Even the poor had to work to get food

The welfare of the poor was of great concern to God

Take five minutes and read these Scriptures with your children or those you are teaching. Help them learn how God taught the nation of Israel to take care of orphans, foreigners, and the poor.

The interesting thing is that the people had to fend for themselves. Everyone worked. The person who owns the land and the orphans, foreigners, and the poor. It was there for you if you had enough initiative to go get it.

Teach them to take care of their own. Teach them that work has dignity when done correctly. There is no shame in working.

Leviticus 23:22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 24:19 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. 20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

God taught His people to take care of the poor, the orphan, and the foreigner.
They were not to reap the corners of the land
They were not to go back and pick up what was dropped as they harvested.
They weren’t even to shake the tree twice to get the fruit to fall
If they forgot part of the harvest they were to leave it
Once they harvested the grapes they were not to go back for it

The food and harvest were left for them to pick up
The farmer didnt harvest the food for them
He didnt set aside a part of what he had harvested
He left food for them to be able to pick and get when he finished

The welfare of the poor was of great concern to God
But was no excuse not to work
If they wanted grapes they could harvest them
If they wanted grain they could go pick it up just like Ruth did

Again if you will not work you are not to eat
So learn that work has dignity
Learn that working to provide for your family says much about you and your relationship with God I Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
If you will not take care of your family you are denying your faith
Not caring for your family makes you worse than an unbeliever
Start young and learn to work to show that you are doing what you were created to do. You are living a life with purpose

The world rings changes, it is never constant but in its disappointments. The world is but a great inn, where we are to stay a night or two, and be gone; what madness is it so to set our heart upon our inn, as to forget our home.

Thomas Watson

Mark Water, The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations (Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd, 2000), 1133.

The Dignity of Work

First Mention of Work