(REFLECTIONS ON Deuteronomy 24:1-22)

17 Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 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.19 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. 20 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. 21 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. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.

Israel was to show mercy to the foreigner, fatherless, and widow because He wanted Israel to remember His mercy to them when they were slaves in Egypt. What the Lord did for Israel, Israel was to pay it forward and do for the foreigner, fatherless, and widow in their midst.

We know from 1 John 4:19 that we love because God first loved us. Therefore, our love is a reply to God, and not initiated by us. In the same way, just as Israel was to show mercy to the foreigner, fatherless, and widow, to remember the Lord’s mercy for them in Egypt, we are also to remember mercy.

Remember mercy means that God first had mercy on us, and so our act of mercy is our reply to God. Just as we love because God first loved us, so we show mercy because God poured out His mercy on us.

Remember mercy also means that our act of mercy is a time for us to remember who we are, where we come from, and the freedom we have in Christ. It is a way for us to put into action our thankfulness to the Lord for His sacrifice on the cross, bringing us into a relationship with Living God.

Moses instructed Israel to leave what remains for the needy, and that was their act to remember God’s mercy and their responsibility to act mercifully as well. Leave what remains means that we don’t take more than we need, don’t think only about our own needs, but to acknowledge and care for the less fortunate amongst us.

Brothers and sisters, may we act in mercy, in order to remember mercy, remembering the great sacrifice that was made on our behalf, the love of God, and the grace that has already been poured upon us. For we have been redeemed, just as Israel was redeemed, with Christ paying the price for our sins, and bringing us into obedience to God.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy 24