tribesofsinai2024

Compassion is literally means ‘’suffering together.’’ When confronted with the suffering of others compassion is the motivator to relieve that suffering. 

Compassion goes further than sympathy, or even empathy, for it goes beyond feeling and solidarity to do something practical to relieve the suffering of others. 

Compassion is deeper than altruism for compassion has strong emotions behind the actions that relieve the suffering of others.  

When he appeared to Moses from the burning bush the Lord said, 

• SEEN MISERY “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. 
• 
• HEARD CRY I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers,
• and 
• CONCERNED I am concerned about their suffering. 
• 
• COME TO RESCUE So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 
• 
• HEARD And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, 
• and 
• SEEN OPPRESSION I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 
• So now, go. 
• PRACTICAL HELP I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”^[1]

The Lord had seen, heard and was concerned about the suffering of his people in Egypt. So he had come down to rescue them from their oppressors and bring them into a good and spacious land. He then repeats himself saying he has heard and seen the Israelite’s oppression so was sending Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. The Lord’s seeing, concerning and intention landed in the lap of one shepherd in the deserts of Sinai – Moses! 

The children of Israel had been in Egypt for 400 years. Even at the time of Moses’ birth, Pharaoh was ordering the baby Hebrew boys to be thrown into the Nile. For decades Moses must have been wondering what the compassionate God of his ancestors was going to do about it. Now the Lord had shown up and was telling a seasoned old man to work as his agent. Now was the time to rise with faith and courage to take responsibility, to act to save his people from tyranny and suffering. 

Reflection

Do you have compassion for people caught in systems of oppression and threat?

What happens when a person from within such a system starts to believe in Christ? 

How does it feel to live among and be dependent on people who could harm you for having such faith? 

Prayer

Please pray for new believers who may believe in the LORD, yet fear if their faith is discovered, their families could seek their destruction. 

Worship the Lord through ‘Everyone Needs Compassion’

^[1] Exodus 3:7-10.