| Exodus 21:22-23:13; Matthew 24:1-28; Psalm 29:1-11; Proverbs 7:6-23
“You must not exploit a foreign resident or oppress him, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. You must not mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to Me, and I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless. If you lend money to the poor person among you, you must not be like a moneylender to him; you must not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will listen because I am compassionate.” (Exodus 22:21-27)
“You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness. You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit. If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.” (23:1-5)
Man, well I guess that just about covers everyone, people you hate, those that hate you, the poor, the foreigner, the widow and the fatherless. God has a super big heart and those who may not seem important to us God loves just as much. Crazy huh. How can God love that guy that did you so wrong? Didn’t He see? Yeah, He did, but He sees the big picture, He has also seen what you have done. How about those foreigners, yep, God loves them too. “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16)
Basically, the Lord is telling us that He expects us to rise above our inner stuff and care for people the way we would like to be cared for. If we were in a foreign land, would we want to be treated fairly? If we were poor and needed to borrow a few dollars, would we want to be raped with a 29% interest rate? How can anyone get ahead like that? If your car were broken down on the highway, would you appreciate if the guy you really didn’t care much for stopped and gave you some assistance? What about the widows and orphans, would you hope someone would not take advantage of yours. Hey, we didn’t even mention going to court. Don’t jump on the bandwagon to crucify someone. Know the facts and don’t rejoice in another’s misfortune.
These are basic common sense and human decency expectations. We get so skewed by our opinions sometimes that we can get lopsided in our judgment. Don’t let the enemy of your soul use you to inflict oppression on others. Keep your heart pure and your hands clean because God is merciful and full of pity, He does hear the cry of those unjustly treated and He will repay.
PRAYER:
Father, I pray to have a right heart toward all people. Help me to overcome my prejudices so that I can do the right thing. I release those who bother me into Your hands and ask that You will forgive me, heal my heart and help me to see them the way You do. I pray to have as much grace for them as I expect for myself. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen. |
