Social justice in Old Testament rules for gleaning

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

Up until very recent times, the economy in the land of Israel was primarily agricultural. This was especially true in biblical times. The Bible is replete with references to sowing, reaping, threshing, and milling; and to vineyards and  olive groves. The annual harvests of grain, olives, and grapes represented a significant portion, if not the majority, of national economic production. In Deuteronomy 8:8, Moses describes the land of Israel as “a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey.”

In addition to comprising a major part of the national economy, grain was an essential dietary staple that played an important role in people’s everyday lives. Each morning, women ground grain by hand for that day’s bread.[1] When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread,” He used the bread baked each morning to symbolize God’s provision for His people. He emphasized the daily aspect of bread making, recalling the bread called manna that God provided for the Israelites after they escaped from Egypt into the wilderness. The Book of Exodus says manna fell with the dew each morning like thin flakes of frost, and was colored white like coriander seed, and tasted like wafers made with honey. Each morning, the Israelites gathered a daily supply of manna, which they would prepare by baking or boiling it. Any manna stored overnight would rot by morning.

The Israelites who listened to Moses relay God’s instructions at the foot of Mount Sinai well understood the daily necessity of manna, the bread from heaven—they had likely gathered and baked cakes of manna that very morning and had eaten them that day. But now, looking forward to the time when the Israelites had established themselves in the Promise Land, God instructed the Israelites to provide grain and other staple crops for poor and vulnerable groups in society.

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.[2]

Forty years later, in Deuteronomy, Moses characteristically expands on the command given in Leviticus.

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.[3]

Moses told the Israelites not to harvest to the extreme edges of their fields, nor to go over their fields a second time to pick up what was left over after the harvesters had bundled the sheaves of grain. In the same way, Moses prohibited the Israelites from beating their olive trees a second time or returning to recover what fruit remained after picking their grapes from the vine.

Moses gave several reasons for this instruction. First, the remaining grain, olives, and grapes would provide sustenance and gainful employment for people who lived on society’s margins: poor immigrants, orphans, and widows. The Book of Ruth provides an imperfect but instructive example of how this worked. One of the book’s major protagonists, Ruth, is both a widow and an immigrant who lived in Israel during the time of the judges, before any monarchy was established. As the author of the Book of Judges repeatedly notes, “In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” A cursory reading of Judges depicts a brutish, lawless, and predatory society. Fortunately for Ruth, she immigrated to Bethlehem in Judah, where some people followed the instruction that God had given to the Israelites, including a noble landowner named Boaz. She arrived just as the barley harvest was beginning and travelled out of the town and into the fields to see if she could glean from an amiable landowner. As it happened, Ruth found herself gleaning behind the harvesters in the field of Boaz. It is worthwhile to note what Boaz tells Ruth when they first meet.

So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you.”[4]

Boaz implies that Ruth would not be welcome in some fields, or worse, that evil men would mistreat or kidnap a lone woman found in the countryside. This was wise advice given the social degradation in Israel at the time. Ruth’s mother-in-law reinforces Boaz’s warning, saying, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”[5] In the midst of lawlessness, Boaz faithfully followed the Mosaic Law, allowing Ruth to gather food for herself and her mother-in-law. And, because of Boaz’s obedience, Ruth had a respectable way of earning a living. The Bible says that after working from morning till evening and threshing the barely she had gathered, it measured approximately 20 quarts or 22 liters—a substantial amount that would feed her small family for some time. In addition, Ruth and her mother-in-law could use the barley to barter for necessary goods, as was common in the ancient world without an easily accessible standard of currency.[6]

According to Moses, the second reason for God’s instruction was to ensure God’s blessing. Leave something behind, Moses told the Israelite landowners, “so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” By purposefully refusing to take maximum profits during the harvest, the owner of the field, grove, or vineyard would realize even greater profitability from their enterprise. God’s message here is counterintuitive unless put into the context of God’s covenant with His people Israel. God called the Israelites out of Egypt so that He could make them a nation that reflected His just, loving, and holy character. If Israelite society functioned according to God’s moral precepts, they would receive His blessing.

You have decreed this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.[7]

So, although the gleaning provision was wasteful from an individual point of view, it was very efficient in terms of accomplishing God’s purposes for Israelite society, specifically His desire for justice which includes salvation for the weak and oppressed. Moreover, God promised supernatural fruitfulness for the individual landowner so that he would receive more than he gave up. As Proverbs 11:24-25 reads, “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”

Today, Christians can make similar economic choices that may seem somewhat inefficient from an individualistic point of view, but are efficient from the standpoint of seeing justice done in society. When purchasing a product or service, we should not seek the best price and value, but also take into consideration the business practices of the companies that we buy from. We should be aware of the effects of our purchases on others, especially the poor and vulnerable. Is your laptop assembled in factories that treat their workers poorly for the sake of profit? Does the disposable electronic toy you bought for your nephew contain raw metals mined from strip mines that destroy forests and pollute rivers?

In today’s hyper-efficient market economy, Christian consumers need to conscientiously leave some margin for the sustenance and gainful employment of vulnerable people by purchasing products and services from companies that operate in a responsible manner. Companies exist to make a profit, not to follow ethical rules. Left to themselves, companies will maximize profits any way possible. It is the responsibility of consumers to give companies a profit incentive in operating responsibly, even compassionately.

The third reason Moses gave for leaving a portion of the crop for those who needed it was because the Israelites had themselves been in a helpless, hopeless situation. Many of the Israelites camped at the foot of Mount Sinai listening to Moses likely bore scars laid on them by their Egyptian taskmasters. Because the God of justice “heard their cry” and saved them from oppression, they now enjoyed freedom unknown to generations before them. God also called them out into the desert where he fed them with manna each morning and quail each evening, teaching them to trust in the God of mercy and grace for everything in life.

Moses reminded the Israelites of the justice and mercy they received from God: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.” Likewise, the Israelites should act with justice and mercy toward weak, vulnerable, and oppressed people in their midst. In the same way that God saved them from cruel slavery, the Israelites could help save poor immigrants, widows, and orphans from danger and wicked people, just as Boaz saved Ruth. In the same way God provided manna for the Israelites in the desert, the Israelites could provide sustenance and gainful employment for those who needed it by following God’s harvesting instructions.

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[1] This is the reason why God prohibited the Israelites from taking millstones as debt collateral in Deuteronomy 24:6, “Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a man’s livelihood as security.”

[2] Leviticus 19:9-10, see also 23:22

[3] Deuteronomy 24:19-22

[4] Ruth 2:8

[5] Ruth 2:22

[6] Israel did not use a currency until after the Exile.

[7] Deuteronomy 26:17-19

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]