from out of my house, and I have also given it to the Levite and the sojourner, to the orphan and the widow, according to Your whole commandment, which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Your commandments and I have not forgotten them. I have not eaten any of it in my sorrow, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I given any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of Jehovah my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me" (26:13-14). Even if the one who gave the tithe was in sorrow or had suffering, he did not eat for his happiness what was reserved for the needy. Thus, the giving one could go on to pray, "Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given to us, as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey" (v. 15). This indicates that if we, for the sake of God, take care of the needy ones, God will surely bless our labor and undertakings. This blessing will be a return to us from God. Apparently we are giving; actually we are receiving. Nevertheless, to give is much more blessed than to receive.
In Deuteronomy 13 we see that God takes care of Himself, and in Deuteronomy 12, that He takes care of His people as His expression. Now in the verses concerning aid to the needy we see that God takes care of all those who are part of His expression. In New Testament terms, this means that Christ takes care of every member of His Body. We all should follow this pattern. We should love the Lord Jesus, we should love His Body, and we should take care of the needs of all the members. In caring for the needs of the saints, it is best that we prepare for this by having a budget. This means that in a regular way we should lay something aside to use in taking care of needy saints. We need to be regular in this matter because God's people are living on earth in a practical way. The life of God's people is practical, so the meeting of the needs should be practical and also regular.