Do you have gleaning and harvest territories?
TODAY'S PROVERB: To show partiality is not good—yet for a piece of bread a man may do wrong. Proverbs 28:21
They say justice is blind. The statue of a woman wearing a blindfold, holding a scale and sword can be seen around many a courthouses. It's actually a cool representation of an impartial judicial system that only weighs the evidence and metes out that justice firmly.
In today's proverb, we are cautioned against showing partiality. Which reflects what the Torah says in Leviticus 19:15: “You are to do no injustice in judgment. You are not to be partial toward the poor nor show favoritism toward the great, but you are to judge your neighbor with fairness."
Earlier in Leviticus 19, we are commanded to not steal (vs. 11)--no one was to steal. This applied to the poor as well.
Nevertheless, GOD did put systems in place to protect the poor from stealing to provide for themselves and their family. The systems were also designed to teach those blessed with wealth how to be compassionate and generous to others in need.
In Leviticus 19:9-10 and Deuteronomy 24:19-21 were instructions for those landowners with grains and fruits to share their harvest with the poor. The corners of fields were to be left unharvested, and those gleanings left behind by the reapers were meant for the poor. The fruit that fell from vines or left behind from the pickers were meant for the poor.
These provisions were not stealing, unless the person went beyond the harvest and gleaning boundaries and took what wasn't meant for them.
What can we learn from this proverb? Many things, but the one that is touching my heart is how GOD made provisions for those "without." He didn't say those "with" shouldn't have the things they have, He said we should share a portion to bless those who are in need.
GOD wants us to have "harvest and gleaning territories for the poor." Do we?
Yeshua said the poor would always be with us, and that we can do good for them (Mark 14:7). As fellow created beings we have an obligation to share and not ignore them. How might that look?
Being mindful and observant. Begin at "home"--with our congregations. Perhaps we can bring to services a jar of homemade soup, a plate of cookies, produce from our gardens, time for fellowship, or whatever wealth we produce. Share with whomever GOD shows us.
If those of us "with" did this regularly, those "without" will be blessed. And, I think, we will be, too.
May we have gleaning and harvest territories, my friends.
Proverbs 28:21, Tree of Life Bible Society, Tree of Life Version - TLV #tlvbible #tlvproverbs
[WATCH Tree of Life Bible Society's CEO, Daniah Greenberg and me, Terri Gillespie, Author dig a little deeper with this proverb. Check us out at Tree of Life Bible Society, Monday through Friday, LIVE at 8:30am EST. Watch previous episodes there as well. Stay wise, my friends!]
They say justice is blind. The statue of a woman wearing a blindfold, holding a scale and sword can be seen around many a courthouses. It's actually a cool representation of an impartial judicial system that only weighs the evidence and metes out that justice firmly.
In today's proverb, we are cautioned against showing partiality. Which reflects what the Torah says in Leviticus 19:15: “You are to do no injustice in judgment. You are not to be partial toward the poor nor show favoritism toward the great, but you are to judge your neighbor with fairness."
Earlier in Leviticus 19, we are commanded to not steal (vs. 11)--no one was to steal. This applied to the poor as well.
Nevertheless, GOD did put systems in place to protect the poor from stealing to provide for themselves and their family. The systems were also designed to teach those blessed with wealth how to be compassionate and generous to others in need.
In Leviticus 19:9-10 and Deuteronomy 24:19-21 were instructions for those landowners with grains and fruits to share their harvest with the poor. The corners of fields were to be left unharvested, and those gleanings left behind by the reapers were meant for the poor. The fruit that fell from vines or left behind from the pickers were meant for the poor.
These provisions were not stealing, unless the person went beyond the harvest and gleaning boundaries and took what wasn't meant for them.
What can we learn from this proverb? Many things, but the one that is touching my heart is how GOD made provisions for those "without." He didn't say those "with" shouldn't have the things they have, He said we should share a portion to bless those who are in need.
GOD wants us to have "harvest and gleaning territories for the poor." Do we?
Yeshua said the poor would always be with us, and that we can do good for them (Mark 14:7). As fellow created beings we have an obligation to share and not ignore them. How might that look?
Being mindful and observant. Begin at "home"--with our congregations. Perhaps we can bring to services a jar of homemade soup, a plate of cookies, produce from our gardens, time for fellowship, or whatever wealth we produce. Share with whomever GOD shows us.
If those of us "with" did this regularly, those "without" will be blessed. And, I think, we will be, too.
May we have gleaning and harvest territories, my friends.
Proverbs 28:21, Tree of Life Bible Society, Tree of Life Version - TLV #tlvbible #tlvproverbs
[WATCH Tree of Life Bible Society's CEO, Daniah Greenberg and me, Terri Gillespie, Author dig a little deeper with this proverb. Check us out at Tree of Life Bible Society, Monday through Friday, LIVE at 8:30am EST. Watch previous episodes there as well. Stay wise, my friends!]
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