ESOCS Devotional 7 November 2023 – Just for the Poor and Vulnerable
MEMORY VERSE: “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!” Isaiah 10:1-2
TEXT: ISAIAH 9:18-END; 10:1- 4 (KJV)
For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;
2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Injustice is the violation of another’s rights, or the withholding of what is due to another. It has a particular reference to an unequal distribution of rights, property or privileges among persons who have equal claims; pervasion of judgment or partial to favour one against another.
Injustice is always targeted against the poor, vulnerable and less privileged in the society. This is why the fight for justice is primarily to protect their interest.
Throughout the scriptures, God required special care for the vulnerable, the weak and destitute in the society. The rulers and leaders of the people were instructed to govern equitably according to God’s ordinance. This is because God is just and rules in justice. He hates injustice because it perverts the world which He has created. It breeds chaos and disorderliness.
In a society marred presently by deepening divisions between rich and poor, we are instructed to put the need of the poor and vulnerable first. The obligation to fight for their justice is paramount. God has special interest in His heart for the poor and vulnerable in the society and wants us as His dear children to demonstrate compassion and sympathetic heart towards them. We are to fight for them, to care for them and to protect them. Caring and fighting for the poor and needy is described as an act of worship to God. All through the scriptures God instructed that compulsory provisions must be made for the vulnerable in the society and we see same pattern being followed by the Apostle in the early church. Whatever we do for the less privilege and disadvantaged we do for God because they totally depend on Him for justice.
God wants us to reflect the very same love we have received from Him towards the poor and needy, the afflicted and the oppressed, not only to pray for them, but also to help them in more practical ways, as a true manifestation of our Father’s love.
FURTHER READINGS: Psalm 41:1; Proverbs 19:17; Isaiah 58:6-8
ESOCS Devotional 7 November 2023
