Harvest Part 4 — Founded on the Bible

Deuteronomy 23:25 NLT

And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.

Who is your neighbor?

Neighbor is defined as someone of a close or distant relationship. In this case, a neighbor means anyone (1). Let me explain.

Acts of Kindness:

In ancient times, people traveled by foot. They would walk several miles from home to market, their job site, a festival, to take care of some business, or visit with family, etc… Of course, people would get hungry along the way. God wanted the owners of the field to allow those who passed by to eat handfuls of their grain to stave off their hunger. Jesus and His disciples did this as they traveled preaching i Matthew 12 and Luke 6.

Balance is Key:

This law also prohibited from freeloading. They were only to take enough grain to sustain themselves for their journey. Sickles, which could harvest a large portion of crop, were prohibited from use. Property owners did not need to worry about moochers who would take advantage of their kindness. God was teaching His people to be generous and civically minded. He was also emphasizing the importance of providing for their own families and not abusing the goodness of others.

That’s what harvest means in this verse.

Reference:

1) https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7453&t=KJV