Over the past week I presented two action points from Tackling the Elephant. The third and final action point related to our financial stewardship is, “Redeeming Gleaning .”
The story of Yahweh’s redeeming Israel from slavery to Egypt points toward the reality of the Kingdom of God expressed in these last days for those who submit to Jesus as Messiah and King.
When God delivered the people of Israel he gave them instructions as to how to treat the poor (widows, orphans, etc.) and the foreigners (aliens, “sojourners”) within the economic community of redeemed slaves. Since they themselves were poor and alien in Egypt, they were to remember their injustice and respond with justice to the outsiders of their community. This is most obviously stated in the laws concerning harvesting as they apply to leaving behind some of the harvest for the poor to glean:
“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.” Deut. 24:19-22 (ESV) emphasis mine
In the book of Ruth we see Boaz as a beautiful redeemer and prophetic type of Christ, in that he goes exceedingly beyond the economic laws of the old covenant to a place of grace in his redemption of Ruth, Naomi and their property. In Boaz we see God’s heart for the poor, the alien and the wounded.
Jesus himself was poor. He and his own disciples were known to glean from the fields (Matt. 12:1-12, Mark 2:23 -24). He often had “no place to lay his head” (Matt. 8:20). His ministry was largely funded by women of questionable pedigree (Luke 8:3). He taught us that when we feed, clothe, visit and give water to the least of humanity, we sacramentally give unto Him (Matt. 25:31ff). In Christ we see that it is nothing short of worship when we give to the poor.
We believe that there is yet redemption to be found in providing space in our profit (margins) for the poor to glean. We are hoping that the initiatives at Tackling the Elephant will allow for a dialogue on contextualizing the idea of “gleaning” in modern America and beyond.
In the Levitical gleaning mandate we see God creating space for the poor to not just receive help, but also to work for their food. We would like to specifically challenge business owners and entrepreneurs to consider creative ways to allow the poor to work for perhaps “more than they deserve.” This too is a way to show grace, and it is a proper response to the Kingdom Among Us.
This site is a perfectly simple declaration of my own heart for financial stewardship and I hope you will prayerfully consider making these three action points your fiscal priority. If you share these values, then I encourage you to visit their site, sign the declaration and begin…
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