“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23.22

The Law of God does not command the people of God to work; it assumes they will work. Work was to be the means by which God would bless His people in all their occupations and provisions as they lived together in community according to the Law of God (Deut. 28.1-14).

Even the poor were expected to work, as we see in the statutes providing for the gleaning of harvests (cf. Deut. 24.19-22). Those who owned fields and vineyards and groves were not to gather all their harvest for themselves; some had to be left so that the poor in the community could provide for their needs. But nothing was “given” to the poor. They were expected to work as they were able in the fields of their neighbors.

As we will see in a later section of this series, the Law of God established an economy that helped to stabilize prices and ensure that each person could prosper without taking advantage of his neighbor. Work was not viewed as a way of accumulating wealth, but as a way of exercising stewardship over the land of promise so that, through diligence and obedience, all the blessings of God could come to all the people.

Work in ancient Israel involved a certain amount of trade, and all trade was regulated to ensure fair prices and value in the marketplace (cf. Lev.19.35, 36). Some members of the community would work as employees of others, and they should expect that fair wages would be paid to them promptly and regularly (cf. Lev.19.13). Borrowing was not encouraged; however, when it was necessary, the terms of transactions were regulated according to the standards of neighbor-love (cf. Ex. 22.26, 27; Deut. 23.19, 20).

Neighbors were to take care that they were not, through their negligence, the cause of their neighbor’s ability to work his land or property being impeded (cf. Ex. 21.33-36; 22.5, 6). All must respect the property of others and consider it part of his duty to help ensure his neighbor had full use of his own property in order to maximize its productive potential for the benefit of the entire community (cf. Deut. 22.1-4).

The communities of ancient Israel were communities in which everybody worked, and everybody’s work was in some way linked with the needs and blessings of everyone else.

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