The eighth commandment

Deuteronomy 24.19-22

“‘When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.’”

The motivation for caring for the poor through the institution of gleaning was the memory of what it was like to be oppressed and enslaved in Egypt. Even if the initial pass of reapers and harvesters was not thorough, or if sheaves were forgotten in the field, they were to be left for the needy, who had to fetch them in themselves or, as in the case of Naomi and Ruth, find someone to do the work for them.

As we remember what it was like to be slaves to sin, and that God redeemed us freely by His grace, our hearts should go out to all who are similarly trapped, so that we “go the extra mile” to show them the love of God and call them to join us in the Lord’s harvest.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.