19:32
This verse tells us to revere the elderly, and it is linked with revering the Lord. It is also another commandment which ends with “I am the Lord”. The root of rebellion is thinking we can manage without God, that we can be independent. When we do this we start to despise those whom we see as weak or inferior. One such group we might consider ourselves superior to are the elderly. To do so is to dishonour God.
19:33,34
Foreigners are to be treated as equals, i.e. to be treated as “native-born”. They must not be ill-treated. The motivation for this is that the Israelites were once foreigners in Egypt, where they were mistreated. Again, this ends with “I am the Lord your God”. And again it appears after a verse concerning those who are weak or vulnerable in some way. This, of course, presents us with a real problem today, for we have a very serious issue with illegal immigrants. With legal migration there is no problem in terms of what we should do, we should treat them well, as we are commanded to do so here. The case with illegal immigration is much more difficult, and I don’t have any easy answers.
No comments:
Post a Comment