Rescue-A Humanitarian Perspective

Moses of the Bible was rescued as a baby by the daughter of Pharaoh from the river. His rescue was master planned by two other women earlier who were none other than his mom, Jochebed and his sister, Miriam. Encapsulated by the love of these three women rescuers in his life, Moses learnt to be one himself. One thing which grabs my attention happens when Moses flees to Median. There he rescued his would-be wife Zipporah and her six sisters from the men who troubled them at the well. Not only he rescued them from the men, but also helped them by watering the flock. This incident makes me consider Moses as the ‘Good Samaritan’ of the Old Testament. His rescue of the girls made Jethro, the girls’ father to have respect for Moses. It looks like Zipporah was a gift to Moses as a gratitude to his rescue work. No wonder God too saw this humanitarian concern of Moses and used him to rescue thousands of fellow slaves from Egypt. He also praises him as one who is faithful in all his house (Numbers 12:7)

There are so many girl children and women who are living at risk today. In this fallen and sinful world, women simply become a prey to inhuman deeds of men. Sometimes these men could be their husbands and dads or other honourable people in their lives like their relatives, teachers, bosses and pastors and  and who not! Years ago I had to counsel a girl rescued from committing suicide. This girl from another religious faith simply trusted in the words of a pastor who was in his final year of study in a reputed seminary. The girl with her meagre income from a garment factory had supported this ‘pastor’ for his studies. The pastor not only sucked the little money she had, he misused her time to time and finally ditched her. I was shocked initially, but then tried my best to counsel her. But the seminary and the church administration ‘safely’ transferred this pastor to a mission field far away.

Think of this: the Churches, Christian organisations and Christian families who ought to be guardians of faith, justice and humanitarian concerns, most of them have beastly behaviours. Can we pause and think about the humanitarian concerns, which the Bible has always taught us to do before we venture out to rescue souls from perishing? As for me, ‘Attitudes’ and ‘Acts’ of ‘Respect for Humanity’- to both men and women is basic in a humanitarian concern. I have just initiated one aspect of that. Why don’t we think of the many ways of correcting our horizontal relationships with fellow human beings to prove our vertical, religious faith as an authentic and convincing one?

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the LORD detests them both. (Proverbs 17:15)