Cornelis Van Dam · Ordained Servant 1 no. 1 (1992): 14-21.
Summary
Cornelis Van Dam, professor of Old Testament at the Theological College of the Canadian Reformed Churches, delivered this address to a 1988 office bearers’ conference; Ordained Servant reprinted it in its first issue.
He reads Israel’s laws for the poor as flowing from the exodus: God freed his people from bondage, so no Israelite could be left bound by poverty, fear, or loneliness, and “poor and needy” covers anyone shut out from covenant joy and calling. From Acts 6 he concludes that deacons protect the communal joy of the congregation, a task wider than relieving financial want.
The closing pages turn practical, commending Calvin’s two kinds of deacons (for the poor and for the sick) and the Dutch Reformed custom of diaconal family visits to every home in the church.
Excerpt
Why did the Lord repeatedly express such great concern for the plight of the needy in Israel and warn Israel in no uncertain terms of his great wrath and vengeance to those who afflicted the needy and who did not help them (e.g. Ex. 22:22-24)? At the basis of the Lord’s special interest and care for the needy and oppressed is the fact that he, the Lord, had once led Israel out of the bondage and oppression of Egypt and had claimed them as his own precious possession, his covenant people.
The Lord never waited for extreme needs to develop before taking action. The detailed legislation shows how in many and various ways the poor and needy were constantly to be remembered and provided for. The extreme needs and hardships that did develop were due to disobedience to God’s law.
Browse by Topic · Browse by Author
Feedback, questions, or recommended resources?
More from Tim Hopper: readmachen.com · reformedconfessions.com · ulsterworldly.com
Maintained since 2015 · last updated 2026
Copyright © 2026
Header photo of Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston, South Carolina.