Obedience Among Neighbors

u003c!u002du002d wp:heading u002du002du003enu003ch2u003eIntroductionu003c/h2u003enu003c!u002du002d /wp:heading u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennOur Sunday School lesson this week is our Thanksgiving lesson as we continue looking at God’s instructions for how we should treat all of those around us.  In a recent lesson, we took a look at how u003ca href=u0022https://newfoundfaith.org/obedience-in-justice/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022 data-type=u0022postu0022 data-id=u00229922u0022u003ewe must be just (fair) to all peopleu003c/au003e; whether one is poor or wealthy, all should be treated equally.  Our lesson this week will hit on the subject of greed, and again, we will take a look at being just in our conduct.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:heading u002du002du003enu003ch2u003eLoving Your Neighboru003c/h2u003enu003c!u002du002d /wp:heading u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennJesus said that the commandments are summed up by two great commandments:  loving the Lord and loving your neighbor as you love yourself (u003ca href=u0022https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.+22%3A36-40u0026amp;version=NKJVu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003eMatt. 22:36-40u003c/au003e).  The second portion of the Ten Commandments were commandments for the children of Israel to love their neighbors (u003ca href=u0022https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ex.+20%3A12-17u0026amp;version=NKJVu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003eEx. 20:12-17u003c/au003e).nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:heading {u0022levelu0022:3} u002du002du003enu003ch3u003eDon’t be greedyu003c/h3u003enu003c!u002du002d /wp:heading u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennDoes being greedy sound like an action of love?  Absolutely not, right?  The first verse of our lesson opens with the Lord instructing the children of Israel not to wholly reap the corners of their fields nor to gather the u003cemu003egleanings u003c/emu003eof their harvest (v.9).  From this verse, we see the idea of not being greedy is clearly shown.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennTo glean:  to gather grain or other produce left by u003cemu003ereapersu003c/emu003e.  In terminology that a lot of us will understand, to glean essentially means to wipe u003cemu003eclean u003c/emu003ewith no trace left behind.  So, essentially, the Lord was instructing the children of Israel not to wipe their fields clean when it came time for harvesting and gleaning.  They were not to gather from the corners of their field, and they were not to follow and gather up what the reapers may have missed or was unable to gather while reaping.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennNow, this would sound a bit odd at first because we would think that farmers would harvest their whole field, right?  So, for what purpose would the Lord instruct them not to harvest the whole field?  For what purpose would the Lord instruct them not to go back and glean what the reapers may have left behind?  We will answer these questions in a moment.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennIn the follow up verse, we will see that the children of Israel were, again, instructed to not even glean their vineyards or gather u003cemu003eevery grape u003c/emu003eof the vineyard (v.10).  So, essentially, they were to leave some grapes behind in the vineyard just as they were to leave some crops behind in the field.  So, again, I ask, why do you think the Lord is giving these instructions to the children of Israel?nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennThe answer to this question can be seen in this same verse.  The Lord’s reason for these instructions was that the children of Israel were to leave crops in the field and grapes in the vineyard for the poor and the stranger.  Those that were less fortunate, instead of having to go and beg for something to eat, would be able to go out into the field and gather some food.  Strangers traveling in the land, if they were without food, would be able to simply go into the field and get some food.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennWasn’t this a wonderful thing for the Lord to instruct the children of Israel to do for those that were around them?  You see, the greedy person only looks out for themselves, and therefore, they only care about themselves.  Those that were less fortunate or a hungry stranger, would have starved to death if it were up to the greedy.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennThis puts me in mind of the parable Jesus told about the “rich fool” (u003ca href=u0022https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+12%3A13-21u0026amp;version=NKJVu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003eLuke 12:13-21u003c/au003e).  This rich man had a field that flourished and yielded so much that he ran out of room to store his crop.  So, what did he do?  Did he share his crops?  No.  The man tore down his barns and built greater barns to be able to store all of his crops.  In doing this, God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?”nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennFor us today, this should be a warning about being greedy – the Lord does not love greed.  As you have heard me say before, we were not put in this world to live for just ourselves.  No, God has surrounded us with other people for the purpose of us helping to uplift each other.  Greed stands for everything that stands u003cemu003eagainst u003c/emu003eGod.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:heading {u0022levelu0022:3} u002du002du003enu003ch3u003eMove in an upright manneru003c/h3u003enu003c!u002du002d /wp:heading u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennIn our next verse, we will see the Lord instruct the children of Israel u003cemu003enotu003c/emu003e to steal, deal falsely, nor lie to one another (v.11).  This, again, touches back on what we were focusing on in a recent lesson and also reiterates a couple of the commandments.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennA couple of weeks ago, we saw the children of Israel were instructed not to circulate a false report.  We concluded that the reason why the children received those instructions was because God desired for them to move in u003cemu003eHis u003c/emu003eway – His righteousness.  If they were going to be a proponent for God’s righteousness, it would be u003cemu003ehypocritical u003c/emu003efor the children of Israel to side with injustice when through His righteousness, God is a just God.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennIf the Lord was instructing the children of Israel to not be greedy but to leave food for others in the field, it would not make much sense for them to go out and rob from and mistreat others.  If you look at the follow up verses, you will see that it would not make much sense for them to cheat their neighbors as well (vss.13-14).  Why so?  Well, by the opening verses of our lesson, we see that the children of Israel were to be helping and uplifting those around them.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennDoesn’t this same thing hold true for us today?  Most certainly it does.  God desires for us to do right by u003cemu003eall u003c/emu003eof those around us.  So, why would we go out and steal from those around us?  Why would we go out and mistreat those around us?  Why would we cause those around us to stumble when, if we live by the way of Christ, we would be helping to uplift.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennA believer that robs others in u003cemu003eany manneru003c/emu003e or mistreats others u003cemu003ein any manneru003c/emu003e are hypocrites to their proclaimed faith; they are not truly walking in the way of the Lord.  In other words, we would be profaning the name and the way of the Lord; this is also something we see the Lord instruct the children of Israel not to do – not to swear falsely by His name, nor profane His name (v.12).nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:heading {u0022levelu0022:3} u002du002du003enu003ch3u003eNot hating othersu003c/h3u003enu003c!u002du002d /wp:heading u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennSomeone might ask, how would those actions be profaning the name of God and His instructions?  Well the children of Israel, and we who are of genuine faith today, have been commanded u003cemu003eby the Lordu003c/emu003e to u003cemu003elove u003c/emu003eour neighbors.  If we say that we are of the Lord – His children – yet we are not living in His way, wouldn’t that profane Him?  Let us remember what we learned a couple lessons ago, to profane means to debase.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennWith that in mind, the Lord then instructed the children of Israel not to do injustice in judgment, and to not be partial to the poor, or be biased in honoring the person of the mighty (v.15).  This, again, sounds very familiar as we saw these instructions in that same lesson about justice a couple of weeks ago.  Justice is to be fair and equal to all people, no matter the race, wealth or lack thereof.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennThe Lord then instructed the children of Israel not to be u003cemu003e‘talebearers’u003c/emu003e (v.16).  What is a talebearer?  A talebearer we would recognize as one who gossips.  People who deal in gossip love to stir up a bunch of mess; even worse is you can never trust one who gossips to be telling the truth.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennThose who gossip love to spread false reports and conspiracies which we have seen is something that stands against the Lord.  God does not deal in false reports or conspiracies; they lead to nothing but confusion and God is not the author of confusion.  God, however, u003cemu003eis u003c/emu003ethe author of truth and truths is where the Lord dwells.  If God is a God of truth, then His children should be children of the truth and not children of gossip and conspiracy theories – false reports.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennThis leads the Lord to instructing the children of Israel not to u003cemu003ehate u003c/emu003etheir brother in their heart (v.17).  You see, it takes one to hate another to be able to lie to them, mistreat them, and to rob them as well.  Those whom you hate – don’t care for – are those that are typically not dealt with.  Yet, the Lord says that we ought not hate anyone, but that we should love others and be willing to rebuke them when they need correcting (v.18).nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennAs we saw in a recent lesson, when God was instructing the children of Israel to still love their enemies, this can be rather difficult.  A lot of us struggle with loving those that may hate us.  Rather than dealing with them, we typically choose to leave them alone.  God, however, asks for us to grow beyond our hatred, and through Christ, we know that we are to pray for those that would persecute and spitefully use us.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:heading {u0022levelu0022:3} u002du002du003enu003ch3u003eBeing honestu003c/h3u003enu003c!u002du002d /wp:heading u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennThe Lord essentially is asking for us to be fair and honest, just as He was asking of the children of Israel.  So many of us struggle with being honest and fair because it is so much easier for us to either not care or not love.  However, would we really be a child of God if we did not have love or did not care for those around us?  Even I have to learn how to care more for those around me because I shut off my care for those that don’t care for me very quickly!nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennAt this point, our lesson skips over a few verses to the Lord instructing Israel not to mistreat the stranger that dwelt with them in their land (v.33).  The stranger being spoken of in this verse, I believe, included those who came with Israel from Egypt and also the wandering stranger that may enter into the land.  God said to Israel, “the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself (v.34).”nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennIs there any doubt that the Lord wanted Israel to love their neighbors?  Let’s be clear here that the neighbor did not mean just those who were of the blood Israel and may have looked like them!  No, the neighbor included both the stranger and even those who may have hated them.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennAgain, these instructions were being given directly to the children of Israel, but we must also remember that Christ instructed us to move in the same manner of love for our neighbors.  So, when you see someone who has professed to be a child of God moving in a manner that is causing hurt or harm, just know that they are not moving according to the way of God.nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ennAs our lesson comes to a close, we will see the Lord, again, instruct the children of Israel not to do injustice in judgment.  They were supposed to be honest in how they treated others as well as be honest and fair in their judgment (vss.35-36).  Again, Israel and the child of God ought to be this way  because that is how the Lord has been towards us!nnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e