[God] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you. Deuteronomy 10:18
For more than a year, his legal name was “Baby Boy.” Discovered by a security guard who heard his cries, Baby Boy had been abandoned—hours old and wrapped only in a bag—in a hospital parking lot.
Soon after his discovery, Social Services called the people who would one day become his forever family. The couple took him in and called him Grayson (not his real name). Finally, the adoption was complete, and Grayson’s name became official. Today you can meet a delightful child who mispronounces his r’s as he earnestly engages you in conversation. You’d never guess he’d once been found abandoned in a bag.
Late in his life, Moses reviewed God’s character and what He’d done for the people of Israel. “The Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them,” Moses told them (Deuteronomy 10:15). This love had a broad scope. “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing,” Moses said (v. 18). “He is the one you praise; he is your God” (v. 21).
Whether it’s through adoption or simply through love and service, we’re all called to reflect God’s love. That loving couple became the hands and feet God used to extend His love to someone who might have gone unnoticed and unclaimed. We can serve as His hands and feet too.
Read: Deuteronomy 10:14-22 (NIV)
14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens,c even the highest heavens,d the earth and everything in it.e 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and lovedf them, and he chose you,g their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.h 16 Circumcisei your hearts,j therefore, and do not be stiff-neckedk any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of godsl and Lord of lords,m the great God, mighty and awesome,n who shows no partialityo and accepts no bribes.p 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,q and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.r 19 And you are to loves those who are foreigners,t for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.u 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him.v Hold fastw to him and take your oaths in his name.x 21 He is the one you praise;y he is your God, who performed for you those greatz and awesome wondersa you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all,b and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.c
INSIGHT
- How have you sensed God extending His love to you in ways large and small?
- What small thing might you do today to reflect that love?
Today’s passage (Deuteronomy 10:14–22) is written in a more elevated style from the rest of the book; it contains more descriptive language and uses rhetorical devices—such as repetition of ideas in different forms—to allow the hearer to absorb the content. This suggests that Moses’ speech is reaching a climax. Old Testament scholar Daniel Block says that Moses “is about to declare the moral and spiritual implications of the privilege of covenant relationship that he has been preaching to this point of the second address.” The moral requirement is adherence to the law of God. Moses reiterates this three times with three different admonitions: keep the commands (vv. 12–13), circumcise your heart (v. 16), and fear and serve God (v. 20). Each of these calls to submit to and serve God is followed by an attribution of praise (see vv. 14, 17, 21).
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, have mercy on the fatherless. Help me to be Your hands and feet today. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Deuteronomy 10:14-22 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: Isaiah 43-44; 1 Thessalonians 2
