thinking bible.

You asked

what 'foreigners' or vulnerable groups do our current systems overlook?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Deuteronomy 24:17-18

“You shall not deprive the foreigner, or the fatherless, of justice, nor take a widow’s clothing as a pledge; but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I command you to do this thing.”

This passage is part of Moses' address to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the promised land. It's a set of laws and ethical instructions, reminding them of their history and responsibilities, especially towards those who are most dependent.

What does it mean to connect a community's past experiences of vulnerability with its present responsibility to care for others?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Leviticus 19:33-34

    Command to love the foreigner as yourself, remembering Israel's own past as foreigners.

  • James 1:27

    Defines 'pure religion' as caring for orphans and widows in their distress.

  • Matthew 25:31-46

    Jesus identifies himself with the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned.

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