When you are harvesting in your field . . . leave [some] for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Deuteronomy 24:19
A few years ago, our church was invited to host refugees fleeing their country after a tumultuous change in political leadership. Entire families came with only what they could fit in a small bag. Several of our church families opened their homes, including some who had little room to spare.
Their gracious hospitality reflects God’s triple command to the Israelites when they entered the promised land (Deuteronomy 24:19-21). As an agricultural society, they understood the importance of the harvest. The crops were essential to get them through until next year. This makes God’s command to “leave [some] for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow” (v. 19) also a request to trust Him. The Israelites were to practice generosity not by giving only when they knew they had enough but giving out of a heart that trusts God’s provision.
Such hospitality was also a reminder “that [they] were slaves in Egypt” (vv. 18, 22). They were once oppressed and destitute. Their generosity was a reminder of God’s graciousness to them in freeing them from bondage.
Believers in Jesus are similarly urged to be generous. Paul reminds us, “Though [Christ] was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). We give because He gave to us.
When has someone helped you when you were in need? How will you give to others while trusting God’s provision for you?
Dear Father, please open my eyes to the needs of the marginalized in my community.
INSIGHT
The laws for Israel in Deuteronomy 24:17-22 occur in a series of laws on how to live in the promised land. The point of the section is clear: provide for the poor, the needy, and the foreigner. An interesting corollary occurs, however, at the end of the previous chapter. Deuteronomy 23:24-25 permitted anyone—not merely the needy—to eat whatever they wished from a neighbor’s field. One day, Jesus’ disciples availed themselves of this provision (Matthew 12:1). Immediately, the Pharisees accused them of “doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath” (v. 2)—that is, “working.” Christ defended His disciples, saying, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (v. 8). They ate the grain merely because they “were hungry” (v. 1). Jesus noted that His Father desires “mercy” (feeding the hungry) over “sacrifice.” The Pharisees adhered to a legalistic interpretation of the law, in the process missing the generous Spirit who gave it.