DEUT429 One consistent theme in the Bible is the fact that God is not only the Creator of the earth, but the “owner” of it. (Deuteronomy 10:14). Because God is the owner of all assets, He has the right to distribute them as He wills. Human beings may, at God's behest, own property, but God requires us, as the Torah’s commandments indicate, to give charity from “our” resources, gained from our temporary lease on God's property. Those who refuse to provide for the poor thus effectively deny God’s sovereignty, for such people dispute God's ultimate claim to all the earth and the right of God to demand that some of His property be redistributed to the poor. Consequently, the Rabbis deemed refusal to assist the poor nothing less than idolatry. (T. Pe’ah 4:20)