A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity. (Psalm 68:5-6)
In the previous devotion, we highlighted the fact that the Almighty, though He reigns as Sovereign of the Universe, is also our Heavenly Father. That is to say, He is the source of our existence, but moreover, He continues to look upon us as a parent regards a child. Most parents love their children unconditionally meaning that, even when they go astray, we don’t give up on them. Even if they embark upon a life of rebellion and disdain for everything we have taught them, our love does not wane. Likewise, when man fell and consequently disqualified himself from remaining in God’s House, the Lord did not abandon His purpose for mankind; He already had a plan in place.
In that vein of thought, let’s consider this part of the verse: “God sets the solitary in families.” On one level, this is to say that God, as a father to the orphan, finds those who are alone and isolated and matches them with a family who willingly takes the orphan in. In short, this is an allusion to adoption — the process by which someone unrelated to the family is nevertheless brought into and made part of the family. They are not regarded as second-tier members; they are to be treated no differently than those who are flesh and blood members of the family. Actually, it could be argued that because they were chosen, in some ways, they are special.
Hopefully, you already see the point I’m trying to make. All of us were, before coming to faith, isolated and separated from God’s family of faith. However, in spite of our circumstances, being the loving Father that He is, He found us and invited us to join His family. As revealed by the Messiah, we didn’t choose Him, He chose us, and thus allowed us to be called the sons and daughters of God. As Paul said, “You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:15-16).
And so it is that, the Father of the fatherless sought us out and brought us into His house because He does not give up on His purpose — for mankind as a whole and for each lonely and isolated individual. Though we, like sheep, went our own way, His love for us did not wane. He demonstrated His care and devotion to those of us who were outcasts, through the suffering of His only begotten Son, Yeshua the Messiah.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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