ONE FAMILY PLAN
"'HE DEFENDED THE CAUSE OF THE POOR AND NEEDY, and so all went well. IS THAT NOT WHAT IT MEANS TO KNOW ME?' declares the LORD." (Jer 22:16)
"LEARN TO DO RIGHT; SEEK JUSTICE. DEFEND THE OPPRESSED. TAKE UP THE CAUSE OF THE FATHERLESS; PLEAD THE CASE OF THE WIDOW."(Isaiah 1:17)
"Enlightened beings are magnanimous givers, bestowing whatever they have with calmness, without regret, without hoping for reward, without seeking honor, without coveting material benefits, but only to rescue and safeguard all living beings." (Buddhism, Garland Sutra 21)
"When help is given by weighing the recipient's need and not the donor's reward, its goodness is greater than the sea." (Hinduism, Tirukkural 103)
"Fortunate are those who save others from the devastating curse of hunger, for they have thereby deposited their possessions in a well-guarded vault." (Hinduism, Tirukkural 226)
"The noble-minded cultivate in themselves the ability to unload other people's burdens." (Analects 14.42)
"Relieve people in distress as speedily as you must release a fish from a dry rill [lest he die]. Deliver people from danger as quickly as you must free a sparrow from a tight noose. Be compassionate to orphans and relieve widows. Respect the old and help the poor." (Taoism, Tract of the Quiet Way)
The Fatherless and the Widows
Who are the fatherless and the widows? They are those that cannot speak for themselves, those ridiculed, mocked, and scorned for their differences, for their ‘sins’ – judged from the heart of the hypocrites – the self proclaimed judges, juries, and executioners of those they hate, of those they care nothing about. God IS love and those without ‘love’ He does NOT ‘know’ and yet He will search out the ‘cause’ in each of us. He searches the heart…
“I WAS A FATHER TO THE NEEDY, and I SEARCHED OUT THE CAUSE OF HIM WHOM I DID NOT KNOW.” (Job 29:16, ESV)
“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘DO NOT LOOK ON HIS APPEARANCE OR ON THE HEIGHT OF HIS STATURE, because I have rejected him. For THE LORD SEES NOT AS MAN SEES: MAN LOOKS ON THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKS ON THE HEART.’” (1 Sam 16:7, ESV)
“THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, AND DESPERATELY WICKED; WHO CAN KNOW IT?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
“ABOVE ALL ELSE, GUARD YOUR HEART, FOR IT IS THE WELLSPRING OF LIFE.” (Proverbs 4:23)
“FOR FROM WITHIN, OUT OF MEN'S HEARTS, COME EVIL THOUGHTS, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” (Mark 7:21-22)
“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully HAS ALREADY COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH HER IN HIS HEART.” (Matthew 5:28)
“Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer…” (1 John 3:15)
“Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, ‘WHY DO YOU ENTERTAIN EVIL THOUGHTS IN YOUR HEARTS?’” (Matthew 9:4)
“I THE LORD SEARCH THE HEART AND EXAMINE THE MIND, TO REWARD EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO THEIR CONDUCT, ACCORDING TO WHAT THEIR DEEDS DESERVE.” (Jeremiah 17:10)
His ‘heart’ is to take up the ‘cause’ of the fatherless, the widows, the foreigners (one that sticks out, not LIKE US) – He is justice when there is no justice.
“HE DEFENDS THE CAUSE OF THE FATHERLESS AND THE WIDOW, AND LOVES THE FOREIGNER RESIDING AMONG YOU, GIVING THEM FOOD AND CLOTHING.” (Deu 10:18)
We are to take up the cause in the face of all opposition, when it’s NOT cool – when it’s NOT politically correct. These are not ONLY the literal “fatherless and widows” – again, think allegory
as it is much deeper. These are those that need someone to speak on their behalf. This is LOVE…
“YOU SHALL NOT MISTREAT ANY WIDOW OR FATHERLESS CHILD.” (Ex 22:22, ESV)
The stranger, the fatherless, the widow – the lonely – those in need…
“THOU SHALT NOT PERVERT THE JUDGMENT OF THE STRANGER, NOR OF THE FATHERLESS; NOR TAKE A WIDOW'S RAIMENT TO PLEDGE…” (Deu 24:17, KJV)
“LEARN TO DO RIGHT; SEEK JUSTICE. DEFEND THE OPPRESSED. TAKE UP THE CAUSE OF THE FATHERLESS; PLEAD THE CASE OF THE WIDOW.” (Isaiah 1:17)
“DEFEND THE WEAK AND THE FATHERLESS; UPHOLD THE CAUSE OF THE POOR AND THE OPPRESSED.” (Psalm 82:3)
If we don’t step in, someone will – and He will secure justice against those that will not…
“…they turned from following him and had no regard for any of his ways. They caused the cry of the poor to come before him, so that HE HEARD THE CRY OF THE NEEDY.” (Job 34:27-28)
“MAY HE DEFEND THE CAUSE OF THE POOR of the people, give DELIVERANCE TO THE CHILDREN OF THE NEEDY, AND CRUSH THE OPPRESSOR!” (Psalm 72:4, ESV)
“I KNOW THAT THE LORD SECURES JUSTICE FOR THE POOR AND UPHOLDS THE CAUSE OF THE NEEDY.” (Psalm 140:12)
Action begets Action, Evil begets Evil, and the rights of the oppressed are plundered…
“THEY HAVE GROWN FAT AND SLEEK. THEY KNOW NO BOUNDS IN DEEDS OF EVIL; THEY JUDGE NOT WITH JUSTICE THE CAUSE OF THE FATHERLESS, TO MAKE IT PROSPER, AND THEY DO NOT DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF THE NEEDY.” (Jer 5:28, ESV)
Herein is LOVE… Herein is RIGHTEOUSNESS…
“DO NOT OPPRESS THE WIDOW, THE FATHERLESS, THE SOJOURNER, OR THE POOR, AND LET NONE OF YOU DEVISE EVIL AGAINST ANOTHER IN YOUR HEART.” (Zech 7:10)
“YOU SHALL NOT WRONG A SOJOURNER OR OPPRESS HIM, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21)
Here is how one KNOWS GOD…
“‘HE DEFENDED THE CAUSE OF THE POOR AND NEEDY, and so all went well. IS THAT NOT WHAT IT MEANS TO KNOW ME?’ declares the LORD.” (Jer 22:16)
Those that do not KNOW GOD, the oppressors themselves, will be the oppressed – their great tower will be destroyed by the very Word of God…
“MY ANGER WILL BE AROUSED, and I WILL KILL YOU WITH THE SWORD; YOUR WIVES WILL BECOME WIDOWS AND YOUR CHILDREN FATHERLESS.” (Ex 22:24)
“Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men, NEITHER SHALL HAVE MERCY ON THEIR FATHERLESS AND WIDOWS: FOR EVERY ONE IS AN HYPOCRITE AND AN EVILDOER, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but HIS HAND IS STRETCHED OUT STILL.” (Isaiah 9:17, KJV)
“so that the Levites (who have NO ALLOTMENT OR INHERITANCE of their own) and THE FOREIGNERS, THE FATHERLESS AND THE WIDOWS who live in your towns MAY COME AND EAT and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” (Deu 14:29)
Take up the ‘cause’ and REJOICE! The meaning of life IS FAMILY…
“And rejoice before the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you.” (Deuteronomy 16:11)
“Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.” (Deu 16:14)
Woe to those…
“And YOU SENT WIDOWS AWAY EMPTY-HANDED AND BROKE THE STRENGTH OF THE FATHERLESS.” (Job 22:9)
“THEY DRIVE AWAY THE DONKEY OF THE FATHERLESS; THEY TAKE THE WIDOW’S OX FOR A PLEDGE. THEY THRUST THE POOR OFF THE ROAD; THE POOR OF THE EARTH ALL HIDE THEMSELVES.” (Job 24:3-4, ESV)
“THEY CAUSE THE NAKED TO LODGE WITHOUT CLOTHING, that they have no covering in the cold. They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. THEY PLUCK THE FATHERLESS FROM THE BREAST, AND TAKE A PLEDGE OF THE POOR. THEY CAUSE HIM TO GO NAKED WITHOUT CLOTHING…” (Job 24:7-10, KJV)
The rulers will NOT go unpunished…
“YOUR RULERS ARE REBELS, PARTNERS WITH THIEVES; THEY ALL LOVE BRIBES AND CHASE AFTER GIFTS. THEY DO NOT DEFEND THE CAUSE OF THE FATHERLESS; THE WIDOW’S CASE DOES NOT COME BEFORE THEM.” (Isaiah 1:23)
“WOE TO THOSE WHO MAKE UNJUST LAWS, TO THOSE WHO ISSUE OPPRESSIVE DECREES, TO DEPRIVE THE POOR OF THEIR RIGHTS AND WITHHOLD JUSTICE FROM THE OPPRESSED OF MY PEOPLE, MAKING WIDOWS THEIR PREY AND ROBBING THE FATHERLESS. WHAT WILL YOU DO ON THE DAY OF RECKONING, WHEN DISASTER COMES FROM AFAR? TO WHOM WILL YOU RUN FOR HELP? WHERE WILL YOU LEAVE YOUR RICHES?” (Isaiah 10:1-3)
“This is what the LORD says: ‘IF THOSE WHO DO NOT DESERVE TO DRINK THE CUP MUST DRINK IT, WHY SHOULD YOU GO UNPUNISHED? YOU WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED, BUT MUST DRINK IT.’” (Jer 49:12)
It is the cycle of our circle… and we will all drink…
“OUR INHERITANCE HAS BEEN TURNED OVER TO STRANGERS, OUR HOMES TO FOREIGNERS. WE HAVE BECOME FATHERLESS, OUR MOTHERS ARE WIDOWS. We must buy the water we drink; our wood can be had only at a price.” (Lam 5:2-4)
We will all be put on trial. What is a sorcerer, really? Is it not one that trusts in something other than God, as though God is not sovereign? Is not the adulterer one that comes against his brother or sister and defies the very plan of God? Who is the oppressor? Is it not those that simply turn their head and walk away?
“‘SO I WILL COME TO PUT YOU ON TRIAL. I WILL BE QUICK TO TESTIFY AGAINST SORCERERS, ADULTERERS AND PERJURERS, AGAINST THOSE WHO DEFRAUD LABORERS OF THEIR WAGES, WHO OPPRESS THE WIDOWS AND THE FATHERLESS, AND DEPRIVE THE FOREIGNERS AMONG YOU OF JUSTICE, BUT DO NOT FEAR ME,’ SAYS THE LORD ALMIGHTY.” (Malachi 3:5)
He was the least of these as we will all be the least of these. How will we treat our family?
“For I WAS HUNGRY AND YOU GAVE ME NOTHING to eat, I WAS THIRSTY AND YOU GAVE ME NOTHING to drink, I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU DID NOT INVITE ME IN, I NEEDED CLOTHES AND YOU DID NOT CLOTHE ME, I WAS SICK AND IN PRISON AND YOU DID NOT LOOK AFTER ME.” (Matthew 25:42-43)
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, WHATEVER YOU DID NOT DO FOR ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE, YOU DID NOT DO FOR ME.’” (Matthew 25:45)
In contrast… the righteous…
“For I WAS HUNGRY AND YOU GAVE me something to eat, I WAS THIRSTY AND YOU GAVE me something to drink, I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU INVITED ME IN, I NEEDED CLOTHES AND YOU CLOTHED ME, I WAS SICK AND YOU LOOKED AFTER ME, I WAS IN PRISON AND YOU CAME TO VISIT ME.” (Matthew 25:35-36)
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, INASMUCH AS YE HAVE DONE IT UNTO ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN, YE HAVE DONE IT UNTO ME.” (Matthew 25:40, KJV)
What is fasting, really? Is it not to sacrifice for the cause of Christ? And what is the cause of Christ?
“IS NOT THIS THE FAST THAT I CHOOSE: TO LOOSE THE BONDS OF WICKEDNESS, TO UNDO THE STRAPS OF THE YOKE, TO LET THE OPPRESSED GO FREE, AND TO BREAK EVERY YOKE? IS IT NOT TO SHARE YOUR BREAD WITH THE HUNGRY AND BRING THE HOMELESS POOR INTO YOUR HOUSE; WHEN YOU SEE THE NAKED, TO COVER HIM, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6-7, ESV)
The righteous…
“If a man is righteous and does what is just and right…” (Ez 18:5) “DOES NOT OPPRESS ANYONE, but RESTORES TO THE DEBTOR HIS PLEDGE, COMMITS NO ROBBERY, GIVES HIS BREAD TO THE HUNGRY AND COVERS THE NAKED with a garment, DOES NOT LEND AT INTEREST OR TAKE ANY PROFIT, WITHHOLDS HIS HAND FROM INJUSTICE, EXECUTES TRUE JUSTICE BETWEEN MAN AND MAN, WALKS IN MY STATUTES, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 18:7-9, ESV)
“PURE RELIGION AND UNDEFILED BEFORE GOD AND THE FATHER IS THIS, TO VISIT THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOWS IN THEIR AFFLICTION, AND TO KEEP HIMSELF UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD.” (James 1:27)
“IF A BROTHER OR SISTER IS POORLY CLOTHED AND LACKING IN DAILY FOOD, AND ONE OF YOU SAYS TO THEM, ‘GO IN PEACE, BE WARMED AND FILLED,’ WITHOUT GIVING THEM THE THINGS NEEDED FOR THE BODY, WHAT GOOD IS THAT?” (James 2:15-16, ESV)
Our God is…
“A FATHER TO THE FATHERLESS, A DEFENDER OF WIDOWS, is God in his holy dwelling.” (Psalm 68:5)
