Deuteronomy 24: 17-22 | July 18, 2010
17 Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
19 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. 20 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. 21 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. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
I looked up the word neighbor in the dictionary. The first meaning is somebody living nearby. I suppose that’s how we usually think of our neighbors. Those on the other side of the fence from us. Those we see at the soccer game when our kids are playing.
But there is another meaning to neighbor. A fellow human being. He or she is also our neighbor. That person who’s skin color or language or politics are different than yours. He or she is also our neighbor. That’s what Jesus taught someone who thought he was everything God wanted him to be. And it’s important to know – especially when our Lord commands us. Love your neighbor as yourself
In this section of Deuteronomy, God readies his people to be the kind of neighbors he wants them to be. At first, we might wonder. How does this apply to me? These people lived in such a different time, the circumstances so different. Watch now and see. It does apply. In fact, it teaches us a way of life, a special concern for others, that you see throughout God’s Word. So here we say:
Lord, make us your kind of neighbors.
I. With a special regard for the powerless
II. With something set aside for those in need.
Deuteronomy means the second giving of the law. The first giving was at Mount Sinai 40 years before. Now a whole new generation has come out of the desert and is on the verge of entering the promised land. Deuteronomy is Moses giving God’s law and spelling it out for the people as they began a whole new life.
When they entered that land, many would become well established. Their flocks and farms and vineyards would be blessed with abundance. They’d be able to look out for the interests of their families.
But like any other society, not everyone would be so blessed. Here the Lord speaks of the alien or the fatherless and the widow. What was their life situation? The alien was away from home and family. The fatherless has no family. He’s on his own. The widow had lost her husband in a society where inheritance went through the man.
In other words they were vulnerable to someone wanting to take advantage of them. In a way, they were powerless. They had to depend on the fairness of others who had more to gain by taking advantage.
It makes me think of a garage sale meant to help someone in need of a transplant. Or maybe someone who has lost his job and needs to sell his car for cash. Or maybe someone is looking for work. If we know how desperate and powerless that person is we might be tempted to take advantage of such people while they’re down, to low ball the price instead of making a fair offer. Lord make us your kind of neighbors with a special regard for the powerless.
That’s what the Lord commanded his people: 17 Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. A widow might need to borrow some money to tide her over. A person would often ask for something of value to insure that person would pay what he or she owed. But for the widow the only thing of value might be her cloak, a loose piece of clothing that would be her blanket to keep her warm on a cold night. You see then the Lord’s regard for the powerless. He programs in this protection in his law for their land. They were to be that kind of neighbor.
And why? They just had to look back at their own history. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. They only had to remember when they were powerless slaves in Egypt. where their masters took cruel advantage. How could they possibly do the same to the powerless among them now? For after all the Lord says, I redeemed you. When you were powerless to help yourself, I set you free.
Think about that. For you and I can also look back to a time when we were powerless to help ourselves. A time when we were slaves. You see, we were slaves to something far worse than the slave drivers of Egypt. We were slaves to sin, and to death. We were slaves without hope and without God.
But what does the Scripture say? …At just the right time when were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly, (Rom 5:6) which by the way was you and me. So we were there too. Powerless slaves. But Christ has set us free. He went the way of the cross for you. He took your guilt upon himself and suffered your death. Then he rose to declare , you are free. Free, forgiven dearly loved children of God whose citizenship is heaven,. So now, what does God call us to do with our freedom. Be his kind of neighbor with a special regard for the powerless.
Here I’m thinking of a young man in our congregation. He is bedridden with Muscular Dystrophy while our state in such terrible shape keeps looking for ways to cut the budget. Well it’s a lot easier to cut the benefits of people like this young man than those who have a powerful union. He can barely lift his finger. So he needs people like you and me to say no more. He needs folks like us to speak up and vote that the powerless not be taken advantage of. For we were there. And Christ has set us free.
Now I’m thinking of a man who was a little boy in Mexico. His father abandoned the family. At one point they were without food for days. This young boy was very hungry and walked through the farmer’s fields looking for a zucchini. He looked and looked but could not find any. Finally he told me, he prayed and when he opened his eyes there was one. Divine intervention? A miracle? Maybe. But maybe it was another way that God provided. Maybe the farmer was trying to be the kind of neighbor that God commands here. Lord make us that kind of neighbor with something set aside for those in need.
When the Israelites entered the promised land most families would be given a plot of land. With that, they could raise grain and grapes, sheep and goats. But some would not have land. They would not be able to plant and harvest. So the Lord told those who could. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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.
This gave everyone an opportunity to share in the fruit of the land. Notice how it worked. The orphan or alien would not have to beg or get a handout. They had to go out and do the work of gathering what was left for them. God’s wisdom is worth imitating in our own charity. It’s so much better for that person if he has to do something for what he gets.
But there’s something else God was teaching the owner of that field or vineyard. Everything I give you is not for you. Think of what the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians4: 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Did you get that: Everything God gives us, everything we work for is not for us.
Think of the first offering recorded in the New Testament. What was it for? To build a church, to pay a preacher, to send a missionary? No. It was to help those in need suffering famine in Jerusalem. God gives us blessing that we may be his kind of neighbors with something set aside for others.
But again it is something more. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. When you come into this rich new land and begin to enjoy it’s fruits, remember. Remember God’s amazing grace that saved a wretch like …me.
Yes, me. I may have been born into a middle class family but still I entered this world poorer than the poorest Christian in the Sudan. I may have had shoes put on my feet but still I was poorer than the barefoot child baptized into Christ. But now I am so blessed in Christ. He took my guilt so I could be so blessed. Blessed with forgiveness. Blessed with hope. Blessed with God’s love.
So look again at the stuff God has given you. The salary, the savings big or small. What is it for? To support you and your family. But it’s also an opportunity. To thank God. One way you do that is this. By being this kind of neighbor who doesn’t take it all for himself but sets something aside for those in need.
And when we are tempted to tight fisted, to be a Scrooge hording it all to ourselves, let us repent. Repent and remember. Remember that you were slaves. And remember the One who set you free. He calls on you to be this kind of neighbor. Amen.