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Home > Bible on Money > Major Themes > Exodus
What God Commands
By Justin Borger
with assistance from Generous Giving staff
The financial faithfulness that God commands has never changed. We are still required to love God with everything we have (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37) and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39). In his infinite wisdom God gives us not only a righteous law but also compelling reasons to obey it. But before examining key aspects of God’s law on stewardship and generosity, let’s consider why we must obey in the first place.
The fifth-century church father St. Augustine once said, “God gives what he demands.” After all, it was not until God graciously freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt that he handed down his law, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and demanded that it be obeyed. God graciously has freed us as well—in our case, dying on the cross to save us from our enslavement to sin. Because of his matchless generosity, gratitude and obedience are the only fitting ways to respond to God’s law. But what does God’s law say about stewardship and generosity? Let’s start with a few examples from the Ten Commandments:
- The fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) teaches that we must be stewards of our time and strength and that we must give rest to others (see also Exodus 16:23; 20:8; 23:12; 31:12-15; 34:21; 35:1-3). As the “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8), Jesus spent his Sabbath not only accepting the rest which God required but also giving rest to others by meeting tangible needs and healing the sick. On one particular Sabbath he healed a man who had a shriveled hand, declaring, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:1-13).
- The eighth commandment (Exodus 20:15) teaches us that stealing from God or from another person, whether by actively taking or passively withholding, runs counter to generous giving. In the New Testament the apostle Paul commands the Ephesians not only to stop stealing but also to engage in honest work so that they might “have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28).
- The tenth commandment (Exodus 20:17) calls us to examine ourselves and to be content with what we have. We must forsake our itching desire to get more of what other people have. Conversely, we must be generous with the things we have been given. The New Testament calls covetousness and greed idolatry, warning us against this sin almost more than any other (e.g., Matthew 23:25; Mark 7:22; Romans 1:29; 7:7, 8; 13:9; 1 Corinthians 5:10, 11; 6:10; Ephesians 5:3, 5; Colossians 3:5; James 4:2; 2 Peter 2:3, 14; 5:2).
Beyond the Ten Commandments many of the Old Testament case laws that follow in Exodus 21-23 reveal more of God’s plan for financial faithfulness, stewardship and generosity. For example, the Lord sets forth the principle of giving him our “firstfruits,” the best of our material resources (Exodus 23:19a; also see 30:11-16; 13:1-2, 11-13). He also gives the principle of restitution, our responsibility to make things whole again when we have harmed someone financially or otherwise (Exodus 22:1-15). The restitution that Zacchaeus made (Luke 19:1-10) directly corresponds with the instructions that are given in Exodus 22:1, although on top of this restitution he also gave away half of his possessions to the poor. The list could go on and on. We could talk about the principles regarding interest (Exodus 22:25; see also Luke 6:24, 35), creditors, financial pledges and collateral (Exodus 22:26-27; Deuteronomy 24:6-13). We also could look at God’s commands concerning the generosity we must show to our enemies (see Exodus 23:4-5 in connection with Matthew 5:44-45 and Romans 12:20), God’s warnings against bribes (Exodus 23:8), or God’s instructions about responsible ownership and economic liabilities (Exodus 21:28-36).
Lastly, some of the most important aspects of God’s law are the special provisions for those who are poor, helpless and marginalized (Exodus 21:2-11; 22:22-24). Such provisions held special significance for Jesus himself. When he revealed his own identity, Jesus appealed to God’s concern for the poor and oppressed in the Law (e.g. Leviticus 25:8-28) and the Prophets (e.g. Isaiah 42 and 61) by reading from the scroll of Isaiah,
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he had anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners ... to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)
Related Passages: Deuteronomy 30:1-10; 2 Chronicles 31:3; Isaiah 57:17; Jeremiah 6:13; 32:23; Matthew 23:1-4, 23-28; Romans 1:28-32; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 6:10; Ephesians 5:3,5; Colossians 3:4; 2 Peter 2:13-15
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