No Free Delivery: The Second Law of Gleaning - Leviticus 19:9 - 10

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.  And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.” - Leviticus 19:9-10

    It seem that more often than not I am at odds with those who have either never read Leviticus 19:9-10 and/or its adjacents (i.e. Lev. 23:22 and Deut. 24:19-22) or have a convoluted notion of their meaning. It is not difficult. In fact, the Old Testament actually presents us with a vivid example of the second law of gleaning in Ruth 2:8-23; specifically - “And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, ‘Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.’” - Ruth 2:15-16. So there simply is no excuse for getting it wrong.
    Let us first examine what scripture means by the word, ‘gleaning,’ or ‘to glean.” The Hebrew prime root is ‘lâqat;’ meaning ‘to pick up, or ‘to gather.’ Gathering crops was a common practice in the Bronze Age and therefore was something all were familiar with. So in our case what was meant by the second law of gleaning? Within the second law of gleaning was the word ‘leave’ - the Hebrew prime root - ‘âzab,’ to relinquish. So upon the gathering of crops the Israelites were charged with relinquishing the corners of their fields and those crops which had fallen during the gathering. Notice that nowhere within the scripture is there a command from God - to deliver the gleanings to the poor and the stranger! They are certainly welcome to those gleanings but it required that they actually put in their own efforts to collect the God-gifted charity . . . for themselves.
    So how does the second law of gleaning apply for us in today’s society? The gathering of crops today relies more on technology than back-breaking work, except, of course, in the case of migrant field labor: some crops still require hard work to gather. So in the world today the able-bodied poor and the able-bodied stranger are required to at least make a minimal effort to gather or perform some other manner of labor to receive the generosity of those who have an abundance. Notice that in the aforementioned verses God does not mention the sick, elderly or disabled in His law of gleaning, only the poor and the stranger. Scripture has always addressed the needs of the former; it goes without saying that we are to take care of these unfortunates. No, this particular scripture is specifically addressing the able-bodied poor and those who are simply ‘without.’ There will be food available for them, but they must do something to receive this blessing from God. There simply is no ‘free-ride’ for those who are capable of earning their own needs. “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’” - 2 Thessalonians 3:10.    Paul doesn’t say those who cannot or are unable to work. He says those who are unwilling! And this New Testament command could actually be considered God’s ‘third law of gleaning,’ as well as a warning of violating the 8th Commandment - “Thou shalt not steal.” For one who is perfectly capable of working for a living yet refuses to do so is stealing from those who do work for a living? This is the heart of the law of gleaning: you will gather for yourselves but you will always leave some for the less fortunate to gather for themselves.
    One final word - just as in the verses from Ruth, we, who have been blessed greatly with abundance should neither reproach nor rebuke those who must rely upon our charity. If they are willing to take responsibility for their own gathering then they are fulfilling God’s law and we should find joy in their willingness to do what they can to earn for themselves.
May the truth of the Lord lives always in your heart