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
“And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there... And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders...’
And you shall set [your offering] down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.”
—Deuteronomy 26:5a, 8, 10-11
The Law commanded respect and compassion and justice for the weakest among the Israelites, including the sojourners.
When Sarah died, Abraham went to the Hittites to negotiate the purchase of a cave that could be used as a burial crypt. Some of the language and the process of negotiation may be unfamiliar to modern ears, but Abraham's opening statement is clear: “I am a sojourner and a foreigner among you...”
And equally clear is the tone of respect with which the Hittites responded to Abraham. They did not resent his presence simply because he hadn't been born among them.
Joseph was not born in Egypt. But that did not keep the Pharaoh of his day from recognizing the wisdom which the Lord had given to Joseph. Instead of mocking Joseph, Pharaoh gave him authority and respect. But a different generation saw a Pharaoh come to power who had no respect—regardless of the reason—for the service of Joseph. That new Pharaoh instigated oppression and murder as national policy.
Moses fled from Egypt out of fear of violence. While in Midian, he continued to defend the helpless. He was welcomed; he married; he had a son. And he gave his son a name that acknowledged, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
Those events are only part of the context in which we find Israel commanded to remember their ancestry and their own past. They were commanded to “love the sojourner” and to include the sojourner in their rejoicing at all the good gifts of the Lord.
Sojourners (part 1)
I am a sojourner on the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!
—Psalm 119:19
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
—Psalm 146:9
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
“And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there... And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders...’
And you shall set [your offering] down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.”
—Deuteronomy 26:5a, 8, 10-11
The Law commanded respect and compassion and justice for the weakest among the Israelites, including the sojourners.
When Sarah died, Abraham went to the Hittites to negotiate the purchase of a cave that could be used as a burial crypt. Some of the language and the process of negotiation may be unfamiliar to modern ears, but Abraham's opening statement is clear: “I am a sojourner and a foreigner among you...”
And equally clear is the tone of respect with which the Hittites responded to Abraham. They did not resent his presence simply because he hadn't been born among them.
Joseph was not born in Egypt. But that did not keep the Pharaoh of his day from recognizing the wisdom which the Lord had given to Joseph. Instead of mocking Joseph, Pharaoh gave him authority and respect. But a different generation saw a Pharaoh come to power who had no respect—regardless of the reason—for the service of Joseph. That new Pharaoh instigated oppression and murder as national policy.
Moses fled from Egypt out of fear of violence. While in Midian, he continued to defend the helpless. He was welcomed; he married; he had a son. And he gave his son a name that acknowledged, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
Those events are only part of the context in which we find Israel commanded to remember their ancestry and their own past. They were commanded to “love the sojourner” and to include the sojourner in their rejoicing at all the good gifts of the Lord.