Daily Devotion | Leviticus 19:9–16 | 2026 February 27

Title: Daily Devotion | Leviticus 19:9–16 | 2026 February 27

Scripture: Leviticus 19:9–16

Date: 2026 February 27

Speaker: Rev. John Chen Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Alright, dear brothers and sisters, peace to you all. We thank God for His grace. We have come to a new day to study our Daily Devotion. Today our passage is Leviticus chapter 19, verses 9 through 16. We are going to look at some specific statutes in the law. Let us pray.

Lord, we thank and praise You for Your grace. Thank You for placing these beautiful ordinances before us. We truly need to read them carefully and in detail. Lord, let us know how we ought to walk while we are in this world. Because our old nature is truly corrupt, and our hearts incline toward evil. Lord, be with us and lead us. Let us humble ourselves before Your law and obey Your law and Your will. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Now let us look specifically at these statutes. Verse 9 says that when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And verse 10 says, you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner. I am the LORD your God.

This statute refers to the Israelites. Of course, at that time they were in the wilderness and could not yet harvest crops. It refers to what they were to do after they entered the land of Canaan. What were they to do? When reaping the harvest—if we put it in Chinese terms—it means you just reap in a rather loose way. Do not reap to the very corners. And if something falls, do not go back to pick it up. The same with the vineyard—do not strip it clean. If grapes fall, do not gather them.

And who is to gather them? The poor and the sojourner are to gather them. And God gives the reason: “I am the LORD your God.” So verses 9 and 10 display one of God’s attributes—His mercy. God is a merciful God. When God gives something to a person, it is not so that you would collect everything completely clean for yourself.

According to Chinese thinking, the land is given to me, so I harvest it completely. Everything is mine. What is mine, I do not give to anyone. That is our way of thinking. But that may also be the thinking of all unbelievers: this is mine—why should I give it to others? I should clean it up completely; it all belongs to me.

But God reminds us here, through this matter, that in fact everything belongs to God. In human social systems there are many debates about public ownership and private ownership. Some say Western private ownership is corrupt, that private ownership leads to evil, so we need public ownership. In reality, public ownership is a bigger deception. There is no such real thing as public ownership. Under the name of public ownership, people’s property is simply transferred into private hands. It is all lies.

The Bible clearly supports private property. That is certain. Because the Eighth Commandment says, “You shall not steal.” The background of “You shall not steal” is that God acknowledges that people have private property. But God’s recognition of private property is not so that you would use it to satisfy yourself. God allows people to have private property for the purpose of helping others. That is what we must understand.

Some people describe it this way: what is private ownership? It means what is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours. What is public ownership? What is mine is mine, and what is yours is also mine. And what is a godly view of property? A godly view of property is this: what is mine belongs to God; what is yours belongs to God; we all belong to God. And however God wants to use it, I am willing to let Him use it. That is the truly correct view of property.

So when we handle our finances, we must leave room for others. Do not reap to the edge of the field. I have repeatedly spoken about how to apply this principle. For example, when you bargain, do not press people to the absolute limit. Do not squeeze someone dry, thinking, “I am even doing this for the church.” Never think that way. That is wrong.

Some people are very good at buying things, very good at bargaining. They get what they buy at the best value and compress the other person’s profit to the extreme. That is not the Bible’s teaching. The Bible does not guide us that way. The Bible requires us to have a merciful heart toward others. I have given many examples in sermons before; I will not repeat them here. We must leave space and room for others.

Chinese people often maximize their own profit and squeeze others’ space. If possible, we would like to earn the very last coin. That is an evil mindset. What we have belongs to God. God will give us what we need. So you do not need to clean everything up completely. Why? Because there are the poor and the sojourner. They have no land. What should they do? They come to glean and eat. In this way, they can at least have enough to eat. This is not because the Israelites were careless in harvesting. It is because this is God’s intention.

In some foreign countries, you may see restaurants influenced by Christian culture. If they cannot sell all their bread in a day, they should throw it away. But in the afternoon they place it outside and let anyone take it freely. They do not even discount it; they just let you take it. What is the purpose? It is to show mercy to the poor. That is an expression of Christian civilization.

In contrast, in China, because there has not been the influence of Christian culture, people are often very harsh in financial matters. They hold tightly to every penny, unwilling to give to others. This kind of poverty mindset shows that we are not living in God’s blessing, and indeed we are under God’s discipline. This is something that needs repentance.

So brothers and sisters, remember next time—whether you are bargaining when buying something or dealing with others—let people feel that it is beneficial to deal with you. In the organization where I serve, I often tell the co-workers: let others feel that they receive some benefit from us. Give them a 10% to 20% margin, so they feel we are good and upright people. Do not always squeeze others or take advantage of them. It may sound good to say, “We are doing this for God, saving money for God’s house.” God does not need us to save money for Him. God wants us to display His glory.

Then it says, “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.” We have already spoken about this. “You shall not steal” is the Eighth Commandment. “You shall not deal falsely” and “You shall not lie to one another” are the Ninth Commandment. “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” That also belongs to the Ninth Commandment.

Here you see that God, through Moses, is explaining the law. We have spoken about the Eighth Commandment. “You shall not steal” means God recognizes private property. But the private property God recognizes is for helping others. You must not steal. You must not rob others. What belongs to others is theirs, and you must release it loosely to them. And what belongs to others, you must not steal. Between one another, there must be honesty. No lying. No swearing falsely by God’s name and profaning His name.

Why would someone profane God’s name? To deceive, to harm others. That must not be done. Then it says, “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him.” This is still the requirement of the Eighth Commandment. In dealing with others, you must not rob.

In old Chinese business practices, there was the problem of unpaid debts and triangular debts. Why? Because people did not return money that belonged to others. In Israel this problem did not exist. Why? Is it because they had no law? If you do not have the capital to do something, then do not do it. These are evil ideas—things like “empty-handed leveraging,” using a little capital to do very big things, using leverage to expand.

If you read books that teach you how to get rich, they praise someone who started with nothing and became successful, presenting it as talent and ability. But inside there are lies and deception. This is evil, something God does not delight in. So if you are in business, you must be especially careful whether such behaviors exist in your process. If so, you must honestly repent before God and obey His statutes and ordinances.

Spending tomorrow’s money today, withholding money that belongs to others—that is so-called high leverage. Look at the results now. Housing prices have fallen sharply. Anything that violates God’s law will certainly be cursed. We must ask God to have mercy on us so that we would honestly obey His law.

Then it says the wages of a worker must be given on the same day, because you must consider his need. In China today, some workers settle accounts only once a year. At the end of the year they discover they have no money left. It has been spent or disappeared. This is all because accounts were not carefully calculated. Why? Because of over-optimism, using others’ money for oneself, and in the end you cannot pay what you owe. This is greed.

If you only have a small amount of money, then do small business. That is fine. Or do not do business at all. That is fine. You can work for others; that is fine. Why do people commit sins like robbing others or owing money in China? Because of ambition, greed, love of vain glory. People look at those so-called inspirational wealth stories, which are full of lies and deceit. Pursuing the world is something God hates.

Why do these things happen? Because inside people there is a heart that loves the world. They love the world and become passionate about it, devising all kinds of schemes to pursue it. Some succeed by chance, and then they are praised as models. Others follow these corrupt examples. That is the story of this world. Brothers, do not follow this story.

Instead, have no greed for the world. Let the world be dead before you. Let there be no desire for the world in your heart. Our desire should be how to obey God’s law. We must have great zeal for God’s law. We must change the object of our zeal.

Do you know? If you are zealous for the world and not zealous for God’s law, you will certainly break these commandments—owing money, practicing deceit. The world today is like this. Many are in debt, many are dishonest. If you run toward the world, it is because your heart loves the world.

If the fire in your heart burns for the world, you will be trapped in these things. You will try every possible method to gain wealth for yourself. But here God teaches you to give up wealth. You must be zealous for God’s Word, for His kingdom, for His attributes. Only then can you obey His law.

There are two fires. Which one will you choose? If you love the world and hope your desires are satisfied in the world, that fire will burn you, and in the end you will be in debt everywhere. But if your heart burns in Jesus Christ and loves God’s law, desiring to know what the law says and to do it, then God will reward you. This is certain.

Then it says, “You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.” Each section ends with “I am the LORD.” It reminds us that we must fear God because we live before Him. We are not living for ourselves. We are not merely living within society. Most importantly, we live before God and must obey His law.

The deaf may not hear your curse. It seems to have no effect on them. But it affects God. It dishonors His name. Why must you not put a stumbling block before the blind? Because you would cause them to fall. Therefore, you must fear God.

When explaining these statutes, some people immediately jump to allegorical interpretations, to so-called spiritual meanings. That is not necessary. Brothers and sisters, do not quickly move to allegory. The text is telling you plainly to obey the law in a very concrete way—to love people. That is its spiritual meaning. Do not invent strange spiritualizations. It simply means, in a real and practical way, do not curse the deaf, love the disabled, do not place obstacles before them, help them, and let God’s name be glorified.

Then it says, “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” We often think the poor must be right. But that is not necessarily so. The poor can also be sinful. Do not assume that the poor always have the truth. Judge with fairness. If the poor are wrong, they are wrong. If the rich are wrong, they are wrong. Judge according to justice.

Then it says you shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD. Do not stir up trouble, speaking ill of one family before another, and vice versa. I think each law here addresses our evil hearts. When we speak ill of others, we feel a strange kind of joy. We feel happy exposing someone’s faults. That is evil. It shows we have no love, no mercy in our hearts.

In an agricultural society, living in a large village or clan, you might hate certain people and even wish them dead. In modern society this becomes indifference. Indifference is a greater hatred. People live in big cities and do not know their neighbors even after ten or twenty years. This is the corruption of the world. Human hearts are cold.

So today’s passage reminds us repeatedly: “I am the LORD.” We obey the law because we live before God. Not because it benefits us, and not merely because it does not harm others. Modern law defines guilt based on whether you harm others. If you do not harm others, then you are innocent. That is why in many countries certain sins are declared not guilty—they say it does not harm you.

But that does not accord with God’s law. We are creatures. We are accountable to our Creator and Redeemer. Our behavior must conform to His requirements. If you disregard His will, it is reasonable that you will be judged. The greatest vanity of mankind is forgetting that we live before God.

So brothers and sisters, whatever your work—whether you are a boss, an employee, or an office worker—remember that the goal of our life is to obey God’s law. Be zealous for that, not for money, not for the world. Extinguish the fire of love for the world. Do not love the world. No amount of money can carry you through death. You must not have two fires—one for the world and one for Jesus. That is impossible. If the fire of the world burns in you, you will violate God’s law. If the fire of Christ burns in you, you will obey His law.

So extinguish that worldly fire. Do not love the world. These are the things the Gentiles seek. May God help us to repent before these laws. Do not speak of strange allegories. One by one, compare these statutes to every area of your life. Obey God’s ordinances and statutes. That is what glorifies His name.

Alright, we will stop here for today. Thank you, everyone.