Message summary: Today, the principle of gleaning can still speak to us.

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"And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:22).

Yesterday we shared about our recent experience of gleaning various kinds of squash from our neighbor's farm at his invitation. Essentially we walked through the fields and picked out squash that was unsuitable for sending to market but still edible. There's a little more effort involved with cutting around the blemishes and they will need to be cared for sooner than those without blemishes.  Brooksyne will process them now and freeze them. Normally with undamaged squash you can store them in a cool place and keep them for months.

We provided an overview yesterday about our gleaning experience so today let's examine the text a little closer.

Ancient Israel was overall an agrarian society. Most people lived close enough to the land to understand the planting and harvesting of crops. That is so different than many living in our age, where they have virtually no contact with or knowledge of agriculture. Our friends, Jesse and Anna Ruth, have developed the Old Windmill Farm to specifically demonstrate the Amish way of life but in a more general sense they show what farm living looks like. We enjoy going over and observing the guests, many who are on a farm for the first time or they may be among those who return as often as possible from the big city in New York, New Jersey or elsewhere.

"And when you reap the harvest of your land". This begins the specific instruction to the farmer during harvest. Ever since creation there has been "seedtime (planting) and harvest". These words are found in the promise in the Noahic Covenant following the Great Flood, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). This promise has endured for some 4,500 years and I don't expect it to cease!

"You shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest".  This means the farmer leaves a row or two purposefully not maximizing his yield. He was also not to gather the gleanings, meaning portions of the harvest that might have spilled as they were gathering or perhaps a part they had missed. Unlike the sub-par squash unsuitable for the market which we gathered on our neighbor's farm, these edge rows and gleanings would be suitable for market but were purposefully left untouched.

"You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner". 

The poor: Poverty has always been a part of the human condition. Jesus said, "For you always have the poor with you" (Matthew 26:11). Larry Burkett (now with the Lord) had an outstanding ministry teaching about finances. I found a distinction he made many years ago very helpful.

The Israelites at that time, like most Jews today, have an ambitious and strong work ethic so it seems that most poverty at that time was likely temporary such as Ruth, who had lost her husband.

The sojourner: A sojourner is a person who resides temporarily in a place. They were simply passing through and the gleaning helped meet their temporary need.

Today, the principle of gleaning still speaks to us. Very few of us have literal fields of grain, but we all have “fields” of time, resources, and talents. May we use these fields to bless others, sharing what we might consider leftovers, yet it could be life-sustaining for someone else. When we give from our abundance, we reflect the heart of Christ, who gave Himself completely for us.

"I am the Lord your God". It's interesting that the verse ends with this essential reminder!

Be encouraged today!  Hebrews 3:13