Exodus 22:19-24: a reflection

19“Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death. 20“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the LORD only, shall be utterly destroyed. 21“You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 22“You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. 23If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; 24and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

In the middle of Israel's law comes a fierce warning about how to treat the most vulnerable. Do not wrong or oppress a foreigner, God says, and do not mistreat any widow or orphan. And then he attaches a striking threat: if you do afflict them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my anger will burn.

Notice how personally God takes this. He does not say the vulnerable should look after themselves. He appoints himself their advocate: their cry comes straight to him, and mistreating them provokes his own burning anger. The foreigner with no standing, the widow with no protector, the orphan with no parent, God has made himself the one who hears them and answers for them.

And notice the reason he gives for treating the foreigner well: for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. Remember your own vulnerability, he says. You know what it is to be the outsider at someone's mercy; do not now become the oppressor. That is a searching word. In whatever position of advantage you hold, over an employee, a stranger, someone dependent on you, God watches how you treat them, and he hears their cry. Remember when you were vulnerable, and deal gently. The God who hears them is paying attention.

Lord, you make yourself the advocate of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, and you hear their cry. Where I hold any advantage over others, help me remember my own vulnerability and deal gently, knowing you are watching and you hear.