Deuteronomy 24: Leave Some for the Poor

"When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean what is left.  What remains will be for the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow."

Deuteronomy 24:21

This command is given three times - with regards to grains, olives, and grapes.  I'd take that to mean that God meant it for all crops, and just used those as specific examples because they were the most commonly grown foods in the land at that time.  But what is God asking them to do here?

Anybody who's familiar with farming at all knows that a whole field of crops doesn't ripen at exactly the same time.  Depending on the crop and the method of collecting it, a frugal farmer would reap what is ripe from his harvest and then go back out again a little time later to collect the rest after it had ripened.  God's command here is that farmers do not do that.

Why?  Because there are some in the land who do not own land, who are too poor to grow their own crops or even buy crops from others.  God's command is that His people allow the needy to eat what's leftover in the fields.

Question of the Day:

For farmers - do you set aside some of your food for the poor?  For non-farmers - do you have some other way of helping to feed the poor?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, show me how I can help feed the needy within my community.  Give me discernment between true needs and freeloaders.  Help me to give the needy a chance to get back on their feet, and help me set a positive example for freeloaders to see why making one's own living is better than endlessly relying on others.  Amen.