seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 22:21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
The easy English site offers these comments.
God cares about poor people. He cares about those people who cannot defend themselves.
The Israelites should look after any strangers who lived among them. They must remember that they themselves had been strangers in Egypt.
Often people are not fair to widows. A widow might not receive her rights. But perhaps someone could prevent that. Someone might have owed money to her husband when he was alive. But now, they refused to pay back the money to the widow. Or she might not be able to claim all her land. With nobody to support her, she might not receive a fair judgement in court. Someone might pay the judge to be favourable on their behalf. That judge would not be fair to the widow.
People might owe money because there had been a poor harvest. They needed money to buy food. And they could not plant more crops until they bought the seed. So they needed someone to lend money to them. But sometimes those people ask for a great amount extra. This law said that a poor person should not have to pay that extra money. It was wrong to obtain money in that way from a poor neighbour. Jesus spoke about loans too. Christians must not think that they will always receive back the payment. Even if they lend money to an enemy, they must not demand it back. And certainly they should not ask for any extra money. The loan should become a gift (Luke 6:34-35).
A person needed to leave something as a promise that he would pay his debt. But a poor person had nothing. His only possession was his coat. So he could leave that as his promise. Usually he wore it during the day. Then he used it as a blanket to cover him during the cold night. God ordered that he should receive back his coat at sunset. Then he would be warm and he would sleep during the night. The coat was valuable to its owner. So that would remind the owner about his debt every day.
The Israelites should look after any strangers who lived among them. They must remember that they themselves had been strangers in Egypt.
Often people are not fair to widows. A widow might not receive her rights. But perhaps someone could prevent that. Someone might have owed money to her husband when he was alive. But now, they refused to pay back the money to the widow. Or she might not be able to claim all her land. With nobody to support her, she might not receive a fair judgement in court. Someone might pay the judge to be favourable on their behalf. That judge would not be fair to the widow.
People might owe money because there had been a poor harvest. They needed money to buy food. And they could not plant more crops until they bought the seed. So they needed someone to lend money to them. But sometimes those people ask for a great amount extra. This law said that a poor person should not have to pay that extra money. It was wrong to obtain money in that way from a poor neighbour. Jesus spoke about loans too. Christians must not think that they will always receive back the payment. Even if they lend money to an enemy, they must not demand it back. And certainly they should not ask for any extra money. The loan should become a gift (Luke 6:34-35).
A person needed to leave something as a promise that he would pay his debt. But a poor person had nothing. His only possession was his coat. So he could leave that as his promise. Usually he wore it during the day. Then he used it as a blanket to cover him during the cold night. God ordered that he should receive back his coat at sunset. Then he would be warm and he would sleep during the night. The coat was valuable to its owner. So that would remind the owner about his debt every day.
