Five Minute Friday :: Explain

But the stranger that dwelleth with you
shall be unto you as one born among you,
and thou shalt love him as thyself;
for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:34
• Five Minute Friday :: Explain Linkup

Before listing the demands of the commands, God explains why he calls us to obedience—and ongoing freedom:

"I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Therefore! You shall have no other gods before me."

The Ten Words of the Sinai Covenant in

• Exodus 20:1-17

and in

• Deuteronomy 5:6-21

• Martin Luther explains each of the commandments in his Small Catechism.

• More wise instruction for every one of our days—and the explanation:

When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the stranger. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the stranger as yourself, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:33-34

You shall not oppress a stranger, because you know the heart of a stranger; because you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Exodus 23:9

Stranger is translated into English as foreigner, immigrant, alien, sojourner, wanderer. What other words or phrases help explain that concept?

I hope God's people always will be strange, alien, outsiders to the ways of empire. In the realms of oppression. The houses of slavery. At least no more than a temporary resident in any of those places. Amen? Amen!

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