Leviticus; The Law of Holiness and Grace

Service as Power

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Pentateuch

Genre: Lessons with Q & A

Lesson: 59

Track: 59

Dictation Name: RR172AF59

Date: Early 70s

Let us worship God. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto Thy name, oh Most High. Delight thyself in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of Thy heart.

Let us pray.

Lord, we come into Thy presence because we need Thee moment by moment, day by day. Speak to each of us the word that we need. Let Thy Word abide in us until it accomplish Thy purpose. Refresh us. Renew us and strengthen us and make us strong in Jesus Christ and ever joyful in His service. In Christ’s name, amen.

Our scripture this morning is Leviticus 23:22. Leviticus 23:22, our subject, “Service as Power.” “Service as Power,” 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.”

Previously, in Leviticus 19:9, 10, we dealt with gleaning. This law is also restated in Deuteronomy 24:19-22. The law is repeated to show God’s concern for the poor and His requirement of us. We meet with a very practical and lovely application of this law in the second chapter of Ruth.

Man’s harvest, or pay time must be a time of active help for the needy. In Leviticus, this is associated with the Feast of Pentecost. In Acts 2:1-4, we see God’s gift of the Spirit to the apostles. God gave so that man might give.

Gleaning here is associated with the previous verses, Pentecost. In other words, ritual and worship must have results in charity and action. The worship of God requires not a separation from life, but unto God and in Him, action in the world in obedience to the king and the kingdom. The culmination of the Harvest Festival is the joyful fact that we have a harvest which will prosper God’s kingdom, ourselves, and the needy. Because God has blessed us, we have a duty to bless others.

Calvin commented on this and said very aptly, “God here inculcates liberality upon the possessors of the land when their fruits are gathered. For when His bounty is exercised before our eyes, it invites us to imitate Him and it is a sign of ingratitude, unkindly and maliciously to withhold what we do derive from His blessing. God does not indeed require that those who have abundance should so profusely give away their produce as to despoil themselves by enriching others. And in fact, Paul prescribes this as a measure of our alms, that there relief of the poor should not bring us into distress. God therefore permits everyone to reap his corn, to gather his vintage and to enjoy his abundance, provided the rich, content with their own vintage and harvest, do not grudge the poor the gleaning of the grapes and corn. Not that He absolutely assigns to the poor whatever remains so that they may seize it as their own, but that some small portion may fall gratuitously to them from the munificence of the rich. He mentions indeed by name the orphans and widows and strangers, yet undoubtedly He designates all to the poor and needy who have no fields of their own to sow or reap, for it will sometimes occur that orphans are by no means in want, but rather that they have the means of being liberal themselves. Nor are widows and strangers always hungry.”

Now Calvin’s comment is very important because, first he says it is God who requires charity of us. It is law. It is not an option. And second, he says, the law of gleaning gives the poor no title to our goods or wealth. It is not their right. It is God’s mercy expressed through His people. So Calvin makes clear, God’s Law denies the option of choosing whether they’re going to be charitable or not to the rich, and the right to charity to the poor, and third, the purpose is community, and charity is the means to establishing it.

The goal is a covenant tie between men. It is summed up in Leviticus 25 in more than one verse, but in particular this verse, verse 17 of Leviticus 25 declares, “Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the Lord your God.” Instead of oppression, there must be charity and help. Failure to help means violation of communion with God and man.

Several centuries ago, Gill in his commentary noted, “{?} observes the Feast of Weeks being the feast of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, it is repeated here, that they might not forget what God had commanded them to do at that time, namely, to leave somewhat for the poor. And the Jewish writers observed that his law, being put among the solemn feasts of the Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles in the beginning of the year, and the Day of Atonement, teaches that the who observes it and leaves the corner of the field and the gleanings to the poor, it is as if he built the sanctuary and offered his sacrifices in the midst of it.” But a much better reason may be given for it, which was to teach them that when they express their thankfulness to God, they should exercise charity and liberality to the poor.

The laws of charity have a long history, both of remarkable observance and tragic and serious neglect both in Judaism and in Christianity. Very early, the Church began to create agencies of a variety of sorts, for example in the legal field, as I have pointed out on other occasions in terms of I Corinthians 6, courts of justice were set up by men of the church to minister to the needs of the community, Christian and nonChristian in providing justice. But just within the area of charity, numerous agencies were created:

First, there was the xenodochium, to give the old Latin term, because this began early in the days of the Roman Empire. And the xenodochium was a lodging for strangers and pilgrims, for refugees, for exiles, and others. The rich and the poor were alike helped, and the hospitality was good enough to please the rich. This was a necessity in those days. After all, every hotel was also a house of prostitution, and so the Christians never went there.

Then second, there were the gnosis ochium—hospitals for the sick. They provided stretcher-bearers, attendants, priests, and doctors. Our modern hospitals are decedents of these early Christian hospitals for the sick. The extent to which our modern hospital still maintains some of the traditions is very interesting. We still have a chart at the end of a bed. And that was there because it was volunteer help in the days of the early church, and the newcomer on a shift who might be there once or twice in the week, would not know anything about the patient, what had been done for the patient and what needed to be done. And so the bed chart was to inform each person in tern what the previous persons had done and what the doctor had to say about the case. Our hospitals are Christian institutions, and until very recently, they were all Christians.

Then, there was the orphanage. In those days especially the number of orphans was very great. And they provided not only food and clothing, but education also.

Then, fourth, there were the homes for the aged who had no one to care for them. And here again, food and clothing and general care was provided.

Then fifth, there was another institution. This came much later, in fact, centuries after the early church and during the Crusades. The Crusades introduced a disease into Europe, what we know now today as Hansen’s disease or Leprosy. And special hospitals were built for the lepers and maintained by Christians.

But sixth, there was another aspect—a very important one over the centuries, one we’ve totally forgotten now; ransoming captives. In those days, captives were abandoned by their countries and they were usually enslaved. Unless they were someone very important, no one was concerned about them. Christians proceeded to ransom captives. This was not a small-scale operation. After all, St. Epiphanius, the bishop of Pavia, whose dates are 438-497, himself personally raised the funds and ransomed over six thousand prisoners.

These were the major forms of charitable activities, but this was not all, because everyone in their own place, in their own church, in their own home was expected to be concerned. St. John Chrysostom, in one of his homilies on the Book of Acts, declared this, “Perchance, some one of you says, ‘I, if it were given to me to entertain Paul as a guest, I readily and with much eagerness would do this.’ Though it is in thy power to entertain Paul’s master for thy guest and thou wilt not, for he says, ‘for he that receiveth one of these least receiveth me.’ By how much the brother may be least, so much the more does Christ come to thee through him, for he that receives the great often does it from vainglory also, but he that receives the small does it purely for Christ’s sake. It is in thy power to entertain even the Father of Christ, as thy guest, and thou wilt not. ‘For I was a stranger,’ he says, ‘and ye took me in,’ and again, ‘unto one of the least of these, the brethren that believe on me, ye have done it unto me.’ Though it be not Paul, yet if it be a believer and a brother, although the least, Christ cometh to thee through him.”

Now we should note in this connection that the Bible tells us that such charitable service is both our duty in order to further community, and the only true means to dominion and authority. Our subject is “Service as Power.” And our Lord declares in Matthew 20:25-28,

“25But Jesus called them unto him, and said, ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Christians, churches, have forgotten how they became great. And as a result, they have lost their strength. Our Lord is very clear: service is power. And it is the foundation of true authority and dominion.

Now the modern State is fully aware of this—this can be documented here in this country, and elsewhere. In a Machiavellian sense, the modern State realized the power of the Christian community and of the Christian church in service, so they took over. It took over the diaconal service of the Church. It is now the dispenser of charity, or welfare and its power is largely based on this service. The modern State boasts that it is a service state, but its purpose is power, not service in the name of the Lord. And wherever it has done this—and the Church has submitted, has allowed it to happen—the result has been disintegration. It has been death for the Church.

Gary Moses documented what has happened in Sweden. The Church there once rendered service to the community. But that’s forgotten now. The State renders all the service. And in this country, the State began by regulating, then step-by-step outlawing all these things; or offering money as to hospitals and then controlling them. Step-by-step it has crowded Christian out of their appointed area. Of course, we are now seeing the battle here in this country and others as well, such as Australia, because the Christian community has moved back into the area of education, of charity, of care for the needy and the delinquent, to a variety of services in the name of Christ. And the hostility is immense. We have the fact today that the vast numbers of children in the Roloff homes in Texas are refugees. In Missouri, their property’s sitting there because the State, even though their reclamation record is unrivaled, refuse to allow them to exist without the State’s total control.

Service, our Lord said, is power. Again and again, the Church has gained strength by being faithful other Lord on all counts including service. And by rendering service, has created a strong people, just as the State’s service renders the people weak. The Early Church gave charity, but its charity was one to three days’ free charity. After that, they had to work. They worked for someone in the church. They worked at below regular wages, so they would not be encouraged to stay indefinitely to take of the charity, because even the pay was commonly provided for by the Christians. The modern State creates parasites. The Early Church, very early as it began this worked to help these people become again self-supporting. Service is power. But the power of the State in this sphere has been totally corrupting.

And the tragic fact is that the fact that this has been a program borrowed from Christendom has not impressed the Church. Nobody is saying, ‘They have stolen our program and have put it to evil purposes! And they are destroying us with it! And they are destroying the poor, the needy, the homeless.’ Is it any wonder we are in trouble? Only as we recuperate our spiritual health and take over our responsibilities will there be a change. The weakness of the Christian Right is that it has a resentment to the State power.

But no resentment can alter the fact. Only as the Church restores the ministry of service, the diaconal ministry to its ordained intention, will it regain strength and only then will society regain its freedom. Service is power--ungodly power in the hands of the State, godly power in the hands of the Christian community. It is then the means to freedom for the people.

Let us pray.

Oh Lord, Thy Word is truth and Thy Word requires us to be obedient, to hear Thy Word and to apply it and to become the people who create all things new in Christ. Bless us to this task, we beseech Thee, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Are there any questions now concerning our lesson?

Yes.

[Audience] It’s not only charity, {?} stole the institution of confession.

[Rushdoony] Yes.

[Audience] And, uh, Marxists expanded that into public confession, they stole predestination by saying the rise of socialism is inevitable. All instruments of Christianity were taken, because the Christians let them fall from their grasp.

[Rushdoony] Yes, and boast now in some instances that they have done so. I had a deputy Attorney General in one state who was Catholic when I mentioned the fact that a Christian education was mandatory in many communions, and mentioned that, uh, historically, this had been the case with the Roman Catholic Church. He triumphantly said, “But it is no longer true!” He was triumphant at that fact, that they had joined the World. That was the jist of what he said.

Well, if you join the World, you perish with the World. But that’s an excellent point with regard to confession. At one point after another, they have stolen the sources of strength from the Christian community.

Are there any other questions and comments?

Yes.

[Audience] With regard to gleaning, the service of the landowner was largely passive, was it not? If he did not harvest everything that he had to harvest?

[Rushdoony] That’s right.

[Audience] .. require work on the part of the uh…

[Rushdoony] And then he allowed certain people to come in and glean. In other words, he did not let anyone in, because they might not be deserving. And you recall in the book of Ruth, the gleaners worked behind the harvesters. And Boaz made the statement to the harvesters, ‘drop a few sheathes now and then in front of Ruth, in her path of gleaning, because she is particularly deserving. She is a foreigner and has chosen to leave her family and come and care for her widowed mother-in-law.’

So, they did have that active part in it.

Yes.

[Audience] Some years ago, Frederick Nymeyer argued that the Biblical law of love, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” did not require that we do for our neighbor as much as we do for our self, but that was more or less a passive law in that we just do no harm to our neighbor, secondly in the active {?} we show goodwill to our neighbor. Is there a parallel here in … ?

[Rushdoony] Yes. The Bible clearly distinguishes three levels of our love and concern, and love and charity are two different things.

First, we are to have a regard and care and provision for our family above others. Then, our Christian community comes second and those outside the Christian community third.

So we do make an evaluation of those who are to receive our help and we cannot have a kind of undiscriminating love which says if you have to do as much for the hottentot as you do for your own children—that leads to Communism, and Communism universalizes the whole thing.

Yes.

[Audience] In that category, I regard pity as one of the most dangerous traps of all.

[Rushdoony] Yes, if pity is separated from God’s Law and from common sense, it becomes a very dangerous thing, and when a people are guilty before God, it is easy to, ah, play on that sense of guilt and use pity as a means of doing so. Guilty people are suckers.

[Audience] Well, pity discards judgment.

[Rushdoony] Yes. Yes… You find that at the time of the Romantic Movement, pity became a matter of special interest to many of the Romantic poets. William Blake wrote a lot on pity, and it is in the background a great deal of Shelley’s poetry.

[Audience] Well it’s used as a weapon today.

[Rushdoony] Yes, very much so.

Any other questions or comments?

Yes.

[Audience] Just to clarify, were you saying in your message that the modern-day equivalent of gleaning, the agricultural practice, would be to the Left, is to charitable service?

[Rushdoony] Is what?

[Audience] Charitable service?

[Rushdoony] Yes, uh, well, we have old-fashioned gleaning in two forms now. We have it agriculturally. Then we have it in the cities in what began as a Christian institution and is slowly being restored to that in some areas—Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army, and a number of other groups that are employing the poor and rebuilding, renovating things for resale. I believe Jay Parker in Washington, D.C., having taken over Goodwill there, has about 200 people on the payroll, just in that one institution. Uh, so this is one form of direct gleaning, because that’s what it’s all about.

Then, there is the commandment to be charitable in other ways as well, again and again in scripture, to remember the widow and orphan, the alien, and we have many institutions that minister to these needs, and many churches do, and that is a more direct means of dealing with them in their problems. Gleaning—they come out of their homes. In these other forms, you go in and try to minister to them and work with them.

I was very interested in one city were I spoke to a black group. The people who were cleaning up their neighborhoods w---had been drug-infested, with street walkers everywhere, were precisely the Christians. Christian women took over, held prayer meetings, worked on their families, converted their block, and cleaned it up. So this is the practical means that is being used, and there are groups that are working with them. In this particular city, it was a Christian businessman who had helped stimulate a great deal of this activity.

Well, if there are no further comments, let’s conclude with prayer.

Oh Lord, our God, Thy Word makes clear the way to Thy kingdom, the means to power, the means to freedom. Grant, oh Lord, that men wake up to these opportunities, and that speedily, they recapture lost areas for Thy kingdom. And now, go in peace. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you this day and always. Amen.