Get Real November 23 Devotional
November 23, 2024
DEUTERONOMY 10:17-18| 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.
DEUTERONOMY 27:9| 9 Then Moses and the levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying: Keep silence and hear, O Israel! This very day you have become the people of the Lord your God.
The ancient near-eastern approach to hospitality differs from ours today. Travel was harder and more dangerous in the ancient world and there were very few inns or places to stay, with hotel and motel networks a millennia or two away. Yet people had to travel and to move, often suddenly, when supplies of food and water waned or war made a territory dangerous. Without borders and with no or nominal governmental structures, famines and conflicts meant frequent migration. Anyone could be put in the position of becoming a “ger” or sojourner, someone who comes to a new area and needs hospitality. Abraham sojourned to Egypt, as did Joseph and his brothers. Temporary guests, and sojourners, had to be respected and treated well.
What were you taught about hospitality growing up?
