The Bible is clear: Moabites are bad. They were not to be allowed to dwell among God's people (Deut. 23). But then comes the story of "Ruth the Moabite," which challenges the prejudice against Moabites (Ruth 4).
The Bible is clear: People from Uz are evil (Jer. 25). But then comes the story of Job, a man from Uz who was "blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1).
The Bible is clear: No foreigners or eunuchs allowed (Deut. 23). But then comes the story of an African eunuch welcomed into the church (Acts 8).
The Bible is clear: God's people hated Samaritans (John 4). But then Jesus tells a story about a Samaritan – role-model for everyone (Luke 10).
The story may
begin on human level with
- prejudice
- discrimination
- animosity
but the Spirit
moves God's people towards
- openness
- inclusion
- affirmation.
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