I recently preached a Missions Sunday sermon at my church in Indiana, PA. Preaching is not on my list of normal activities, nor do I feel it is a particular gifting I've been given, but I was thrilled for the opportunity to share a missions-focused message. The title was simple - "Refuge(e)." The refugee focus probably wasn't a surprise to anyone, but the message was started with a look at how great a refuge God is, and the conclusion touched on the importance of hospitality from a scriptural perspective as we examine application to our current-day context in the U.S.
One highlight that several people expressed appreciation for was a list of people in the Bible who experience displacement in some way. Here is the list:
Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden in response to sin.
Cain was displaced by God in response to sin.
Abraham and Sarah were displaced by famine, going to Egypt. And then they were displaced by authorities in Egypt.
Lot was displaced by invading kings, and later displaced by God from a place under imminent judgement.
Hagar and Ishmael were displaced by persecution from Sarai and went into the desert.
Isaac and Rebecca were displaced by famine to the land of the Philistines.
Jacob was displaced by a threat of violence from Esau and went to Haran. Later, he was displaced by famine to Egypt.
Esau was displaced by scarcity and conflict, going to Seir.
Joseph was displaced by international human trafficking.
Naomi was displaced by famine into Moab.
David was displaced A LOT!
Elijah, too, was displaced quite a few times.
Nehemiah and Ezra were displaced to Babylon, then were later able to return to Jerusalem.
Esther, Mordechai, Ezekiel, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were also exiled to Babylon.
Jeremiah was taken by force with other refugees to flee attack from Babylon into Egypt.
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were displaced by political persecution and went to Egypt (Matthew 2).
Most members of early church in Jerusalem were displaced due to religious persecution (Acts 8:1).
Philip and Peter were displaced by religious persecution.
Aquila and Priscilla were displaced by ethnic persecution, Jews forced to leave Rome.
It's an impressive list and doesn't even capture every instance found in the Bible. God is certainly at work in the midst of circumstances involving displacement.
If you would like to watch the sermon on YouTube, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40PwpYsu5To&t=66s.
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