“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’” Leviticus 23:22
“The Feast of Weeks was a harvest festival, similar to those observed in other ancient cultures that also offered the first crops harvested and the firstborn animal from a flock as the sacrifice of thanksgiving to a deity… Everyone should participate… even the poor and aliens, who would not normally share in the harvest, can participate because those who do own land should not reap their crops to the very edge of the field, but should leave some of the crop for the needy (Leviticus 23:22)… All are to come together to celebrate the harvest and give thanks to the Lord. This feast reaches beyond the borders of race, ethnicity, class, and gender.
Anastasia Bonface-Malle in “Numbers” in Africa Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 201.
Notice the depth of this instruction for God’s people in at least three ways.
“When you reap harvest… I am the Lord your God.” We are not the one who supplies the harvest. The Lord our God is the one who bountifully supplies all things we enjoy from our productive work.
“Do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.” We must to take for ourselves from all God’s blessings but make space or margin for others to benefit.
“Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.” Notice the sharing with the poor and alien is not a handout that creates a dependency but a hand up. They have to do productive work to gain.
Let us consider the fruit of our labor as not all ours: a portion belongs to God, a portion is for the poor and foreigners to work with us, and a portion is for us to enjoy.
How might you honor the Lord of the harvest with the fruit of your labor in light of this pattern?