Don't Spurn an Edomite

Deuteronomy 23:7
”But don’t spurn an Edomite; he’s your kin.
And don’t spurn an Egyptian; you were a foreigner in his land.
Children born to Edomites and Egyptians may enter the congregation of GOD in the third generation.”

We live in a culture that encourages getting even, never letting anyone beat you, mock you, or look down upon you. With pithy statements like, “I don’t get mad, I get even,” we selfishly denigrate people with our justification of being previously wronged firmly in hand. And we even quote OT phrases like, “An eye for en eye” and think that somehow we are doing what is right. But God is not pleased. His desire is not for “justice”—at least not how we conceive of justice.

Imagine being an Israelite. There are many nations that have offended, wronged, and even hurt you. Let’s begin with Edom. They treat you like crap. They don’t help when they should. And they are even related to you (descendants of Esau). How can they call themselves brothers and sisters and act like that? It seems okay to treat family like dirt, especially if they aren’t going to act “properly.”

Then there are those vile Egyptians. You remember what they did to you and your ancestors. They took advantage of you. They enslaved you. Were it not for divine intervention they would have destroyed your life. Just thinking about them makes you want to lash out. Let’s hurt them and see how they like it!

But Yahweh picks out these two groups specifically and says, “Don’t burn with anger. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t spurn them. Instead, worship with them.” His reasons are not all that compelling. Bloodlines and occasional hospitality don’t make up for the years of hurt they have inflicted upon you.

But perhaps Yahweh has reasons beyond those. Perhaps Yahweh sees Himself in the way he wants you to treat them. Perhaps Yahweh wants to impart a little bit of the grace He possesses into your daily actions. Yes it is not easy to love those who have committed the first offense against you. But it is not easy to love you either.