Deu 15:6-11 | Clarke

Deuteronomy 15:6-11

Verse 8

Thou shalt open thine hand wide - Thy benevolence shall be in proportion to his distress and poverty, and thy ability. Thou shalt have no other rule to regulate thy charity by. Verse 9

Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart - לבבך בליעל lebabecha beliyaal, thy belial heart, that is, thy good-for-nothing or unprofitable heart; See on Deu 13:13 (note).

And thine eye be evil - An evil eye signifies a covetous disposition. See the same form of expression used by our Lord in the same sense, Mat 6:23. If thine eye be evil - If thou be a covetous person. Evil eye is by our Lord opposed to single eye, i. e., a person of a liberal, benevolent mind. Covetousness darkens the soul; liberality and benevolence enlighten it.

And he cry unto the Lord against thee - What a consolation to the poor and the oppressed, that they have a sure friend in God, who will hear their cry and redress their grievances! Verse 11

For the poor shall never cease out of the land - To this passage our Lord appears to allude Mar 14:7 : For ye have the poor with you always. God leaves these in mercy among men to exercise the feelings of compassion, tenderness, mercy, etc. And without occasions afforded to exercise these, man would soon become a Stoic or a brute.