REMEMBER THAT YOU WERE SLAVES

Passage: Deuteronomy 24:1~22  

Key verse: 18


1. Don't take advantage of weak people (1-6)

In a world in which women had no rights, the law gave them protection. The law gave a new family time to take root (5). People were more important than material things, so the law protected the poor (6,7).

2. Remember that you were slaves (7-22)

Selfish men who forget their former condition and forget God's grace can even enslave and sell brothers. It is not cruel but wise to identify and isolate those with contagious diseases. God's laws are wise. They are for the protection of the whole community. The law not only protected the rights of the poor, it also encouraged God's people to live with wide and generous hearts--not with narrow-minded calculations. We must not take advantage of the hired man, the poor, the alien, the fatherless or the widow; they should be treated with justice, compassion, and generosity. If we remember God's grace, we cannot but be generous and forgiving toward others.


Prayer: Lord, help me to remember that I was a slave to sin and you delivered me.

One Word: Remember God's grace