Deuteronomy 23:3-4
“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you.”
In reading the history of God’s ancient people, we shall do well to notice even the most minute occurrences; since there will scarcely be found one which is not capable of spiritual improvement, or one from which the most important lessons may not be derived. The record before us would be passed over by the generality of readers, as pertaining only to that particular dispensation, and as affording but little instruction for us at this time; yet it does in reality contain as great practical information as can be found in any of the more signal events with which the inspired history abounds.
A thousand years after this record was written, it was referred to, not by accident, as we call it, but by the special direction of Divine Providence; and was made the ground of the most self-denying command that could be given to men; and the ground, also, of the most prompt obedience to that command, that it was possible for fallen man to render.
The Jews after their return from Babylon had formed connections with the heathen that had occupied Judea in their absence; but Nehemiah, determining to rectify this great evil, read to all the people the very words which I have now read to you; and, by his clear and unquestionable inferences from them, prevailed on all the people of the land to “separate themselves from the mixed multitude,” and to act up to the spirit of the injunction there given, Nehemiah 13:1-3. Now it is to the practical improvement of them that I wish to direct your attention; and for that end I shall set before you,
I. The duty of benevolence in general.
Love is a duty.
Love is the very essence of all practical religion. It is in a most peculiar manner inculcated under the Christian dispensation; and it is to be exercised towards every man. God, who is love itself, “makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain both on the just and unjust;” and our duty is to resemble him, and to be “perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect, Matthew 5:44-48.” If we be doubtful how far this precept is to be obeyed, the parable of the good Samaritan gives us a clear and unerring direction, Luke 10:37. No man under Heaven can be so distant from us, but he is entitled to the offices of our love, so far as our opportunities and ability give scope for its exercise.
Love towards others is absolutely indispensable to our acceptance with God.
Whatever else we may possess, yes, whatever we may either do or suffer for the Lord’s sake, if we have not an active principle of love in our hearts, “we are only as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal! 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.” John even appeals to us on this subject, and makes us judges in our own cause, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 1 John 3:17.” In truth, the lack of this principle, whatever else we may possess, will be adduced by our Judge, in the last day, as the ground of our eternal condemnation, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 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.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me!’ Matthew 25:41-45.”
Thus, then, as the Moabites and Ammonites are condemned for not administering to the necessities of Israel in the wilderness, so shall we, if we do not exercise benevolence towards our indigent fellow-creatures, to whatever sect or nation they belong, so far as it shall be in our power to afford them the relief which they stand in need of.
Conceiving the general point established, that we should show benevolence to all, I proceed to mark,
II. Our special obligation to exercise it towards God’s ancient people.
The Jews have, at all events, the same claim to our benevolence as any other people whatever. There is no exception made in Scripture with respect to them; and, consequently, if we should fail in establishing their peculiar claims, our main argument would remain in all its force. But they have claims superior to any other people upon earth.
1. We are more indebted to them than to any other people under Heaven.
To whom are we indebted for all the instruction which we have received respecting the way of peace and salvation? We owe it all to the Jews. We know nothing of God and of his Christ, but as it has been revealed to us by Jewish prophets and Apostles; yes, the very Savior himself was of Jewish extraction; and, therefore, in that very fact we may well find a motive to exercise benevolence towards all who are related to him according to the flesh. Such infinite obligations as we owe to that people should surely be requited in acts of love towards their descendants; even as God himself often showed mercy to rebellious Israel for Abraham’s and for David’s sake; and as David for Jonathan’s sake spared Mephibosheth, who must otherwise, as a descendant of Saul, have been involved in the ruin of all his household, 2 Samuel 21:7.
2. The very blessings which we enjoy were taken from them, on purpose that they might be transferred to us.
The Jews were once the only people upon earth who possessed the blessings of salvation. But God, in righteous indignation, cast them off; and, in a way of sovereign grace and mercy, took us Gentiles from a wild olive-tree, and grafted us in upon the stock from which they had been broken, and “from which they had been broken on purpose that we might be grafted in, Romans 11:19-20.” The fact is, that every soul among us, that now derives sap and nourishment from God’s olive-tree, actually occupies, as it were, the place of a Jew, who has been dispossessed of his privileges, in order that we Gentiles might enjoy them.
Now, I would submit it to your own judgment. Suppose a person to have been disinherited by his father, on purpose that I, who had no relation to him, nor any more worthiness in myself than the disinherited offender, might he made his heir; suppose that disinherited son, in a state of extreme distress, should ask alms of you, while I was living in affluence close at hand; would you not refer him to me, as the person who might well be expected to attend to his case, and to relieve his necessities? If I dismissed him from my door as a worthless vagabond, in whose welfare I had no concern, would you not feel surprise and grief, yes, and a measure of indignation too? If I professed to be a man of piety and benevolence, would you not spurn at my profession, as downright hypocrisy?
Now, then, if under such circumstances you would condemn me, know that “you yourself are the man.” For, all that you have of spiritual good was once the exclusive heritage of the Jew; and you are possessing what has been taken from him; yes, you are reveling in abundance, while he is perishing in utter want; and all the obligation which, by your own confession, would attach to me in the case I have stated, is entailed on you; and you, in refusing to fulfill it, are sinning against God, and against your own soul.
3. This very transfer of their blessings to us has been made for the express purpose that we might dispense them to that bereaved people in the hour of their necessity.
True, we are permitted to enjoy them ourselves, yes, and to enjoy them in the richest abundance; but we are particularly entrusted with them for the benefit of the Jews. Hear what God himself has declared on this subject, “Just as you (Gentiles) who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they (Jews) too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you, Romans 11:30-31.”
Now, take again the case before stated; and suppose the man who had disinherited his son, and left me his estate, to have declared in his will, that he left me the estate on purpose that in the hour of his son’s extremity I might show kindness to him, and relieve his necessities; what would you say of me then, if I spurned him from my door, and left him to perish with hunger, when I was myself reveling in all manner of luxurious abundance?
Well, “You are the man!” and what you would say of me, you must say of yourself, as long as you neglect to promote the welfare of God’s ancient people; yes, “out of your own mouth shall you be judged, you wicked servant.”
God has made you a trustee for the Jew; and you have not only betrayed your trust, but left him to perish, when you had in possession all that his soul needs; and which you could impart to him, to the full extent of his necessities, without feeling any sensible diminution of your wealth; yes, when, strange to say! you might increase your wealth by relieving him. Tell me, then, in this view of the matter, whether you have not special obligations to show benevolence to the Jew?
But I must go further, and mark,
III. The more particular obligations which we have to exercise benevolence towards them at this time.
God, by his providence, called the Ammonites and Moabites to show kindness to Israel; and their guilt was greatly aggravated by their manifesting such unwillingness to cooperate with him in his designs of love towards them; and on this account was so heavy a judgment denounced against them, “even to their tenth generation.” And is not God now calling us to concur with him in what he is doing for his ancient people? Yes, I think his call to us is clear and loud. Observe,
1. The interest which is now felt in the Christian world for the restoration of the Jews to God.
This interest is really unprecedented. There have been times when a few people have labored for their welfare; but now there is, throughout Europe and America, a very great and general increase of kindness towards them. They are no longer made the universal objects of hatred and persecution, as in former ages; even where there is no love towards them, there is a great diminution of hostility; and in many instances they have been treated with much liberality and respect by Christian governments, being raised by them to a measure of respect and honor that has not been accorded to them in former times. And for their conversion to Christianity, and their restoration to the divine favor, exertions are making to a considerable extent. And is not this of the Lord? Methinks, such a victory over the prejudices of Christians is scarcely less a work of divine power, than was the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Egyptians; and, as such, it is a call from God to concur with him in his labors of love towards them. See what is at this moment doing among the more pious part of the Christian community, in the circulation of the Scriptures, and especially of the New Testament; and what efforts are making by Christian missionaries for the conversion of the Jews! and I must say, that this is a call from God to us, and that it is no less our privilege, than it is our duty, to obey it.
2. The stir which prevails among the Jews themselves.
This also obtains to a degree unprecedented since the early ages of Christianity. “Truly, there is a stir among the dry bones throughout the whole valley of vision, Ezekiel 37:7-8.” Great numbers of Jews, upon the continent especially, and to a certain extent at home also, begin to think that Christianity may be true; and that that Jesus, whom their fathers crucified, may be the Messiah; and, if they did but know how, in the event of their embracing Christianity, they might support themselves and their families, great multitudes, I doubt not, would pursue their inquiries, until they had attained the true knowledge of their Messiah and of his salvation.
Let me then ask, Whence is this? Is not this the work of God? And is it not an encouragement to us to exert ourselves for their entire conversion? Methinks they are saying to us: “Come over to Macedonia, and help us!” And we ought, one and all of us, according to our ability, to obey the call.
3. The pledges which God has given us in the actual conversion of some to the Christian faith.
If we cannot speak of Pentecostal days, we can declare that God has accompanied his Word with power to the hearts of some; and that “one of a city and two of a tribe” have already, as God has given us reason to expect, Isaiah 17:6, been brought to the saving knowledge of their Messiah. Of those who have embraced “the truth as it is in Jesus,” some have attained to a real eminence in the divine life, and are at this moment not inferior to the most exalted characters in the Christian world. This shows that God is about to rebuild his temple; and surely it does not befit us “to dwell in our paneled houses” at ease Haggai 1:4, when he is so plainly calling upon us to co-operate with him; we should rather “strengthen the hands of those who are laboring in this good work,” and, like Cyrus, afford every possible facility for the accomplishment of this vast and glorious undertaking, Ezra 1:5-7.
We should endeavor to improve “this acceptable time, Isaiah 49:8;” removing to the utmost of our power all obstacles to their conversion, Isaiah 62:10; and laboring, if by any means we may be God’s honored instruments, to bring them home to him, and to present them as “an offering in a clean vessel to the Lord, Isaiah 66:19-20.”
4. The general voice of prophecy.
Prophecy begins to be better understood among us; and it is the united conviction of all who have studied the prophecies, that the time for the restoration and conversion of the Jews is near at hand. The twelve hundred and sixty years spoken of by Daniel, as the period fixed in the divine counsels for the establishment of the Redeemer’s kingdom among them, are, on any computation, nearly expired. Ought we not then, like Daniel, to put forth our prayers to God for the consummation of this great event, and by all possible means to help it forward?
I think, that, putting all these circumstances together: the concern of Christians, the stir among the Jews, the real converts from among them, and the unquestionable ground which is given us in prophecy to expect their speedy conversion; we may regard it all as a call from God, scarcely less powerful than that given to the Moabites and Ammonites of old, to “come to the help of the Lord,” and to labor with all our might for their salvation. In truth, if we do not act thus, we can expect nothing but “the curse of God, Judges 5:23,” and the most lasting tokens of his displeasure.
1. You will say, perhaps, that You have no connection with the Jews, and therefore may well be excused from all concern about them.
But what had the Ammonites and Moabites to do with the Jews? They were descended, not from Abraham, but from Lot, and had never had any fellowship with them. But this was no excuse for their neglect; nor can any similar excuse avail for us.
2. You will reply that it is God’s work, and that it should be left to him to accomplish it in his own time and way.
And might not the Ammonites and Moabites say the same? God not only could, but did, supply Their needs by miracle; but this was no justification of those who refused to them the proper offices of love. Nor will this be any justification of our neglect.
Permit me, in conclusion, to bring two things to your remembrance:
1. That the Ammonites and Moabites had an excuse which you have not.
They might have said: These Israelites are going to extirpate the seven nations of Canaan; and we will not concur in such a work as this. But, in converting the Jews to Christ, we adopt the readiest and most certain way for the salvation of the whole world. If they, then, were excluded from the congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth generation, for their inhumanity—then judge what tokens of God’s displeasure await you for your indifference.
2. That they were condemned for not coming forth, as volunteers, to “meet Israel with bread and water”.
What shall you then be, who are thus entreated and solicited to concur with Jehovah in this good work, if you still refuse your aid, or give it with such indifference, as to show that your heart does not go forth with your hands in the service of the Lord? You remember, that when Nabal said, “Shall I take my bread and my water, and give them to those whom I know not whence they came?” it well near cost him his life; yes, it actually did cost him his life, 1 Samuel 25:11; 1 Samuel 25:21-22; 1 Samuel 25:37-38. And I tremble to think what judgments await you, if you resist our importunity, and refuse to co-operate with God in the work proposed.
But “I hope better things of you, my brethren, though I thus speak;” and I hope and trust that you will henceforth, each according to his ability, be workers together with God for the salvation of God’s ancient people, and through them for the salvation of the whole world.
Let me not be misunderstood; I am far from intending to say that all who have neglected this sacred cause are equally liable to God’s displeasure; for it is but lately that the attention of the Christian world has been called to it; but I think you will agree with me, that it is now high time to exert ourselves for God, and to redeem, as far as possible, the time we have lost. The cause well deserves our most assiduous efforts; and we may be sure that God, who so indignantly resented the supineness of the Ammonites, will richly repay all that we can do for the furtherance of his gracious designs; for he has said, “Blessed is he who blesses you; and cursed is he who curses you.”
Charles Simeon (1759-1836)