The Sojourner
January 18, 2020
He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:18-19
kit: Pickleberry Pop Jan. 2020 Mystery Box
context:
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven. Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Please note that "loving your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18, Matt. 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Rom. 13:9, Gal. 5:14, Jam. 2:8) does NOT mean taking your neighbor's belongings to give them to someone else whom you feel needs them more. That is missing the point. God desires love and mercy from the heart. We should share our blessings willingly, but no one except God has the right to forcibly take what He has given to someone from them and "bless" someone else with it. (Job 5:8-16, Psa. 37:25-26, 1John 3:16-18, Eph. 4:28, Gal. 2:10, 6:6-10, Phil. 4:16-19, Rom. 15:25-27, 2Cor. 8:12-15, 9:5-13, 1Tim. 6:17-19, Luke 3:11, Acts 5:4, Heb. 13:16, Prov. 19:17, Jam. 1:17, Matt. 6:31-34, 5:42-48)
The widow was commended for giving all she had of her own free will. (Mark 12:42-44) Even the poor were expected to make a small contribution out of their blessings from God. (Ex. 30:15) God's impartiality does not allow favoring EITHER the rich or the poor, a native OR a sojourner. No one is given a "free pass," but all are judged in truth and not by appearances. (Ex. 23:2-3, Lev. 19:15, Job 34:17-19, John 7:24, Matt. 22:16, Luke 20:21, Jam. 2:1-9, 1Tim. 5:21)
related:
For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you. Numbers 15:15-16
You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Numbers 15:29-30
Paul clarifies for us in 1 Corinthians 5 what "cut off" means under the New Covenant (a/k/a "purge the evil" - 1Cor. 5:13, Deut. 22:22 - remember, in John 8:2-11 the Pharisees brought only the woman to Jesus for condemnation, instead of both of them as the law required...) It's exclusion from fellowship UNTIL repentance - the goal is restoration to fellowship. (Also see 2Cor. 2:6-11, 7:8-10, Matt. 18:15-17, 1John 1:5-10, 1Tim. 1:5, 2Cor. 5:14-15, 13:11.) The point is NOT hatred, but preserving the health and purity of the Body of Christ by removing "leaven" (false teachings, refusal to repent from sin, hypocrisy - Matt. 16:12, Luke 12:1) that would otherwise spread throughout. (1Cor. 5:6-8, Eph. 5:25-27, 2Pet. 3:14)
The sojourners were under the same law as Israel while residing among them there. Another instance would be Lev. 24:15-23, which includes examples of both protections and penalties being applied to sojourners and natives alike. In Ex. 12:48-49 and Num. 9:14, 15:14-16, we see that sojourners living among the Israelites were not required to participate in feast days the same as natives, but if they desired to participate, then they were to follow the same rules as the natives, including circumcision. In Ex. 12:19, the instructions for removing leaven applied to ALL who reside in Israel. The prohibitions against eating blood also applied to both, and all became temporarily unclean by eating what was torn by beasts or died of itself. (Lev. 17:8-16, Acts 15:19-20, 28-29)
Interestingly, Ezekiel indicates that sojourners who have settled down and raised families among Israel will be entitled to an inheritance among the tribe in which they live and their children are to be treated as natives. (Ezek. 47:21-23; This appears to be during the future millennial reign of Christ, since it Ezek. 40-47 contains detailed references to a physical temple that has yet to be built, whereas there will be no physical temple in the eternal kingdom. Rev. 21:22-23)
We believers, who are being grafted into Israel (Rom. 11:17-25) in this age, are not converts to Judaism (Acts 13:39, 15:5, 10-11, Gal. 3:2-3, 4:9-11, Titus 1:10-11), nor are we under the Old Covenant law ("Mosaic," i.e. as given through Moses), but under the royal law, the law of Christ, of liberty, of the Spirit, of love. These are all terms for the same thing. (Jam. 2:8, Matt. 7:12, Mark 12:29-31, Jam. 1:25, 2:12, Rom. 13:8-10, Gal. 5:14, John 15:9-17, 13:34-35) The person who is walking in love will not do despicable things to harm others, nor will they cause them to stumble or approve of those who do such things. (Rom. 1:32, 2Pet. 2:18-20, Jude 1:23, 2Tim. 2:24-26, Gal. 5:13, 6:1, 1Tim. 1:8-11, 1Thess. 4:1-8, Eph. 4:1-3, 5:1-7, 11-12, Matt. 18:7, Matt. 5:13-16, 2Pet. 3:17-18 - grow in grace, in the knowledge of HIM, not in your practice of the letter of the law - His Spirit will do the rest from inside of us so long as we humble ourselves and submit to Him. John 15:4-5, Luke 6:43-49, Rom. 6:20-23, Heb. 4:16, 2:18, 1Cor. 10:13, Jam. 1:12, 1Pet. 3:8, 5:5-7)
Note: Thank you for reading! Hopefully everyone who visits here is aware that there are free pdf downloads of many articles available in the link on the sidebar. (The newest articles have higher numbers, as they are approximately listed in chronological order.) I have written (and recently updated more than once) an extensive study on the importance of Paul's ministry, especially as it pertains to refuting the Hebrew Roots movement that is luring many believers (who are earnestly seeking to please God) back into the bondage of the law by causing them to question whether or not they are saved if they don't keep the letter of the "law of God." (See Rom. 7:4-6, Eph. 2:15.) The article has been expanded upon and may be downloaded here. Please note the last update was uploaded Jan. 22, 2020 in the evening (CST).
