Today we are jumping into week 6 of our sermon series, Just Love: A Series on Biblical Justice. For this second half of the series, we’re taking a deeper dive into the repeated scriptural mandate to care for the widow, orphan, foreigner and poor - also referred to as the quartet of the vulnerable. We also want to ask the question: what do these people groups look like today?
Last week we learned from James 1:27 that pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. More than a verse used to persuade Christians to foster or adopt, we meditated on the possibility that this verse is not prescriptive, but descriptive--that is, James 1:27 is not telling us what to do, but describing what Christians do.
The byproduct of knowing and being with God is becoming like Him and doing what He did, by caring for the marginalized of society.
Today, we will focus on the second member of this quartet: the orphan. There is a quote by psychologist Dr. Kristian Veit that reads like this:
“Belonging is a universal human need. We feel lonely when our needs for love and belonging are unmet. Neuroimaging research shows that not belonging activates the same areas of the brain that experience physical pain.”
When we consider the widow, orphan, foreigner and poor of both biblical times and today, we can imagine they experience such pain from a lack of belonging and loneliness. However, as belonging is a universal need, the widows, orphans, foreigner and poor of today can be considered any who don't belong or are lonely. As we focus on the second member of the quartet of the vulnerable - the orphan - this will become clear.
The terms orphan or fatherless occur 42 times throughout the Old Testament. Both terms are translated from the same Hebrew word, Yāṯôm.
In a 6 week blog post series with Foster the City, Ryan MacDonald sought to unpack this word. He writes: “What is interesting – and very insightful – about the word yātôm is that it is constructed around the Hebrew verb meaning ‘to be lonely.’ One would expect the word to mean something like ‘to be without parents.’ Yet in the Hebrew mind, to be an orphan, is to be lonely.”
What does God say about the lonely? How does He respond? There are three Old Testament passages that include this Hebrew word, Yāṯôm, that we are going to highlight. Here we will discover more of God’s character and commands pertaining to justice.
God strongly cares for the vulnerable.
Let's look first at Exodus 22:22-24.
22 “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. 23 If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
Where do we find God’s character and commands pertaining to justice in this passage? God strongly cares for the vulnerable.
This instruction was given to the people of Israel fresh out of Egypt. Why is God's instruction so harsh?
It was one miraculous step to get the people out of Egypt. It was another matter entirely to get Egypt out of the people. The identity they had always known was slavery; now they were free and claimed by God. How were they to live?
The marker of God’s new people was not solely their freedom; God’s people would be known by their care for one another, especially the vulnerable. If not, their lives were on the line.
Remember God’s faithfulness
Next up is Deuteronomy 24:17-18.
17 “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. 18 Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.
Where do we find God’s character and commands pertaining to justice in this passage? To remember God’s faithfulness.
God’s instruction is to REMEMBER.
Why did God want justice given to the oppressed? Why did God want the quartet of the vulnerable to be cared for? Because God’s people too were oppressed and cared for when they had nothing and didn’t belong!
Just as God delivered Israel out of Egypt, Israel was to extend God’s care and compassion to others.
Justice and the Temple
Finally, let's fast forward 700 years to Jeremiah 7:1-11.
The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go to the entrance of the Lord’s Temple, and give this message to the people: ‘O Judah, listen to this message from the Lord! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! 3 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:
“‘Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land. 4 But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the Lord’s Temple is here. They chant, “The Lord’s Temple is here! The Lord’s Temple is here!” 5 But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; 6 only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. 7 Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.
8 “‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! 9 Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, 10 and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again? 11 Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Where do we find God’s character and commands pertaining to justice in this passage? Justice was a condition of the temple’s location.
Being in proximity to the Temple was not enough to keep the people safe nor present.
There’s significance not just with where we are at, but in who we are becoming.
Professor of Old Testament Theology Dr. Todd Chipman says it this way:
“Jeremiah was as concerned for the orphan as he was the state of the temple, prophesying that unless the people of Judah took up causes like justice for the orphan, God would come and remove not only the temple from Jerusalem, but them from the land.”
Just as our two previous passages shared, for people seeking to live and love like Jesus, justice for the vulnerable is nonnegotiable.
God cares. God is faithful. God desires justice. And God expects these things from His people.
Original sermon by Pastor Susan Morrill
Blog adaptation by Allison Freytes
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