Leviticus 19:30-37
Pharaoh looked out at his domain and he saw something gross. He saw a people who spoke a different language and had been welcomed in by the prior administration. He worried that these people would not be loyal to him. They were different; they were a threat to his power. So he tried to get rid of them. God, however, freed the Israelites from Pharaoh’s power and invited them into a new land.
The world trains us to think like Pharaoh. The God who freed the Israelites, however, calls us to see things differently. Moses chose to remind the Israelites of this story as they talked about how to be a holy people in their new land. “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:34). We must remember that we serve a God who frees us from the power of sin and death and welcomes us into a new land. If we are God’s people, we will welcome, love, and serve those the world calls outsiders.
Author: Steven Malcolm