Every time we say grace before a meal we are reminded that daily bread is indeed a gift to share. God has much to say to His people about feeding the hungry among us. Two main themes run through the Bible concerning hunger. The first is God’s promise to care for us. The second is our responsibility to take care of one another. Both themes reflect God’s will that everyone be adequately fed.

Please take time to read the following passages. Then locate them in your Bible to help you understand their context. And pray that you will know God’s will for you in helping to end hunger by Feeding His Starving Children.

 

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT:

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

- Isaiah 58:6,10 NSRV

God always keeps His promises; he judges in favor of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.

-Psalm 146:6-7 TEV

Happy are those who are concerned for the poor; the Lord will help them when they are in trouble.

-Psalm 41:1 TEV

When you gather your crops and fail to bring in some of the grain that you have cut, do not go back for it; for it is to be left for the foreigners, orphans and widows...When you have gathered your grapes once, do not go back over the vines a second time; the grapes that are left are for the foreigners, orphans and widows. Never forget that you were slaves in Egypt; that is why I have given you this command.

-Deuteronomy 24:19-22 TEV

If you refuse to listen to the cry of the poor, your own cry will not be heard.

-Proverbs 21:13 TEV

Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Defend the rights of the poor and needy.

-Proverbs 31:8-9 NSRV

Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

-Isaiah 1:17

A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.

-Proverbs 22:9

He has told you, ‘O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’
-Micah 6:8

...do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor...

-Zechariah 7:10 RSV

 

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and he will repay him for his deed.

-Proverbs 19:17

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT:

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in His presence, and He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at His left. Then the King will say to those on the right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'

Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'”

-Matthew 25:31-40 NLT

 

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has not works, is dead.

-James 2:14-17 NRSV

 

Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.

-James 1:27 NLT

 

Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need.

-Ephesians 4:28 NLT

 

Jesus said to him "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

-Matthew 19:21 RSV

 

"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

-Luke 14:13 RSV

 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

-1 John 4:9-11

 

"Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

-1 Timothy 6:18-19

 

"Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me."

-Luke 18:22 KJV

 

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.

-3 John 1:5