DAY 22: Rights and responsibilities
Reading: Deuteronomy 24:10-22
‘Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy’ v14
When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession. Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.
Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 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.
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
The images here may well be alien to us but we can quickly discern the
principles at work. There is guidance here about loans, employment
practice and caring for the poor. Either we are exacting every last
penny from a situation or we are open-handed and mindful of the
needs of others. Do we grasp everything and hold on to it, or do we
sit light on goods and possessions?
The setting of the passage is an agricultural community. The farmers
are encouraged to leave something for those who have to come in and
glean, literally to find the last bit of food in a field because they are the
poor and on the margins of society. A generous God encourages his
people to be open-handed and generous.
Although this is a passage that focuses on the poor it contains vital
guidance for how we should live in society as responsible citizens. So,
if we are employers, then we have a duty of care to our employees,
ensuring that we pay them regularly and that they do not slip into
poverty. All of us as Christians have a responsibility to care for
those who are less well off than ourselves, especially those who, for
whatever reason have been pushed to the margins of society.
For Further Reading: Proverbs 19:17 - a good attitude towards the poor.
To Ponder: Instead of giving money to a charity, what practical actions can
you take that would be helpful?
To Pray: Lord Jesus, you always demonstrated your love and care for
people by practical deeds as well as words. Help me to see
what I can do to fulfil my responsibility to those around me. Amen.
‘Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy’ v14
When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession. Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.
Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 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.
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
The images here may well be alien to us but we can quickly discern the
principles at work. There is guidance here about loans, employment
practice and caring for the poor. Either we are exacting every last
penny from a situation or we are open-handed and mindful of the
needs of others. Do we grasp everything and hold on to it, or do we
sit light on goods and possessions?
The setting of the passage is an agricultural community. The farmers
are encouraged to leave something for those who have to come in and
glean, literally to find the last bit of food in a field because they are the
poor and on the margins of society. A generous God encourages his
people to be open-handed and generous.
Although this is a passage that focuses on the poor it contains vital
guidance for how we should live in society as responsible citizens. So,
if we are employers, then we have a duty of care to our employees,
ensuring that we pay them regularly and that they do not slip into
poverty. All of us as Christians have a responsibility to care for
those who are less well off than ourselves, especially those who, for
whatever reason have been pushed to the margins of society.
For Further Reading: Proverbs 19:17 - a good attitude towards the poor.
To Ponder: Instead of giving money to a charity, what practical actions can
you take that would be helpful?
To Pray: Lord Jesus, you always demonstrated your love and care for
people by practical deeds as well as words. Help me to see
what I can do to fulfil my responsibility to those around me. Amen.
The next reflection will be on Monday.
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