Download In the World for December 9 here.
HOPING TO EVADE THE LAW
Two weeks ago, the long-awaited caravan of Central American immigrants reached the San Diego/Tijuana (Mexico) border crossing. For weeks, they had been moving northward toward an imagined promised land. They found the border checkpoint closed in both directions. For several days now, 6,000 refugees have waited for a resolution of their situation. They have been living in makeshift tent villages, sometimes in cold and driving rain. Hoping to evade the law, some of the would-be immigrants broke past Mexican federal police officers and ran toward the wall. U.S. immigration officers fired tear gas, driving them back. Some Americans see the issue in simple terms: legal vs. illegal immigration. Others also see it simply, but from a different perspective: compassion for refugees vs. lack of humanitarian concern.
COMMANDED TO KEEP THE LAW
When the Israelites approached their Promised Land, Joshua unequivocally made plain to them God’s requirement that they obey his law. At the same time, he reminded them that they were immigrants coming into the land God was giving them and that prosperity there was contingent upon their obedience.
- Do you see the issue at the border in terms of legal vs. illegal or as compassion vs. unconcern? Why? On what biblical principles do you base your view?
- Joshua predicated blessing in the Promised Land based on Israel’s obedience to God’s law. Was this a matter of faith or works? Explain. How does the issue of obedience apply to our relationship with God through Christ?
- Does God’s blessing indicate his approval of how we are living? Why or why not? Does teaching our children the way of the Lord guarantee their later faithfulness? Explain.
—Charles R. Boatman
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