God's Heart for the ForgottenSample

The Orphan, the Widow, & the Foreigner

Some context for this passage for you: there’s a nation of people, the Israelites, who were an example of what it looks like to be in relationship with God. In this particular reading, Moses, the leader of the Israelites, had just had an encounter with God and received 10 commandments. The verses you just read appear to be a sermon of sorts Moses is giving after that encounter. He shares about the character of God and calls the people to respond with hearts of obedience and worship. In that moment, Moses highlights that God “ensures that orphans and widows receive justice” and that “He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing” (verse 18, NLT).

He only spends a few verses talking about who God is and what God does, and he chooses to spend one of them highlighting God’s heart for the vulnerable! Not only that, but he continues, “So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” While we aren’t Israelites, and we weren’t slaves in Egypt like they were, we have received God’s grace and rescue like they did. And the response to God’s grace in our lives is always to turn around and extend the same grace we have received to those around us. This includes those most vulnerable, like single parents, parentless children, and the outsider.

Application Question: Can you think of a single parent, an orphan, or an outsider in your sphere who God might be calling you to show love to? What could that look like?