Leviticus 19:9-10 “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 foreigner. I am the LORD your God.”

One of the many beautiful things about living in San Francisco is that you are “one skip and a hop” away from wine country. This past year, I had the privilege to go to Sonoma during the early stages of the harvest season. As you can imagine, there is an abundance of grapes on every vine. Some branches were too heavy for all the grapes that the vine provided, so inevitably they ended up on the ground. At first, I thought, to myself, “Oh no, I hope they can still use them,” but then I remembered a very important passage in Scripture. When we read the Old Testament, we can see that before Jesus arrived, God tried to help the people of Israel understand the priorities of His Kingdom. The easy answer to that is the keeping of the Ten Commandments, don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t worship idols, etc. Right?

However as I studied the Old Testament further, when God came down on the people of Israel for their sins, there was one that stands out as the main grievance: forgetting the marginalized.

According to Scripture, the marginalized are those who are pushed outside of society due to circumstances outside of their control. The marginalized throughout all of scripture are described as the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the immigrant. God made it clear to the people of Israel that they should be different from the rest of the world by living differently. Instead of oppressing the poor, they should embrace them and take care of them.

When I read this passage originally, I was a little unsettled because my initial thoughts were, “Wow. God’s plan to take care of the poor is really to give them the scraps?” But when I walked through that field that day, I was amazed by how much fruit was on the ground from a single row of vines. God cares so much for the poor and ensures that they are taken care of and provided for abundantly. And, we must also play our part. We must not pick up the edges, what fell on the ground, or live in excess, this robs the marginalized that are close to God’s heart.

Did you know that there are over 2350 verses in the Bible that talk about the orphan, the widow, the immigrant, and the poor? If God talks about a topic this much you must know that it’s important to Him. Today, I want us to reflect on how committed God is to taking care of the poor and ask ourselves if our priorities are in line with God’s in this way. How are we using our resources - our time, our expertise, our finances, our prayers, our energy, our excess, our “gleanings,” - in alignment with God’s heart towards the vulnerable and marginalized in our communities?

by Mateo Alzate

Because Justice Matters Staff

Don't pick up the grapes