The outcast is an inside job. The term ‘

The outcast is an inside job.

The term ‘outcast’ in the OT means ‘thrown out’.

Jer 30:17 I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares’ – this is a person who is degraded in society.
We can think of many people who may fit this category.
But perhaps there exists an outcast in normal clothing. Maybe they are not the beggars on the street, the drunks in the bar, the criminals and low-life.
Maybe the outcast are God’s people v3; people who have not been where they should have been v3; people who have been oppressed for many years v8; people who struggle with fear v10; people who are hurting from their wounds v12; people with guilt v14; people with enemies v16.
Maybe you are the outcast, uncared for:
I will restore … and heal, says the Lord.