Strangers, Widows, and the Poor

Exodus 22:21-27

Our Old Testament reading from this Sunday’s Lectionary brings us to the Book of Exodus.  In this brief passage we read God’s commands to His people of how He wished them to treat people in the community who are poor and marginalized.  Let’s take a look at this passage and see what He says to us, and how He wants our behavior to be towards these people.

God specifies in these verses the stranger or foreigner (vs. 21), the widow and orphan (vs. 22 - 24), and the poor (vs. 25 - 27).  Each of these groups of people are frequently taken advantage of and mistreated by those in places of power, and God did not want His people doing so.  He didn’t like it back in the days of Moses, and He doesn’t today, either.

The people of Israel had been strangers or foreigners in Egypt, so they knew what it was like.  When Joseph had been prime minister, his brothers and their families had come to live in Egypt, where at first they were accepted.  After Joseph’s death, though, the country started to oppress them and they were then enslaved.  God reminded them of that, and instructed them to instead, treat foreigners with kindness.  He told the people of Israel, and tells the same to us today, to treat them as they would wish to be treated, remembering how they had been treated in Egypt.

The second group of people God instructed His people to treat kindly are the widows and orphans (vs. 22-24).  Women in the past were rarely able to work outside the home, so if their husband died, unless he had left her a lot of money, she would be in a very desperate situation.  The situation would be even worse if she had young children, who were now fatherless.  Through no fault of their own, mothers and children might have to resort to selling themselves as slaves.

Though today situations may be different, their plights can still be desolate.  Throughout the Bible we read of how the Lord has a special place in His heart for widows and orphans.  God makes it very clear in these verses that He hears their cries for help, and His anger will be kindled if He sees His people taking advantage of them, or if they turn their back on them.  How would you feel if your wife and children were to become a widow or orphan?  Would you want them in such a destitute situation?  Certainly not, so God tells His people to treat them with compassion.  When they cry to Him, He will hear.

The final group of people that the Lord instructs His people to care for and treat with kindness is the poor (vs. 25 - 27).  The poor might come to others, whether to family or friends, asking for a loan, and God tells us to not take advantage of them with a high interest.  He did not want such interest to worsen the plight of the poor.  Our passage is very clear that He does not want us to take advantage of them, including what the wealthy take as a pledge or security for the loan.  God does not want them left destitute, or treated in a humiliating way, such as taking his very coat or clothes (vs. 26 - 27).

For those whose life is going well, and who are safe and secure in their homes, God is instructing them to be sure to care about those in these groups, the poor, the foreigner, and the widows and orphans.  He is watching.  For those whose situations land them in any of these conditions, God does care.  He sees you, and hears your cries to Him.  He is not a God who is impersonal, blind and deaf to the needs of the desperate.  When you cry out to Him, He hears and will respond.