The Lord Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments into two calls: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as we would ourselves. These instructions tell us how compassionate and loving God truly is. So, in Exodus 22:21-27 God shows us how we can express His compassion and love towards others. He wants us to do well in life but he will not allow us to take advantage of the disadvantaged. Every human being, except for the sin nature inherited from Adam’s fall, bears the image of God. He or she should be treated with dignity as such. In these verses, we are instructed to show regard for the less fortunate.
In verses 21-22, God’s instruction is not to mistreat strangers, widows and orphan. By strangers, God was referring to foreigners. They are people who may not speak our language and would be clueless concerning our mannerism and culture. Most likely they would also have little or no connection at all to help them. God’s people are not to take advantage of the outsiders. God appealed to them based on their own experience as aliens in Egypt. They, of all people, should know how it felt to be ill-treated in a foreign land. So, God was calling on them (and us) not to treat and oppress others the way they were oppressed by Pharaoh and his cruel taskmasters. As God’s people, we belong to a welcoming community. We reflect the magnanimity of God when we show care and acceptance. Every week in church we come across people whom we do not know or have not met. All of us probably have people we know but do not share the same interest in life. The issue is this: do we take an interest in them, to want them to experience the very best of God. Are we prepared to invest our resources to help others become a cherished member of the community? Let us draw everyone by the warmth of our love and care that they feel welcomed in our church.
Widow and orphans are the next disadvantaged groups of people. Widows and orphans have one thing in common. They have lost someone whom they could depend on. One would be deprived of a husband and the other deprived of parents. Hence, they would have no one to look after them. God would not allow them to be disrespected. The Bible tells us that God is a defender of the widow and a father to the fatherless. He Himself would be their provider and protector. So here He reminded us not to mistreat them. With a stern warning, God said that He would hear the cry of the widows and orphans in their oppression. Those who oppressed them would have to bear the grave consequence of retribution.
Claiming to love God is well and good, only when we demonstrate care for the less fortunate. This is how 1 John 3:17 frames it for us: “Whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” If we cannot practically love others whom our eyes can see, how can we claim to love God whom our eyes cannot see? The best demonstration of care and love is to show it in action. Let us show our love not only in words but also by our deeds and acts of love. That’s the love of God demonstrated through us!
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