Scripture Daily

Context No. 3943 of 4322 · Exodus

Context · Reflection

Exodus 22:25-31: in context

25“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor. You shall not charge him interest. 26If you take your neighbor’s garment as collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, 27for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious. 28“You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people. 29“You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. “You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me. 30You shall do likewise with your cattle and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days, then on the eighth day you shall give it to me. 31“You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any meat that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.

These laws reveal God's tender concern for the poor and vulnerable in the ordinary dealings of economic life. If you lend to one of my people who is poor, God says, do not act like a moneylender or charge him interest. And if you take a poor man's cloak as a pledge, return it before sunset, for it is his only covering; how else will he sleep?

Then comes a striking reason: if he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. Two things stand out. God cares how we treat the poor in matters of money, not just in our private charity but in our lending, our pledges, our economic dealings. The vulnerable are not to be exploited but treated with mercy, their basic dignity protected, the poor man's one cloak returned so he can sleep warm. And God himself takes the side of the poor; he hears their cry and responds, for he is compassionate. Those who deal harshly with the vulnerable are dealing with people God is listening to.

Do I let compassion govern how I treat those who are poor and vulnerable, even in matters of money and advantage, remembering that God hears the cry of the poor and is compassionate toward them?

Sources