Who is like the LORD our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap (Psalm 113:5-7)
The new mayor of Tswane, Solly Mismanga, is a bit of a folk hero in some quarters after announcing “a Hyundai i20 or Toyota Corolla can do the same job for a politician as an expensive sedan”. He then gave 10 BMW’s to the anti-hijack squad. His actions appeal to our inner yearning for justice- we don’t want leaders who “lord it over us” (c.f. Lk. 22.25).
Resisting the temptation to enjoy luxury at the taxpayers expense is commendable. But now for something quite beautiful: God who is “exalted over all the nations” and whose glory is “above the heavens” (Ps. 113:4) stoops down, humbles himself to raise the poor from the dust. I love how John Eaton puts it: God goes “to the heaps outside the town, where the community’s garbage and filth is collected and incinerated; here he finds the outcasts of society scavenging to keep alive, homeless and friendless”.
Are you “in the ash heap”? Do you know someone who is? Take heart! Our Lord Jesus Christ became poor for our sakes that we might become rich (1 Cor. 8:9).
God Bless, Sean