Daily text, Thursday, May 17. 2018

[Queen Esther]

Do not forget kindness to strangers.—Heb. 13:2,

Jehovah lovingly made provisions for the foreigners living in Israel, such as the right to glean food. (Lev. 19:9, 10) Rather than order the Israelites to respect foreigners, Jehovah appealed to their empathy. (Ex. 23:9) They knew ‘how it felt to be a foreigner.’ Even before they were reduced to slavery, the Hebrews were likely shunned by the Egyptians because of racial pride or religious prejudice. (Gen. 43:32; 46:34; Ex. 1:11-14) The Israelites had experienced a bitter life as foreign residents, but Jehovah expected them to treat the foreigner “like a native” among them. (Lev. 19:33, 34) No doubt, Jehovah is equally concerned about people from a foreign background who attend meetings in our congregations. (Deut. 10:17-19; Mal. 3:5, 6) If we reflect on the challenges that they are facing, such as discrimination or the language barrier, we will look for ways to show them kindness and fellow feeling.—1 Pet. 3:8. w16.10 1:3-5

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2018/5/17