When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. - Deuteronomy 24:19-21
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. - Deuteronomy 26:12
The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, but He thwarts the way of the wicked. – Psalm 146:9
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts. – Malachi 3:5
The special attention that must be paid to this trifecta is also mentioned in Exodus 22, Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 10, 14, 16, 24 (again), and 27; Psalm 94, Jeremiah 7 and 22, Ezekiel 22, and Zechariah 7; and at least one member of the group is also highlighted sympathetically in Leviticus 19, Isaiah 1 and 10, Job 22 and 24; Psalm 68, Matthew 23, Luke 12, Mark 20, Acts 6, 1 Timothy 5, and James 1. Of course, there are hundreds of other passages that would also apply to these persons in the context of the poor, the needy, the marginalized, or our neighbors, but do not mention them explicitly.
The explicit mentions of these three groups is interesting to me because of the nature of their need. It’s not like “the hungry”, or “the naked”, or “the homeless”, or “the imprisoned”, who are defined by what they lack physically (food, clothing, shelter, or freedom). Instead, these groups are named because of a relational vulnerability, which increases their likelihood to lack in other things as well. Because of this vulnerability, God is especially concerned with these groups, and He judges his people when they fail to show such concern as well.
Does this mean that God likes orphans, aliens, and widows more than the rest of us? I don’t believe so – I don’t think God is biased in that way, and I think He loves all of us intensely. But I heard a good analogy last week that put things into perspective for me.
Imagine that you have three children – ages 7, 8, and 9. One day, the 7-year-old comes home with a broken nose, and you find out that she was beaten up by bullies at school. What would you do if you found out that such bullying had been happening every week, and that no one at the school had been doing anything about it? Would you then go to the school to advocate on that child’s behalf? Would you go to much greater lengths than normal to make sure that child was safe? Would you tell your other two children that they needed to be on the lookout to stand up for their little sister and protect her from those who were hurting her?
All that extra effort and attention doesn’t mean that you love your 7-year-old more. You just recognize that she is getting hurt more than the others, and that she needs special concern due to her situation. Because the rest of the world has treated your 7-year-old with less concern, you treat her more concern, and you call on your other children to give her special concern as well. If they refuse to make the extra effort for her, you will have very choice words for them.
God is the same way.
1 comments:
That is a great analogy. Thank you.
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