The Lord watches...

The Lord watches over the sojourners;

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

Psalm 146:9

God doesn’t miss the pain of hurting people. It does not escape His notice. In ancient Israel the neediest members of their society were the immigrants, the single moms, and the fatherless families. And there were ruthless people who would take advantage of these people for their own gain. Not much has changed. But God would not stand for this. He would act. He was the advocate for the causes of the poor. He defended them. He upheld and sustained them.

One of the major ways God did this was by providing provisions in the Old Testament Law that demanded that the Israelites provide for the needs of the poor, the immigrants, the widows and orphans. This was done by allowing them to glean from fields. But they could not take advantage of them, and even if a poor person chose to sell themselves as an indentured slave, they could only be utilized in this way for a maximum of seven years. All of them became free citizens on the year of jubilee. It was an equitable and concerned body of law written by God Himself that helped keep the poor fed, clothed, sheltered and led to them becoming productive citizens.

Those who chose to disobey God’s system of social law are called in this psalm - “wicked”. And the promise from God is that those who chose to disadvantage the neediest people were going to come to ruin. God holds a society accountable for lack of fair and concerned actions that assist and lift the lowliest from their extreme poverty. These things were true for Israel. They show us God’s heart and love for humanity. They should move us to look at our own world through His eyes.

I was poor, lost, and helpless to gain life or sustain myself. But Jesus had mercy on me. He lifted me up. He provided all I needed for this life and godliness by His salvation and through His Word. I was a stranger to God, and an enemy. But Jesus by grace embodied love for the lowest. And that is true of every believer. The Lord watches the needy, and those who can care for them. He wants us to love them with His care.