Israel was to be a witness to the pagan nations around them of the true God—the only God. They were to be an example to show what worship of the true God was like. Instead, by adhering to the pagan “gods” around them, they often fell into outright rebellion against the very God whom they were to represent to the world.

When you think about the history of ancient Israel, you see that in many ways they got in trouble because not only would they ignore certain precepts of the law, which for all practical purposes was taking away from the law, but also they would add to it, in the sense of bringing in practices that were not specified in the law and that, in fact, led ultimately to transgressing it.

By the time we get to chapter 4, the history lesson shifts more into a sermonic mode. The recounting of events wasn’t just for history buffs; instead, it served a purpose, showing the people the power and grace of God working among them, and that even though they messed up, the Lord was still going to honor His covenant with them.

We can worship on the right day and understand the truth about death, hell, the mark of the beast, and so forth. But what does it all mean if we treat others nastily or oppress the weak among us or don’t administer justice fairly when we need to judge a situation?

If Israel were to be a witness, a holy people walking in truth amid a world steeped in error, idolatry, evil, and sin, surely they would have to be kind to the weakest and most marginalized among them. Otherwise, their witness would be nothing.

As believers, we have been called to reflect the character of God. When Moses talked about the power and majesty of God, he also said that God didn’t take a bribe and that He cared about the weak and the outcast.

When it came to “human rights,” the stranger, the widow, the orphan needed to be treated with the same fairness and justice as the Israelites expected for themselves.

Yahweh is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the sovereign Ruler and Sustainer of the creation (Col. 1:16, 17), but He also cares about the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger.

Circumcision was a sign of the covenant, but it’s only an outward sign. God wanted their hearts; that is, their minds, their affections, their love.