Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself...Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.
In comparison with laws from other countries at that time, the Old Testament made a considerable advance. Some of the remarkable features include:
- People were more important than property. For instance, there was never a death penalty for a crime against someones property
- There was no class system. In many ancient countries, a noble was treated far better than a commoner. Not so in Israel: Everybody stood on the same level before the law.
- The punishment fit the crime. No cruel and unusual punishment was allowed.
- Sexual immorality mattered and received stern treatment.
- The poor and weak had protection with specific provisions that protected their rights from the powerful and wealthy. Welfare offered them a way to stay alive, such as the right to "glean the fields."
- Attitudes- as well as actions- were extremely important. Leviticus 19:18 contains the famous law to "love your neighbor as yourself."
While it may be difficult to understand the reasons for some of the laws (many may have been designed simply to keep the Israelites "different" from their pagan neighbors), their overall impact is clear. These rules were intended to form a nation of compassionate, consistent, fair-minded people. They insisted that each person act positively and lovingly toward his or her neighbor- and particularly toward those in need. The reason? God lived with them. Since God is both just and merciful, his people must be too.
Life Question: What are some ways in which we can show concern for the poor and defenseless, similar to the gleaning law in Leviticus?
Our church has supported two mission projects: construction of schools for the Dalit children of India and a pipeline water project for a small village located in Mozambique. Education and water are things they I have taken for granted my entire life, and it is truly unfathomable to think that in today's age that there are children who are deprived of these things. I commend the Chapel for their endeavors- they certainly are in the spirit of Leviticus' proclamation in helping the poor and weak.
1 comment:
I support the programs that the U.S. government has instituted for help to disabled, handicapped , and mentally impaired people. It seems that these groups are overlooked more frequently by our government aid system. The laws pertaining to these needy people were in place in the Jewish law system. Jesus quoted this law when He presented the "Golden Rule" of loving God and your neighbor. This was his summation of all the commandments in one sentence.
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