Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?
“This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
These verses reminded me this morning that God cares deeply for several groups of people, and He wants us to look after them, too. Four major groups of afflicted people are highlighted in this passage: widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. Throughout Scripture, we see God's great love for them (James 1:27). He even promises us as spiritual children that, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (John 14:18)."
In fact, as believers, we can draw parallels between each of these oppressed groups and ourselves, but that deep thought may need to wait for another morning.
Here's a question for all of us today, "How can I tangibly help care for these people?" Lord, may this blog exalt you as it aims to help those that the world would deem as the "least of these" (Matthew 25:31-46).
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