EXILES HOLD PROMINENT PLACE IN GOD’S CHOICE OF SERVANTS,

    God called many of His servants, when they were ‘foreigners’ in a strange land.

    Jacob’s favoured son, Joseph, was betrayed by his 11 brothers.  He was cast into a dry, desert well and left to die.  He was sold as a slave to Ishmaelites for a miserable 20 pieces of silver.  Later Potiphar’s treacherous wife falsely charged Joseph so that he was  imprisoned,.  Forgotten, Joseph languished in prison. Later,  Pharoah faced a  dilemma , solved by Joseph’s interpretation of a troublesome dream.  He was appointed  Prime Minister, advising a long –term policy of conserving 7 years overflowing harvests for the subsequent drought.  He became a national Saviour. All accomplished while in exile.  

Loneliness in exile teaches the Presence of the Lord.

    Moses  murdered an Egyptian in an abortive attempt to free an Israelite. He took refuge in the desert for 40 years, minding a flock of sheep. However, Egyptians despised

Shepherds.   God summoned him from exile to lead the children of Israel for the 40 years in the desert. . He met the eternal God and heard the truth, ‘I Am that I Am’ at the burning bush, where his future was assured.

    Abraham with Sarah and Lot left Ur of the Chaldees, seeking for a city that had foundations, whose builder and Maker was God.  He left the ultra-affluence of the Chaldean empire to obey the true and living God , living  in tents.

The Father of the faithful left the prosperity of a godless community to discover the true understanding of faith.

    David, anointed by prophet Samuel to be King, was jealously eyed by a deposed King Saul. He eluded two attempts by a burly, envious Saul. to kill him with javelin.   David was compelled to flee. While in exile, his life was endangered. Yet, his God always shielded him. His finest psalms were composed during his exile from the palace and Jerusalem.  They were filled with strong pleas to God for His presence and security. 

David spend so much time under the heavens that he heard ‘the morning stars sing together’. He could not hear such music in the luxury of the palace.

   Esther was a foreigner when brought before the heathen king Ahasuerus.  She cringed  when presented as a beautiful virgin to this sensual monarch.  Esther, a servant of God, surrendered her life, so that  her people Israel should be preserved, when Haman, first Minister, sought to wipe out the entire people of Israel.  If the line from which the Lord Jesus would come were cut, ( and the command to destroy had gone out )  the promises of God’s Word would fail. However, God fulfils His word. Divine judgment dramatically fell on wicked Haman, while the damning legislation was reversed , bringing joy and light in 127 provinces.  Israel was now safe. A young exiled queen – the heroine! ‘If I perish,I perish’ came from her trembling lips. And she was a foreigner.

    Daniel was Prime Minister under several Babylonian kings,  serving  his Lord under persecution. He was fluent in the Chaldean language, having  absorbed the  Babylonian culture, to produce good laws, acceptable to the ruler and preserving his own people, the Jews.  A jealous mob of lesser rulers conspired to trap Daniel as he prayed three times daily. ( Like good medicine).  The resulting ‘disgraced relegation’ to the lions’ den allowed the Lord of Glory to visit him and pacify the ravenous lions.  In the entire experience, he proved a beautiful type of our Lord’s death, burial and resurrection from the dead.  A Prime Minister in exile rewrote history and honoured his God.   

Ezra and Nehemiah returned from captivity in Babylon with King Artaxerxes’ consent and favoured provision.  Nehemiah wept as the King’s cupbearer, his treasurer and personal adviser, as he recalled the devastated city and its surroundings.   They rebuilt firstly the temple and finally the walls that had been broken down.  They returned from their captivity, secure in the promises of God, yet reluctant to call on a heathen king for a safe passage.  Nehemiah as Governor could not have been commissioned to rebuild the walls unless he had been ‘cupbearer’, treasurer, or counsellor to the Chaldean king.

    The most notable exilee was the One born of the virgin Mary, for He left the Father’s side to be born in Bethlehem, commencing His 33 years of earthly ministry.  The angels of heaven gasped at the departure of the treasured Son to become the saviour of the world. Even during His childhood, the despot Herod compelled Mary and her husband Joseph under the angel’s direction to flee to Egypt with the precious Child. The Son of God, once a refugee, is thus able to comfort every displaced, deprived person, because He was tempted in all points as we, yet without sin.   He exiled Himself as our Example.

    When Paul was converted to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit directed him to the deserts of Arabia, where he was exiled for three years. Paul was compelled to leave the foetid atmosphere of Jerusalem, where the Son of God had been crucified, and gloriously resurrected, appearing for 40 days to the disciples.  He separated himself from the savage persecution of the church in Jerusalem ,  which he had instigated and participated in. .  How many manuscripts of Old Testament did he study, so that he could research the Christ of the Old as the Saviour and Redeemer of the New Testament.  Thanks be to God that the Holy ‘Spirit released eternal truth in Paul’s invaluable writings during the days of his escape to Arabia.

    In the Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, John tells of his exile on the Isle of Patmos during his nineties.

‘I, John, your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos, for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.’ ( 1:9)   John speaks of his tribulation or suffering as a slave, yet God purposed Him  to record the Word of God and bear a good testimony for our Lord Jesus Christ.  God used this slave to preserve the precious things in this marvellous book.  Have you suffered for your Lord?  Take courage from the example of John.  Ageing, presumably with all the bodily changes of a nonogenarian, yet he gave a legacy of precious truth, especially as we approach the return of our Lord. . 

    Solzenitzn was imprisoned for years, yet revealed to the nations the spiritual need of Communistic Russia.  He taught us spiritual truths gleaned from years of internment; and the meaning of ‘Gulag’ as an exilee.

    Emmanuel Glynatsis’ Greek home was bombed during WW11 losing his mother and two sisters. He immigrated to Sydney, Australia, where he was converted to Christ from street preaching. While working as a carpenter and builder, he established the Evangelical Church in our city and maintained it for 34 years. Even though in exile, he is a valuable servant of Christ; a faithful bible teacher and preacher. . His ethnic radio and regular Television programmes have touched many lives.

    Dr Ida Scudder was drawn by the surgical needs of the Indian women, who culturally, could not seek male medical help.  Having graduated in medicine,  she established Vellore Medical college, one of India’s prestigious post-graduate schools, where the knowledge of the Saviour blended with the finest skills of surgery. Dr Ida invested her entire life for her Lord and the people of India whom she loved.  She was an exile.  

    Mother Theresa (devoted her life to the dying and neglected women and children of  Calcutta’s streets, providing Christ-like care for them,.  Christ motivated her food distribution and AIDS clinics. Theresa’a sacrificial concern drew many into her convents and clinics to reveal the beauty of Christ, Who said, ‘Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brothers, you have done it unto Me.’

( Matthew 25 )  A young Yugo-Slav believer exiled in Calcutta – for her Lord.

    Has the Lord called you to serve Him among a people other than your own?

‘You are not your own.  You are bought with a price.  Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your Spirit, which are the Lord’s.’