Exodus 23:6-11: a reflection

6“You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7“Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. 8“You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous. 9“You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 10“For six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase, 11but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animal of the field shall eat. In the same way, you shall deal with your vineyard and with your olive grove.

Among God's laws for his people are commands to do justice to the vulnerable and not to oppress the outsider, and God grounds one of them in their own remembered experience. You shall not oppress an alien, he says, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt. They were to treat the outsider with justice and compassion precisely because they remembered what it was to be outsiders themselves, vulnerable in a foreign land. Alongside this come commands to do justice to the poor in their lawsuits, to take no bribe, to let the land rest so the poor may eat. Compassion for the vulnerable was to flow from remembering their own time of vulnerability; because they knew the heart of an alien, they were to deal justly and kindly with the alien among them.

Notice how God grounds compassion for the vulnerable: you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens. Their own remembered experience of being outsiders, vulnerable in Egypt, was to shape how they treated the outsiders among them. Because they knew what it was to be an alien, to be vulnerable and at others' mercy, they were to deal justly and compassionately with the alien, not oppress him. Their compassion was to flow from memory, from knowing the heart of one in that position because they had been there. God does not let them forget their own past vulnerability; he makes it the ground of their compassion toward others in the same place. Remembering that we have been in another's hard place moves us to treat them with the justice and kindness we once needed.

That is worth taking to heart, for remembering our own times of vulnerability can move us to justice and compassion toward the vulnerable. We can grow hard toward the vulnerable, the poor, the outsider, forgetting that we too have known hard places; but God grounds compassion in memory: you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens. Remembering our own times of need and vulnerability can soften us toward others in the same place, moving us to the justice and kindness we once needed ourselves. Do not grow hard toward the vulnerable; remember your own hard places, and let that memory move you to justice and compassion, as God called his people to remember. Let the memory of your own times of vulnerability move you to justice and compassion toward the vulnerable, as God told his people not to oppress the alien because they knew the heart of an alien, having been aliens in Egypt; for we too have known hard places and needed kindness, and remembering our own vulnerability can soften us toward others in the same position, moving us to show them the justice and compassion we once needed.

Lord, among your laws for your people are commands to do justice to the vulnerable and not to oppress the outsider, and you ground one of them in their own remembered experience. You shall not oppress an alien, you say, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt. They were to treat the outsider with justice and compassion precisely because they remembered what it was to be outsiders themselves, vulnerable in a foreign land. Alongside this come commands to do justice to the poor, to take no bribe, to let the land rest so the poor may eat. Compassion for the vulnerable was to flow from remembering their own time of vulnerability. Show me how you ground compassion for the vulnerable: you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens. Their own remembered experience of being outsiders, vulnerable in Egypt, was to shape how they treated the outsiders among them. Because they knew what it was to be vulnerable and at others' mercy, they were to deal justly and compassionately with the alien. Their compassion was to flow from memory. You do not let them forget their own past vulnerability; you make it the ground of their compassion toward others. Take that to my heart, for remembering my own times of vulnerability can move me to justice and compassion toward the vulnerable. I can grow hard toward the vulnerable, the poor, the outsider, forgetting that I too have known hard places; but you ground compassion in memory. Remembering my own times of need can soften me toward others in the same place. Keep me from growing hard toward the vulnerable; help me remember my own hard places, Lord, and let that memory move me to the justice and compassion I once needed myself.