Through The Bible in a Year - May 4, 2026

“Love the sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” – Deuteronomy 10:19

When we are studying the writings of Daniel, we cannot help but remember that his time was not the first time God’s people had been forced from their homeland and enslaved by evil. Over and over in Scripture, God’s people are oppressed, displaced, and made captives, slaves, or wanderers in foreign lands. Yet, despite the hardships – so often caused by their own sin – God maintained his promises to them even in their state of distress? What are we supposed to do with that?

The Bible is clear: Have empathy for people in like condition.

Deuteronomy 10:19 says, “Love the sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt yourselves.”

Similarly, we read in Leviticus 19:33-34, “When foreigners reside among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner you must treat as native-born. Love them as yourselves, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”

It’s one aspect of the golden rule: Treat others as you would wish to be treated were you in their condition.

We are living in a time of the greatest displacement of people in the history of the world. As the church tries to find its way through political, economic, and charitable responses, we cannot ignore Scripture. The Bible says to the Old Testament people of Israel, “God executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

This isn’t political correctness. This isn’t blind progressiveness. It is a calling to deal responsibly and compassionately with the needs of others so that God’s character would be known through us. Most of us are not in positions of power to determine how best to deal with national crises of poverty and persecution in our era, but we can urge those who are to have priorities that are Christ’s. This is the way that the Lord shows his heart to the world through his people.

There are clearly difficult matters to balance regarding what a nation can bear and what suffering we can responsibly relieve. But willing blindness to suffering is not a Christian choice. A nation without a border cannot survive, but a nation without a heart cannot honor Christ.

We believe Jesus Christ is King over all peoples. And the way people will recognize that reality is if there’s something different about the priorities of his people in all nations.

Respond: Who are the sojourners in your life? The foreigners? The displaced? How is the grace of Christ you have received being expressed in your dealings with them? Despite what political, economic, or ethnic pressures may be upon you? What is God calling you to do, or say, or pray for the sake of those that Christ loves as much as he loves you?

Prayer: Lord, spiritually I was once a sojourner—a foreigner to Your covenant, a refugee from Your presence, enslaved to sin. But You loved me. You claimed me. You provided for me when I couldn’t provide for myself. Help me love the way You loved me. Show me how I can express such love to others for Christ’s sake. In Jesus’ name. Amen.