Moses continued his final teachings to the Israelites just prior to them entering the Promised Land, sharing with them the holy word of the Lord about loving the stranger among them.
7 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. 18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. 19 Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:17-19 NKJV
God loves the stranger, the outsider, in our midst. In other translations, “stranger” is also referred to as “sojourner”, someone passing through and only with us on a temporary basis.
The Lord wants us to remember these as well as the widow and the fatherless, helping to provide whatever their needs are – food, clothing, justice, or friendship. He directed the Israelite farmers not to harvest their fields to the very edges or to go over their harvest a second time. These remaining crops were to be left as gleanings for the poor of the land or the sojourner to harvest for themselves.
One can see several examples of this divine principle being exercised today. I know a woman who frequently shops for more food than she needs for her own family. She then divides it up and donates a large portion to the local church food pantry.
A man I once knew in Louisiana used to have a blue jean ministry. He was on the road a lot and as he passed through a town, the Lord often stirred his spirit to go into a K-Mart store to buy several new pairs of blue jeans. He would store them up, and from time to time take them down to a Christian mission on the Texas-Mexico border for them to give to whoever needed them.
The mission especially appreciated the new blue jeans because, although people donate all kinds of clothing in good condition, they rarely donate decent blue jeans. People tend to wear these until they are almost ragged. So, God led my friend to collect new ones for those who needed them.
This friend, not a wealthy person, told me that one day, he felt a stirring to stop at a K-Mart on his way through a town, and just as he arrived in the men’s clothing section, a clerk was putting out a large stack of blue jeans on clearance for only $2 apiece – practically giving them away. He bought up every pair he could and later personally delivered them to the South Texas mission.
On the Mexico side of the border, another ministry I am familiar with, Faith Ministry, has provided a wonderful faith-based quality education for children and also participates in the construction of sturdy homes for their families. They have been meeting the spiritual, physical and medical needs of families many since 1994.
Another one in Guatemala, Casa Aleluya, has for over three decades provided Christian-based education, medical, and shelter for over six thousand children. Abuse and abandonment have been met and healed by the Lord through the loving care of their staff, prayer partners and financial supporters. God has provided a new beginning for so many there by the power of the Holy Spirit, who holds all things together in Christ.
These are just a few examples I know of of people honoring the will and reflecting the heart of the Lord in this matter. As God directed the Israelites through Moses, He directs us today: Love the stranger, for you were once a stranger yourself, and be generous with those going through difficult times.
7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 NKJV
Reflection
Who might be considered a “stranger” in my life? Where do I encounter them?
How can we wisely provide support for the needy stranger and poor around us today? Who has the Lord placed on my heart to share generously with?
Father God, there is much need all around us. Grant the eyes of my heart the vision to see who and where You want me to take an active support role. May Your Holy Spirit lead and guide me in this. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9 NIV
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 