וְאִם דַּל הוּא וְאֵין יָדוֹ מַשֶּׂגֶת וגו' (יד, כא)
And if he is a poor man and cannot afford… (14:21)
Sefer Divrei Yisroel notes that the pasuk seems to contain extra words. Why does it say “if he is a poor man and cannot afford”? If he is poor, it goes without saying that he can’t afford it.
He answers that the pasuk should be read as follows:
“Im dal hu v’ayin.” (If he is poor and “has nothing.”) If a poor man sees that he has nothing he can do to support himself, and his only option is to rely on Hashem’s help… “Yado maseges.” (he will be able to afford it.) Hashem will help him!
This idea is seen in the pasuk (Tehillim 121:1): “Me’ayin yavo ezri.” (My help will come from nothing.) Once a person recognizes that he “is nothing” and he cannot help himself, then his help will come from Hashem. This is also seen from the verse (Tehillim 94:18): “If I said that my foot has slipped, Your kindness, Hashem, supported me.” Once a person comes to realize that “his foot has slipped” and he has no way to help himself, then Hashem’s kindness will support him and He will help him.