Gleaning to the Edges

The Lord instructs Israel in the law to not glean all the way to the very perimeter of their fields. Instead, the edges were to be left unharvested so that the poor (and foreigners sojourning in the land) could come and gather food. This is more than just teaching Israel the value of charity. This command is followed by an emphatic declaration – “I am the Lord.” Why? Because to violate this commandment was not just to lack charity but to violate the Lord’s justice. Israel’s fields did not belong to the landowners; they belonged to the Lord. And he had ear-marked and apportioned those crops to care for his people.

How often do we think of our stuff as ours? Our home, our family, our time, our money, our resources… they don’t belong to us. They belong to God. They have only been given to us to steward. And God has given them to you for the good of others. When you “glean to the edges” – that is embezzlement. God has apportioned and ear-marked your time, money, home, etc as provision for others. Are you leaving it for them or are you stealing it?