When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and forgettest a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not return to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands.
A farmer in Israel finishes his harvest and leaves one bundle of grain behind by mistake. God tells him to let it lie: his loss becomes someone else's supply. So who owns a harvest, and why does God attach a promise of blessing to the sheaf a man walks away from?
It sits among many rules about ordinary life. God takes an interest in the smallest details of His people's affairs.
In the rest of Deuteronomy 24, and in Deuteronomy 25, we find many instructions about mercy and goodness toward the people. They cover the most ordinary matters of household life: not the wife only, but one's fellows, servants too, strangers, harvests and vineyards, down to the care of the cattle... The Lord finds His own interest in all the belongings of His people. He would train them up in His own nurture and instruction. That is an important point for us to consider early on.
One commentator traces the line from Israel's past to the Christian's.
God showed His gracious care for those who were oppressed. Israel must remember that they themselves were oppressed in the land of Egypt. We too who are Christians must remember that we were once in the bondage of sin, until the grace of the Lord Jesus saved us. If so, we shall care about the needs of those who have not yet been freed from the poverty of their sinful state. We should gladly give up something of our own prosperity for their sakes.
The same rule appears in Leviticus. It shows what God is like, and the greed He warns the harvester against.
He would think of "the poor and stranger," and He would have His people think of them likewise. As they reaped the golden sheaves and gathered the ripe clusters, the Israel of God was to remember "the poor and stranger," because the Lord was the God of Israel. A spirit of grasping greed was not to rule the reaper and the grape-gatherer. Such a spirit would strip the corners of the field bare and pick the vine clean. They were to be ruled instead by a spirit of large-hearted, genuine kindness.
The verse names the foreigner first. Those who gather this grain did none of the work.
Israel ought to show kindness to any "strangers" among them. They were to let them glean in their fields and vineyards, and to see that the reapers left something on purpose for the gleaners. The strangers did not descend from Abraham, and they had taken no part in the ploughing, sowing or reaping. Even so, they were to have a full share of God's bounty at harvest-time.
The book of Ruth shows the rule in action. Boaz owned the field; Ruth was the foreign woman gleaning in it.
Nothing can surpass the delicate thoughtfulness of the words, "let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her." Clearly this noble Israelite wanted "the stranger" to have plenty. He wanted her to have it as the fruit of her own gleaning rather than as a gift from him... Boaz was simply acting out that gracious rule from which Ruth was benefiting. The same grace that had given him the field gave her the gleanings. They were both debtors to grace.
("Handfuls of purpose" is an older wording of Ruth 2:16. The ESV reads, "pull out some from the bundles for her.")
One memory drives kindness to the poor here: Israel's rescue from Egypt. That motive does not run dry.
They were to remember the Lord's grace in redeeming them out of Egypt. That memory was to be the constant and all-powerful driving force of their behaviour toward the poor brother. This principle never fails, and nothing lower than it will ever hold up... Kind feelings on their own, bubbling up in our hearts or stirred by the sorrows, distresses and needs of others, will prove short-lived. It is only in the living God Himself that we can find springs that never dry up.
The verse ends with a promise of blessing on the giver's work.
A generous spirit is only the normal product of faith: the Lord cares for the poor, and faith in Him will show the same attitude. What is more, the Lord will see that the giver is not impoverished by his kindness: he shall not lack. But a cold, selfish spirit that looks the other way when real need appears will reap its proper reward in "many a curse."
- Remember. The command is rooted in Israel's memory of Egypt. Grace received is the only lasting motive for grace given.
- Leave. The forgotten sheaf stays where it fell. Generosity here means holding back the hand that wants to gather everything.
- Reach. Foreigner, orphan, widow: the three named are the ones with no claim on the field and no work done in it.
- Imitate. Boaz went past the letter of the law. He dropped grain on purpose, so Ruth could gather it as her own finding.
- Receive. The giver loses nothing: God ties His blessing on all the work of a man's hands to the sheaf he was willing to lose.
When thou shakest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
Harvest in Israel came with a limit: the olive grower beat his trees once, then left the rest of the fruit for three named people. Is God protecting the income of the poor here, or the heart of the owner?
Harvesters knocked the olives down with a pole, and the law allowed only one pass. Whatever stayed on the tree belonged to the gleaners — people who came behind and gathered what the harvest left. One writer sets this rule beside its companion commands about sheaves and grapes:
When someone harvested his crops, if he left a sheaf in the field he was not to return for it. He had to leave it for either a stranger, a fatherless child, or a widow (v.19)... God gave a similar command about beating their olive trees to make the olives fall. Some olives would stay on the tree if they did not beat it a second time, and they were to leave these for the stranger, the fatherless and the widow (v.20). When they gathered grapes, they were to leave the gleanings too (v.21). So God showed His gracious care for those who were oppressed, since Israel had to remember they were in the land of Egypt. We too who are Christians must remember that we were once in the bondage of sin, before the grace of the Lord Jesus saved us. If so, we will care about the needs of those who have not been delivered from the poverty of their sinful state, and we should gladly sacrifice something of our own prosperity for their sakes.
These gleaning laws do more than feed the poor. They shape the giver:
These commandments close with the instruction to leave the gleanings of the olive and the vineyard for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. This grows a spirit opposite to that of the oppressor. A ready giver can hardly be an oppressor.
A stranger was a foreigner living in Israel. He had done none of the work, yet the harvest kept a share for him:
Jehovah wanted to grow a merciful spirit in His people. By showing mercy they would themselves be blessed, and would receive still further mercy (Matt. 5:7). So they ought to show their kindness to any "strangers" among them. They were to let them glean in their fields and vineyards, and the reapers were to take care to leave something behind for the gleaners. The strangers were not of "the seed of Abraham according to the flesh," and they had taken no part in the ploughing or sowing or reaping. Even so, they were not to be cut short in their share of God's bounty at harvest time.
The fruit left on the tree was not carelessness. It was planned generosity.
The same writer ties this rule to Israel's harvest festival, where thanks to God and gifts to the poor arrive together:
This law appears as a special clause in Jehovah's instructions about keeping "the feast of weeks" each year. At that feast Israel brought Him a freewill offering, in keeping with how He had blessed them (Deut. 16:10)... But this was added: "You shall not reap the corners of your field in your harvest, and you shall not gather the gleaning of your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger" (Lev. 23:22)... The New Testament joins the same two things, our thanks to God and our goods to the needy (Heb. 13:15-16). Our worship will be incomplete and unacceptable if it lacks either one.
Writers also read the leftover fruit as a picture of the present time:
The period that begins with the feast of Pentecost covers a long time, and it pictures the present era... It is above all the period of charity and grace, when "the gospel of the grace of God" is preached... And even when it is finished, there will still be a reserve of mercy, gleanings left for the poor [of the Jewish flock] and the stranger [the Gentile].
One writer sees in Ruth's gleaning a picture of how faith comes to God:
She represents the faith found in the remnant, which makes no claim of right, but comes to glean in the fields of divine mercy. So she is called the Moabitess here, because her Gentile origin shut her out from any legal claim to a portion in Israel.
- Remember. Israel had been strangers and slaves in Egypt. The mercy they were shown was to become mercy they showed.
- Restrain. One beating of the tree, one pass through the field. God capped the owner's right to every last olive.
- Reserve. What stayed on the tree was not lost or forgotten. God had already assigned it to the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.
- Receive. The gleaner brought no labour and no legal claim, only need, and came to gather in the fields of divine mercy.
- Rejoice. Harvest thanks and harvest giving belong together. Worship that lacks one of them is incomplete.
When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterwards; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
Israel's harvest laws end with the grape harvest. The picker goes through the vineyard once, and what he misses stays on the vine. So why does God limit a man's right to his own crop, and whom does He mean to feed by it?
Three rules in this chapter work the same way. One pass through the field, one beating of the olive tree, one picking of the grapes — each leaves something behind. One writer runs through the rules, then applies them to Christians today:
When someone harvested his crops and left a sheaf in the field, he was not to go back for it. He was to leave it for a stranger, a fatherless child, or a widow (v.19)... In the same way, after the grapes were gathered, the gleanings were to be left (v.21). So God showed His gracious care for those who were oppressed, since Israel had to remember they were once in the land of Egypt. We too who are Christians must remember that we were once in the bondage of sin before the grace of the Lord Jesus saved us. If so, we will care about the needs of those who have not been delivered from the poverty of their sinful state. And we should gladly sacrifice something of our own prosperity for their sakes.
The command aims at the heart of the man picking the fruit. Writing on the same law in Leviticus, one commentator sets two attitudes side by side:
The reaper and the grape-gatherer were not to be ruled by a spirit of grasping greed, which would strip bare the corners of the field and the branches of the vine. They were to be ruled by a spirit of large-hearted, genuine kindness, which would leave a sheaf and a cluster "for the poor and stranger." Then those people too could rejoice in the unbounded goodness of Him whose paths overflow with plenty, and everyone in need can wait with confidence on His open hand.
The rule feeds the poor, and it also shapes the man who keeps it:
These commandments close with the instruction to leave the gleanings of the olive and the vineyard for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. This grows a spirit opposite to that of the oppressor, since a ready giver can hardly be one. And God reminds them again of their bondage in Egypt, so that they may show mercy to the poor.
The ESV calls him the sojourner; older translations say stranger — a foreigner living in Israel. He did nothing to grow the crop, and Israel's own past is why he still gets a share:
Jehovah desired to develop a merciful spirit in His people... The nation should remember the kindness of God to themselves when they were all "strangers" and slaves in the land of Egypt (Ex. 22:21). So they ought to show their kindness to any "strangers" among them by letting them glean in their fields and vineyards. The reapers were to take care to leave something on purpose for the gleaners. The strangers were not of "the seed of Abraham according to the flesh." They had taken no part in the ploughing or sowing or reaping. Even so, Israel was not to give them a stingy share of God's bounty at harvest-time.
Two widows once lived on this law. The same writer follows where it took them:
Israel's statute-book recorded this command of Jehovah about the poor and the stranger. Under its generous terms, Naomi and Ruth found their immediate food in Bethlehem. They also found divine favours far more surprising and far-reaching than anyone could have imagined. Only the boundless mercy of Jehovah could have brought both these widows into the family line of the promised Messiah of Israel.
One commentator also reads the leftover fruit as a picture. What Israel leaves in the field is meant for someone outside Israel:
Provision is made here for the stranger to glean in Israel's fields. God will bring the Gentile in to share in His overflowing goodness. When Israel's storehouse and winepress are full, there will be precious sheaves and rich clusters for the Gentile to gather.
- Remember — the reason God gives is Egypt. Israel had been slaves there, so mercy received becomes mercy shown. Christians look back at their own bondage to sin the same way.
- Leave — grasping greed strips the vine bare. The cure is to leave a cluster behind on purpose.
- Give — a ready giver can hardly be an oppressor. Open-handedness at harvest trains the opposite spirit.
- Reach — the gleanings go to people who did no ploughing, sowing or reaping. They are not of Abraham's line, and still no one may give them a stingy share.
- Result — Ruth lived by this law and entered the family line of Israel's Messiah. Commentators see the fruit left behind as a picture of God's goodness reaching past Israel's harvest.