I'm Tina English, founder of the Christian charity Embracing Age.
In this course we're going to be exploring what the Bible says about people on the fringes of society, those who don't have people to stand up for them or plead their cause, and find it difficult to do so themselves.
In this session we'll focus on God's heart towards these precious individuals. And we’ll take a look at some lessons from the life of Moses.
In sessions 2 and 3 we'll look at some other Bible characters who are great examples for us. I hope we'll be inspired, encouraged and also challenged.
Recently I was reading the book of Deuteronomy which is commonly believed to have been written by Moses. I was amazed how many times he mentions the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow (11 times), which is more than any other book in the Bible. It's as if weaved through the Hebrew law is this golden thread of looking after the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. So I asked the Lord, why? Why these three groups in particular? And what I realised is that in the ancient Hebrew culture these were the groups who were the most vulnerable, the weak - they had no-one to defend them or advocate on their behalf.
So, the ancient Israelites were told to include them in the community, rather than exclude them, to feed them, to act justly towards them. And he even gives them the reason why.
Firstly, they know what it's like to be foreigners, because they were foreigners in Egypt.
But more importantly, because God himself is a defender of the fatherless and widows, and He wanted his people to reflect his fathers heart. He not only gives them the way, he gives them a promise that if they do these things they would be blessed in all the work of their hands.
Now Moses, in writing Deuteronomy, has come a long way in his understanding of what it means to be a defender of the weak. You’ll remember that as a baby he was hidden in a basket in the bulrushes, found by Pharoah’s daughter and raised in the royal household, even though he was an Israelite, whilst all his fellow Hebrews were slaves and treated harshly.
As a younger man he saw a Hebrew slave being beaten up by an Egyptian, and in his zeal and anger, when he thought no-one was looking he beat the Egyptian to death in retaliation. That was his idea of defending the weak! Unfortunately for him he was seen, and so he fled Egypt in fear and ended up living in a place called Midian for 40 years, before he encountered God at the burning bush and was commissioned to lead the Israelites out of slavery. By the time he writes Deuteronomy he has spent many years speaking with God face to face, knowing Him and understanding his ways. And so he weaves the heart of God for those who are vulnerable as a golden thread through the law.
Here’s some of those verses:
Deuteronomy 10:18 says “He [God] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”
Deuteronomy 24:17 says: “Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.”
And one more, as this one will be significant for the story in session two… Deuteronomy 24:19 “When you are harvesting your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
And these aren't isolated verses - it's a theme that runs through the Old Testament - God's heart for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow and his desire for his people to reflect His heart in their attitudes and actions towards them.
And one thing I love about that last verse - did you notice the promise of blessing.. “That the Lord may bless you in all the work of your hands!” God promises to bless us as we care for those who are vulnerable in our society, because we’re reflecting his heart!
Moses in his earlier life had grasped something of God’s heart for the weak and powerless. His anger rose when he saw the Egyptian beating up and oppressing the Hebrew slave. But in killing the Egyptian he wasn’t really expressing God's heart, in fact he wasn’t actually defending the Hebrew slave at all, he was just taking revenge afterwards (when he thought no-one was watching), which isn’t quite the same. But in his later life, as he spent time face to face with God, he understood more of God’s heart for the vulnerable and the responsibility of God’s people to look after them.
So, as we conclude session 1, some questions for you to consider and discuss:
1.Can you recall a time when you felt like an outsider or vulnerable? How did others respond to you, and how did that shape your understanding of God’s heart?
2. Why do you think God places such emphasis on caring for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow in Deuteronomy?
3. How do you think Moses’ personal story — from being rescued as a baby to meeting with God face to face — shaped his understanding of justice and advocacy?
4. What might it look like for the Church today to weave this “golden thread” of justice and compassion into its life and mission?
