God Sides With The Little Ones

Welcome to Talk 6 in our series on Deuteronomy.

Today, I want to preach the message, “God sides with the little ones.”

God stands by the underdog. Which is a disturbing message if you’re the top dog. But if you’re the little guy, the misfit, the outcast, God tells you, “I’m on your side.”

Last week, in Talk 5, we read how Deuteronomy allowed divorce, and down through the centuries, people assumed the Bible supported divorce for any cause. But that’s a misreading of Deuteronomy.

We need to read the Bible the way Jesus read His Bible.

Jesus didn’t just read the Law, He read the heart behind the law. He saw the purpose of the divorce law in Deuteronomy—it was not to permit divorce, but protect the most vulnerable—the women.

Through that Gospel story, we get a huge gift: We see how Jesus understood all the laws of Deuteronomy.

And what a radical view it is.

In Jesus' mind, these laws have one goal—to side with the little ones. To love the last, the least, and the lost. To help the weak, protect the vulnerable, and defend the innocent.

In a very powerful way, Deuteronomy reveals to us God’s innermost heart. In every law, we’ll hear the heartbeat of the God of the universe—that He stands by the underdog.

This is what our key passage says: “Then you must declare in the presence of the LORD your God, ‘I have taken the sacred gift from my house and have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, just as you commanded me...’” (Deuteronomy 26:13 NLT)

We’ll talk more about these verses at the end of this Talk.

Have a soul-changing Feast today!

May Your Dreams Come True,

Bo Sanchez