Scripture

You must nor mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Application

Reading sets of laws which seem to relate to an alien culture is not immediately edifying.

In the rules in this chapter we see how the Lord wanted the Israelites to protect the rights of people to own property, and to protect the dignity of vulnerable people such as widows, orphans and foreigners.

The principle of the property laws is that everyone should be confident that their property is being protected from unscrupulous people. So the rights of everyone, but especially the poor, are being protected.

The Israelites were also required to care for the vulnerable people such as widows and foreigners. Even slaves were protected to some extent.

These laws show that God cares about everyone, both the rich and the powerful, and the poor and powerless.

As christians, we need to make sure that we do not support Government policies which disenfranchise the poor or lead to their oppression. We also need to look out for the “invisible people” ourselves and do what we can to help them survive and thrive.

Prayer

Lord, please show me the groups of people and the individuals you are calling me to help. Amen.