Deuteronomy 23:15-2315Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him. 17There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. 18Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God. 19Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: 20Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 21When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. 22But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. 23That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth. (Deuteronomy 23:15‑23)
Israel had themselves once been slaves in Egypt, but God had delivered them from their bondage and given them a homeland. Now they were to show kindness to a slave who had fled from oppression and sought a refuge among them.
“Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: he shall dwell with thee, . . . thou shalt not oppress him." If he had come to trust under the sheltering wings of the God of Israel this confidence was not to be destroyed.
This was yet another way in which God's people were to reflect on earth His bright character. Truly He is God who is rich in mercy, and how many of us, once slaves to Satan, oppressed and without hope, have fled to Him and found a refuge and a home in those all-sheltering arms of love.
The sin of Sodom, because of which God destroyed those cities of the plain, must never appear in the land of Israel. And yet in spite of these warnings these awful sins did appear there. How much more solemn to think that in our day, in the full light of Christianity, these awful sins abound on every hand. Men do not profit by the terrible judgments of God which have fallen on this world because of such things.
How often Israel were told to remember the poor among them and to deal liberally with the poor brother! Here they are forbidden to charge interest not only on money lent, but on food or anything they might loan him. They could charge interest on money lent to a stranger,
hearts we have! How many broken promises we can think of! Elsewhere Israel were told not to make vows, but if they did make them God said they must conscientiously perform them. It is a fine thing to cultivate the habit of being one who says what he means and means what he says. Even the world respects one who is "a man of his word."
There was one blessed Man, above all others, who made vows and never failed in performing them, even though it cost Him the awful sufferings of the cross. Our blessed Lord Jesus has perfectly fulfilled, and will fulfill, every promise that He has made. "For all the promises of God in Him," from the past eternity, down through time and on into the coming blest eternity, "in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." 2 Cor. 1:2020For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2 Corinthians 1:20).
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil. 2:9-119Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9‑11).
Memory Verse
Messages of the Love of God 10/19/1975