THE HEART OF THE STRANGER
Exodus 23:1-9 (KJV)
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
This world is not fair.
If a person wants to be happy in this life, he has to settle with that.
Things will, very often, not be fair.
On the other hand, the Christian is taught in the Word of God to live to a different standard than this world’s.
And so, we find in these verses a series of instructions, commandments really, having to do with our relationship with others – especially those who do not treat us fairly.
· Don’t be a false witness
· Don’t be party to wresting judgment
· Don’t play favorites with people
· Be helpful to others, even your enemies and those who hate you
· Do not accept bribes
And then notice in verse 9
Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Also
This commandment is included, but set apart a little too.
Do all of these things and
Also do this – do not oppress the stranger.
· Return your enemy’s belongings
· Help those who hate you when they are in trouble
· Be fair and honest in your dealings with the poor
Also, be kind and thoughtful to the strangers you meet.
God gives this very specific reason why we should not oppress the stranger, “for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
I want to preach to you today on having the heart of a stranger.
A heart in love with God cannot be in love with this world.[1]
God told the children of Israel that they knew the heart of a stranger because they had been strangers in Egypt.
I meditated upon that a great deal this week and it seems to me that just about everybody who is somebody in the Bible, knew what it was to “be a stranger” in their world.
I. ABRAHAM
Hebrews 11:8-10 (KJV)
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Abraham is called the father of our faith.
And Abraham’s very first step of faith was to follow God into a strange land.
God promised him that one day he would possess it, but all of his life, he was a stranger there.
When his sweet wife died, he had to seek the mercy of the residents just to buy a place to bury her.
Abraham was a stranger in the land.
· He was outnumbered
· He was surrounded
· He was alone without family or other friends
Abraham was a stranger
· He never had a permanent home
· He raised his son and left his grandchildren as strangers in that very same place
Think about it.
He bought the cave where he buried his beloved, but he never found a place in the whole land he set his heart to.
When his servants strove with Lot, Abraham, let Lot choose where he wanted to go.
It didn’t matter to Abraham where he pitched his tent – he was looking for a place out of this world anyway.
II. ISAAC
Isaac was a stranger on this earth, wasn’t he?
The second born of his father, but the only one his father was allowed of God to recognize, there was strife between his mother and his half-brother, Ishmael from the “get go.”
And then his father, whose faith in God demanded that Isaac be considered his only son, by that same faith, took him to the top of a mountain and would have sacrificed him had God not stopped him.
It’s a strange person who is that surrendered to his parents.
III. JACOB WAS A STRANGER
Jacob knew that God had called him to carry on the spiritual heritage of his father, but he had an older brother whose right was the birthright blessing.
The conflict between him and his brother forced him into a strange land where he lived for 20 years.
When he died, he was in another strange land and requested only that his bones be buried with his wife in the Promised Land.
IV. JOSEPH WAS A STRANGER
God had gifted him with prophetic dreams and the ability to interpret them.
But this gift landed him
· As an enemy of his brothers
· As a slave to Potipher and then
· As a prisoner in an Egyptian jail
before it landed him as second in command of a still strange land.
They built pyramids to remember their Pharaohs by but eventually they completely forgot about Joseph.
V. MOSES WAS A STRANGER IN THIS WORLD
A Jew raised in the Pharaoh’s palace, eventually he chose to identify with his blood relatives and ended up being rejected by both Jews and Egyptians.
After spending 40 years feeding sheep in the wilderness, Moses obeyed God in delivering Israel from Egypt and spent his remaining 40 years of life leading them around in circles until he and the entire generation had died.
VI. DAVID WAS A STRANGER TOO
Content, I believe, to shepherd his father’s sheep on the hills of Bethlehem, God had another plan for his life.
David did an amazing thing when he defeated Goliath in battle.
All that did was arouse the jealousy of an already ungodly King Saul.
David was secretly anointed king and spent I think 14 years running from King Saul.
· At first, he led a handful of people
· Then he became king of Judah
· Finally, he was crowned king of all Israel
But he never did have the heart of all of the people and when Solomon, his son, became king, one of his first acts of leadership was to have to kill:
· His own brother
· A man David had shown grace to and
· His father’s own general
VII. DANIEL WAS A STRANGER IN THIS WORLD
Torn away from his homeland as a young person, he probably watched his parents be executed by the very people he would be required to serve the rest of his life.
Daniel’s testimony, his faithfulness to his God and his loyalty to the king of the land, had earned him many promotions.
But to his dying day he was tested and
His final prophecies all demonstrated his love for his people, Israel.
VIII. JESUS WAS A STRANGER IN THE WORLD
More so than any of the others, Jesus left heaven to become a stranger.
He did not begin as one of this world’s but took it upon Himself.
Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV)
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
IX. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WE ARE STRANGERS IN THIS WORLD
1 Peter 2:11 (KJV)[2]
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
X. WHAT WOULD BE THE HEART OF A STRANGER?
A. It would be a lonely heart
Surrounded by those who are different. You would never be able to fit in.
Like Moses in the palace of Pharaoh,
You are never really Egyptian, but you aren’t yet ready to live among your own.
B. It would be a homesick heart
Abraham looked for a city whose builder and make was God.
He lived faithfully for God where he was, but he looked constantly to God for that city to come.
C. It would be a loyal heart
David and Daniel were loyal to those authorities God had placed over them, trusting God that it was His will for them.
D. It would be a forgiving heart
Joseph met his brothers who had sold him into slavery and proclaimed, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.”[3] And he forgave them
E. It would be an evangelistic heart
Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.[4]
F. It would be a pure heart
And would abstain from the lusts which war against the soul[5]
Conclusion
Can you imagine what would have happened:
· Had had Joseph chosen to rain vengeance on his brothers?
· Had Moses chosen to stay in the comforts of Pharaoh’s palace?
· Had Daniel chosen to defy the authorities God had placed over him? or
· Had Jesus chosen to not become obedient to the cross?
Do you really care whether lost people get saved?
Do you really care whether your prayers are answered by God?
Do you really care whether God is glorified in this world?
If you care, you’ll ask God to give you the heart of a stranger.
[1] James 4:4 (KJV)
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
[2] The argument will be made that the term strangers applies strictly to those Jews who were, at that time scattered. I rather believe we should view it as Jesus spoke in Mark 13:37 (KJV) And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. What the Bible says to the one, it says to us all.
[3] Genesis 50:20 (KJV)
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
[4] Matthew 18:11 (KJV)
For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
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