Jeremiah 22.a. The Alien, the Orphan, and theWidow.

 Jeremiah’s message has been generic in the sense that he seems to address any and all kings who sit on the throne. He does follow up with some current kings and they will appear later in this sermon (next week). This sermon began back in 21:11, but like the wandering preacher that he is, Jeremiah repeats himself as we begin Chapter 22.

Jeremiah 22:1-4.  Thus says the LORD: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses—they, their servants, and their people.

 We considered last week why God, and thus Jeremiah, spends so much time criticizing the leaders of Judah. As the king, the priests, and the prophets go, so goes the nation. That is true in any nation, including ours. If the government goes bad, then the nation goes bad. It is not for nothing that certain people are called ‘leaders'.

 Like an itinerant preacher (I was one for ten years because I had a two-point charge, preaching the same sermon in two different churches), Jeremiah uses the same theme but makes some adjustments to the presentation. Again, Jeremiah tells the kings to exercise authority for the common good, but this time he adds the word ‘faithful’. Faithful to whom or to what? Faithful to the word of God concerning integrity, compassion, and mercy. 

 Again, God charges that the responsibility of a leader is to protect the most vulnerable in his society, those who are victimized by others because they have no one to stand up for them or go to court for them. In a highly patriarchal society this means that they have no adult male to protect them. The adult males are supposed to be care givers but if they fail, then there is the judicial system. Even the king is reminded to act when all else fails.

 Who are the ones who have been defrauded of their money, their house, and their land? This time the preacher names the most likely victims who are symbolic of all who are oppressed. 

 First, the preacher names ‘the alien’. The Hebrew word ger may be translated differently according to the generation of English speakers: ‘sojourner’ used to be popular but is uncommon, ‘foreigner’ living in the land is a bit more modern, and ‘immigrant’ still works for us. Many modern translations use the word ‘alien’. However, this oxymoronic term ‘illegal alien’ is unknown in Scripture.

 The ‘alien’ appears often in the Law and the Prophets in these settings. 

“There shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you” (Exodus 12: 49; see also Exodus 20:10, 23:12; Leviticus 16: 29, 17:8-15,26,29-30, 24:22, 20:2, 22:8, 24:16,22; Numbers 15:15-16,26,29-30, 19:10, 35:15; and Deuteronomy 1:16, 5:14).

“You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22: 21; see also Exodus 23:9, Leviticus 19: 33-34). Israelites are warned to be especially caring of the poor and the alien (Leviticus 23:22). 

 Second, the ‘orphan’ refers to a child without a representative adult male to care for him or her. There are many references to proper care of orphans.

 Third, the ‘widow’ likewise refers to an older woman who has no son (see Jesus’ compassion on such a woman in Luke 7:11-17). 

 Finally, the verse that follows sums them all up and should send a chill down the spine of many people. 

“Cursed be anyone who deprives an alien, an orphan, or a widow of justice. All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’” (Deuteronomy 27: 19). I agree: ‘Curse them’.

 So, it should not come as a surprise to the kings sitting on the throne of Judah to hear that God is most concerned with those who are vulnerable and so the king should be too. Still, it seems that the kings have not learned their lesson. 

Jeremiah 22:5-9. ” But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah:

You are like Gilead to me,   

like the summit of Lebanon,

but I swear that I will make you a desert,   

uninhabited cities.

I will prepare destroyers against you,   

all with their weapons;

they shall cut down your choicest cedars   

and cast them into the fire.

 And many nations will pass by this city, and all of them will say one to another, “Why has the LORD dealt in this way with that great city?” And they will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”

 This is a common prophetic warning that follows what seems like an unconditional promise with “But, if you do not heed these words….” We tend to ignore the warning. 

The first phrase about Gilead is probably a compliment because Gilead is a pleasant countryside with pastures and forests (Goldingay, Jeremiah, page 485). God appreciates nature, but this peaceful scene stands in contrast to a devastated countryside, a desert full of empty towns. And that is what will happen if the leaders do not listen, repent, and reform society.

 Will God protect Judah from outside forces? We would like to think God would, but that is not what God says. Contrary to what we believe, God will assist those who are going to conquer Judah. Judah, like sister Israel, is a nation with centuries of disobedience and years of mistreating the aliens, widows, and orphans, the vulnerable in society. Their time is up. 

 All that will be left of such an ungodly society is the ruins over which passersby will cluck their tongues, ‘tsk-tsk’.

 We must ask: How do we treat the most vulnerable in our society, the alien, the orphan, and the widow? You know the answer and you know where we are headed.