Now, if you would turn back to Leviticus 23 again, we will keep going. Pentecost strongly underscores this meaning of generous devotion to others. We will continue with the wave loaves in a moment, but for now we will skip ahead to verse 22. Remember that this is part of the instruction for the holy day:
Maybe this verse seems like a random statute tacked onto the holy day, or like some scribe accidentally put this verse in the wrong place. But with an understanding of the grain offering, we can see that this verse fits perfectly with the other themes for this day. It gives a clear example of mankind owing something to fellow man and supporting his well-being.
That might seem like a statute that is just tacked onto the end, but when we pull all the themes together, we can see how that verse fits perfectly. The Feast of Harvest represents a harvest of our labors, labors that God’s intends to benefit fellow man, as the grain offering pictures. And within that theme is this further instruction not to be exacting, even in harvesting what is our own, but to allow the poor and the stranger to also labor so they can have something. It shows supporting the well-being of our fellow man.
