Be Still And Know

Exodus 23:9 'You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.' The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 400 years, and so they had a huge experience of being foreigners. Throughout that time, they knew that their true home was elsewhere and that one day they would enter the land that the Lord had given them. This meant that, of all people, they had reason to be sensitive to the vulnerabilities of foreigners in their community. Time and again, the law of Moses reminds them of this important responsibility. When I lived in India, I had the huge privilege of living with an Indian family. They generously took me into their home where we shared meals, worship, leisure and a lot of laughs. They couldn’t have been more generous. But the truth is that I didn’t speak their language at all at first, and was never fluent. Their customs were very unfamiliar to me and I often felt rather lost. It was only the kindness and consi