Israel Was Taught the Joy of Hospitality, March 28

As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. Esther 9:22.RRe 89.1

Gratitude, rejoicing, benevolence, trust in God’s love and care—these are health’s greatest safeguard. To the Israelites they were to be the very keynote of life.—The Ministry of Healing, 281.RRe 89.2

At their sacred feasts the Lord had directed that “the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat, and be satisfied.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 220.RRe 89.3

These feasts were occasions of rejoicing, made sweeter and more tender by the hospitable welcome given to the stranger, the Levite, and the poor.—The Ministry of Healing, 281.RRe 89.4

These gatherings were to be as object lessons to Israel. Being thus taught the joy of hospitality, the people were throughout the year to care for the bereaved and the poor. And these feasts had a wider lesson. The spiritual blessings given to Israel were not for themselves alone. God had given the bread of life to them, that they might break it to the world.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 220.RRe 89.5