Lesson 5
God used the holy days and their significance in Israerite history to repeatedly teach his chosen children life lessons like being concerned for the poor and downtrodden. After the Israelites made it to the promised land, he instructed them to be generous to others during his holy days, reminding them they were once strangers in a new land. God wanted the Israelites to be generous to others, like he was with their forefathers.
Exodus 3:21-22 New Living Translation
21 And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed. 22 Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”
Deuteronomy 16:11-12 Jubilee Bible 2000
11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God has chosen to place his name there. 12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a slave in Egypt; therefore thou shalt keep and do these statutes.
Exodus 23:9 International Children’s Bible
9 “You must not mistreat a foreigner. You know how it feels to be a foreigner. You were foreigners in Egypt.
God was most lavish with us by providing the salvation of Jesus to cover our sins. Adopting us as his children, we are heirs of his Kingdom. We demonstrate that the love of God is living in us, by how we treat those who need our help.
1 John 3:16-18 Easy-to-Read Version
16 This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for each other as brothers and sisters. 17 Suppose a believer who is rich enough to have all the necessities of life sees a fellow believer who is poor and does not have even basic needs. What if the rich believer does not help the poor one? Then it is clear that God’s love is not in that person’s heart. 18 My children, our love should not be only words and talk. No, our love must be real. We must show our love by the things we do.
What do you do to demonstrate that the love of God is active in your life? Do you help immigrants in your country? What are the best ways to help the poor? Do you find it more fulfilling to help others in a group, or by yourself? How can Christian churches help foreigners in your country? Should they, or should they help those foreigners stay in their own country? Are Christians responsible for fixing the world?