xvi. 4. _Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab._
+I. In the most deserted condition of His people, God acknowledges
them as His own.+ _"Mine outcasts."_ Sennacherib thought them his;
but though forsaken by all the world, God claims them as His own, and
avows His interest in them. Men pursue an opposite course; when
individuals sink in the social scale, the kindly warmth of friendship
is chilled, and the bond of intercourse broken (H. E. I., 23, 24,
2152-2157; P. D., 1422). But God is a friend who sticketh closer than
any brother.[1] True, they sometimes esteem themselves outcasts even
from Him (Ps. xlii. 2), and still more frequently are thought to be
so by the ungodly (Ps. xlii. 3); but in this the ungodly make a
mistake, which in their case is natural, and God's people should
never wrong Him by suspecting Him of fickleness (chap. xlix. 15).
+II. God provides a refuge for His people when and where it might be
least expected.+ _"With thee, Moab."_ Moab was not a neutral, but a
hostile state, one of Israel's most inveterate foes, always on the
outlook for opportunities to display its hostility. Strange,
therefore, that Moab should be selected as a protector for Jehovah's
outcasts; strange, but not unexampled. God often raises up friends
for His people in unexpected quarters, supplies their needs by
unexpected means, or turns their foes into friends (Prov. xvi. 7).
Esau's heart was suddenly changed; Joseph found favour in the eyes of
the keeper of the prison; Elijah was fed by ravens; the hungry lions
forbore to touch Daniel, &c.[2]
+III. God would have His people to be only sojourners in Moab.+ His
outcasts were merely to _dwell_ there; they were not to be
incorporated with the Moabitish nation; they were not to adopt either
the social customs or the religious beliefs of that people. In like
manner He would have His people remember always that in this world
they are only sojourners (1 Pet. ii. 11; H. E. I., 5026-5065).
+IV. God is preparing to bring His outcast and scattered people
home.+ He hath prepared for them a city, and He will bring them to
the city He hath prepared for them (John xiv. 1-3). Let them
recognise, rejoice in, and live in harmony with this gracious purpose
(Phil. iii. 17-21).--_Samuel Thodey._