Deuteronomy 24:17,18
“You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge. “But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.”
I heard a message at church which demonstrated a method of prayer. One of the points was to prayer for the weakest in society. Today’s passage has the focus on that same group, the alien, the orphan and the widow. We are to have compassion on these.
There is a strong theme all through scripture as to how we are to treat these; in both the old and new testaments. Job speaks of them in chapter 31, verse 18: “but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow.” Job does more than treat them justly. He was a big brother to orphans and an advisor to widows. He did this from his youth.
The Lord’s reason to the Israelites was that they were slaves in a foreign land. Their host country eventually abused them. The Israelites were presently on the move to the promised land. They were winning battles against any that opposed them. They were riding high. God was blessing them. However, they were to be merciful to the weakest among us.
How do we do this? We can volunteer our time to groups that serve them. We could give to groups that assist these. We can pray for them.
We should all be involved in some sort of giving back. It may be a ministry in the church or as a coach to the young. We all have gifts and talents. The best place for us is where we are gifted. Romans 12:6 says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
Lord, help us to aid those in need. Help us to serve. Provide for us a place to serve.