READING: Leviticus 23:1-25:23
We have read similar words before in Leviticus 19:9-10, which deals with leaving behind some of the grain and grape harvest for the poor and the foreigner. In today’s reading, we learn the same about the harvest collected during the time of the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost): “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God” (Lev 23:22). God’s people were to leave the gleanings of His blessings for others; their sharing their harvest was an acknowledgement of God’s care and abundant provision for them.
Through this process, God and His people provided for impoverished folks and foreigners among them who owned no land to harvest. This practice recognized the heart of God for the poor and the marginalized. At the same time, it cautioned against greed as it required people to leave some of their harvest behind.
To put it simply, I think today about how much food we North Americans typically eat . . . and how much we throw away . . . and how little we give to the less fortunate. Even what we do give to others is often not much sacrifice. Out of the abundance of what God has given us, though, we must help others.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: What sacrifices do you make to provide for others?
TODAY’S PRAYER: “Father, remind us today to give to others – to not hoard all Your blessings for ourselves.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Leviticus 25:24-26:46