Daily Thoughts from Deuteronomy 23:8: Brother, Foreigner (Ach, Ger)

25 Brother, Foreigner (Ach, Ger)

But you are not to detest an Edomite, because he is your brother; and you are not to detest an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.

(D’varim 23:8)

It was raining.  It wasn’t dark, but it wasn’t bright either.  Morning had broken but it was going to be a bit colder and certainly wetter than the day before.  There wasn’t much protection under this bush so he might as well walk.  But his body felt so tired.  Fixing his bag above his head on the branches he carefully pulled out the scroll and held it under the cover of his bag to prevent it getting rained on.  He could afford to take some more time before he resumed his journey back “home.”

It had never struck him this way before, but what an odd juxtaposition it was to see Edomite and Egyptian together. Neither, Moshe said, speaking for Yahweh, was to be despised, in spite of the fact that both had given Yisrael trouble.

Egypt had done so much to oppress and even kill many of his people that it seemed reasonable to despise them and safer, as well.  It would be better to keep his people from resorting to Egypt if they did not respect them but detested them.  But Yahweh reminded them that at one point Egypt had opened the doors of hospitality to them, at least when Joseph was in power.  They fed the starving Yisraelites and gave them a safe haven to thrive in and multiply.

“So we owe a debt to someone who tried to murder us?”  He said it out loud but did not really expect an answer.  It was a bit frustrating.

Edom could have made Yisrael’s passage through the yeshimon so much easier in the flight from Egypt. And later, when Yisrael was later attacked by foreign powers, Edom made it worse by lying in wait for refugees.  They took advantage when Yisrael was down.  But they were our brothers, descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau.  Family takes care of family.  We may not like them but we couldn’t hate them.

So here they were, together, brother and foreigner.  Both were to receive Yisrael’s love and care, despite their failings toward Yisrael.  And it suddenly hit him that this was a picture of God’s bigger purpose, to use Yisrael, the descendants of Avraham, to bring blessing to the nations and not just to Yisrael.  God was not at all uncomfortable with this juxtaposition.  Yisrael and all the nations were His creation, not despised or detested at all, consider part of His good creation and eventually His redemption.

But Yisrael was so used to merely tolerating people of other nations, at least the part of God’s people who lived in Judea.  He had grown up in Nazareth and there were Gentiles all around. His father and he had done contract work for Gentiles on numerous occasions, especially in Tiberius.  They were just people, sinful and wonderful, delightful and despicable, just like all the rest of God’s image bearers.

He thought particularly of Titus, a man his father had contracted with and who had treated his father and him with great respect, invited them to eat with him, which they did without asking too many questions about preparations or even what they ate.  He was a good man and a delight to be around.  He was even curious about Yahweh and what it meant to know Him.  It seems he had come to believe in God’s kingship and though he never submitted to circumcision he and his father considered Titus a brother in faith.

That was how it was supposed to work.  This separation that had so hardened between the chosen people and the rest of the world was not how his Father intended it to be.  The Father’s love was for all mankind.  If he had not loved his new friend, Nabil, this man would not likely have been open to putting his trust in God Most High.

He wondered how Nabil was doing.  How was his family receiving him?  Did he talk about his new found faith?  Did that smooth or hinder his relationship with family?  He asked the Father to help Nabil and to use him as an instrument of righteousness.

“Father, you have made a way for all mankind.  You have given me sheep from the household of Yisrael and you have given me a flock from among all the nations.  Make me a faithful shepherd.”

“My son, your heart beats in tempo with Mine, and I will make you a covenant and a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to free prisoners from confinement, those living in darkness from the dungeon.”

He traveled on with his doleful companion several paces behind.  Surprisingly he reached the cave before nightfall, something he had not anticipated.  Had God given him more energy than he had on the journey down?  Whatever the case, he was glad to be back in his humble home.  He unburdened himself and lay down to rest and to sleep.  Satan was quiet.