7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need.
The Israelites were to be a generous people. There were to be no poor among them, not only because of the Lord’s blessing (v4), and the cancelling of debt every seven years (v1), but also because of personal generous behavior. The Lord promises to bless those who are generous. The first thing I want you to notice in this passage is that it is talking about generosity within the family of faith. This is talking about their attitude toward fellow Israelites. It is OK if others owe them money. Other nations can borrow and owe Israel, but Israel is not to borrow. There are many place in Scripture that talk about the poor and our privilege of reaching out and helping, even those who are not of the faith. Israel is being held to a higher standard it their dealings with each other. There was a sense of family among them.
The Arnold Journey 