Perhaps the most widely known and recognized (at least in America) of the fruits frequently referenced in scripture is the grape! I don’t know very many people who don’t like grapes, or grape juice, or at least wine. If you are one, then I’m sorry. In scripture, it was an absolute staple in that agrarian culture.
In high school I worked on a farm and mostly dealt with corn and cotton. Usually, I was back in school and in the middle of football season when it was time to harvest, so I never really went to that party. I was around it enough to know the process and understand that the concept of cleaning the fields for maximum crop yield. The circles were collected row by row (with large machines doing multiple rows at a time) using satellite tracking and of course line of sight to clear the circle plots. The corners of the circles were most of the time planted with a different crop in order to use up every inch of that section and they, too, were swept clean during their harvest time.
As we learned last week, there were 613 laws in the Torah and specified among them were details for loving one’s neighbor, which included guidelines for agricultural practices. These would have been the ways in which the Jews would have known to fulfill the command of Jesus to “Love the LORD with all their heart” and to “Love their neighbor as themselves.”
While they didn’t have pivot irrigation in scripture, people knew what harvest meant and understood the critical nature of reaping what was sown. Leviticus 19:9-10 spells out a different mindset. God called people to use their fields to love their neighbors. They were NOT to harvest their fields all the way to the edges or corners, NOT go back through the field a second time to get what was missed, NOT to pick EVERY grape off the vine NOR pick up the ones that dropped to the ground. They were to leave them for the “poor and for the sojourner.”
If a landowner was in harvest mode, this command brought him to think about others while doing his work and providing for his family. This would keep in mind those among and around him who were newcomers, strangers, visitors, and foreigners or ones who were poor, afflicted, and needy. This command gave a very clear and practical picture of how one should use their resources to help others.
This fairly simple concept is one we can still apply to our lives even if we aren’t farmers. But, in looking at the original language there is something more significant than just sharing food. The Hebrew language within this command expands to more than farming. These Israelites would understand that in addition to generous farming practices, they were NOT to make a fool of someone, NOT deal with severity or act severely towards strangers and ones in need. This is a little more than a canned food drive, buying a person’s food in the car behind you, or giving to a homeless person.
Grapes were life. Sweet little social nuggets and colorful drops of cultural affections, grapes signified prosperity and blessing and God’s favor. This command meant wishing eternal life and heavenly goodness on those of less status, loneliness, or in any need.
So, as you pick some grapes off the vine (or more likely out of the bag), as you drink some grape juice, or sip some wine, I want you to imagine those in your life who might fit the description: foreigner/stranger or afflicted/needy. Picture them and call their name in your mind. If you don’t know their name, give them a name, or better yet, find it out if possible – (names make it personal).
Once you have a name or at least a face, I want you to think about your resources and how you might make some part of it accessible to them. It could be drinks and snacks on the porch for delivery drivers or individual packages in your vehicle for homeless. It could be groceries for a single mother or an extra-large tip for your server who struggled.
I think this is fitting for everyone, but I want you to know that there is also a word in this for everyone besides ‘go help’. Maybe you need to know that God is always seeking to provide for you and has creative ways to care for you already in place before you know your need or even ask.
So, whether you’re hungry or well-fed, in need or have plenty, there’s an offering and an opportunity. And may you experience the refreshing and delicious divine fruit of the vine!
#Grape
#HarvestRules
#FruitBasket
#RestoringWholenessOfLife
Brett
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