If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
Exodus 22:23 belongs to the word given to Moses on the mount in Exodus 19-24, standing among the statutes and judgments of Exodus 21, 22, and 23. It was given on Mount Sinai by Christ Jesus Himself, the same Teacher who afterward spoke in human flesh. It does not belong to a Christless dispensation, and it is of no lower order than the statutes given in this age.
It must be obeyed strictly, studied, and presented before the people now just as verily as by the children of Israel then. It guards against doing injustice and guides dealings with one another. Under it all contention is to cease, hearts are to be softened and subdued, and people are to love as brethren.
When the afflicted are harmed in any way and cry out, God will surely hear their cry. He undertakes the cause of the afflicted and oppressed, carefully guarding with gracious and impartial care the interests of those who cannot help themselves. His hearing shows how impartial His ways are and how exalted His requirements are.
Its special protection rests on widows and fatherless children or orphans, because they are helpless and are to be treated with tender regard. God hears even a widow's cry for her fatherless children. The same warning covers the poor and the blind, who have often been treated mercilessly.
Afflicting the vulnerable brings judgment, for God answers oppression with wrath, even hot wrath against the oppressor. He will punish those who oppress, and with those who deal without mercy toward suppliants for aid He will deal as they have dealt, while He delivers those who cry out. Disregarding the rules laid down to shield the helpless, turning the ear from the plea of the fatherless, and treating the tears and prayers of the widow as nothing violates this warning.
It forbids exploiting the poor or enriching oneself by worsening their poverty. In God's work it forbids pushing or crowding a weaker brother, oppressing in the least a brother thought not to have the merits of those called strong, leaving faithful workers unacknowledged because they do not work according to others' ideas, and standing by in quietude while injustice is done to any worker. Church members and those in positions of responsibility in institutions must learn from it how carefully to treat the helpless. They are to lift up and vindicate again and again those wronged and misjudged, and to do God's work with careful regard for one another's feelings, since oppression, partiality, and cowardice in defending the wronged bring no reward.
Exodus 22:23 belongs to the word given to Moses on the mount in Exodus 19-24, standing among the statutes and judgments of Exodus 21, 22, and 23. It was given on Mount Sinai by Christ Jesus Himself, the same Teacher who afterward spoke in human flesh. It does not belong to a Christless dispensation, and it is of no lower order than the statutes given in this age.
It must be obeyed strictly, studied, and presented before the people now just as verily as by the children of Israel then. It guards against doing injustice and guides dealings with one another. Under it all contention is to cease, hearts are to be softened and subdued, and people are to love as brethren.
When the afflicted are harmed in any way and cry out, God will surely hear their cry. He undertakes the cause of the afflicted and oppressed, carefully guarding with gracious and impartial care the interests of those who cannot help themselves. His hearing shows how impartial His ways are and how exalted His requirements are.
Its special protection rests on widows and fatherless children or orphans, because they are helpless and are to be treated with tender regard. God hears even a widow's cry for her fatherless children. The same warning covers the poor and the blind, who have often been treated mercilessly.
Afflicting the vulnerable brings judgment, for God answers oppression with wrath, even hot wrath against the oppressor. He will punish those who oppress, and with those who deal without mercy toward suppliants for aid He will deal as they have dealt, while He delivers those who cry out. Disregarding the rules laid down to shield the helpless, turning the ear from the plea of the fatherless, and treating the tears and prayers of the widow as nothing violates this warning.
It forbids exploiting the poor or enriching oneself by worsening their poverty. In God's work it forbids pushing or crowding a weaker brother, oppressing in the least a brother thought not to have the merits of those called strong, leaving faithful workers unacknowledged because they do not work according to others' ideas, and standing by in quietude while injustice is done to any worker. Church members and those in positions of responsibility in institutions must learn from it how carefully to treat the helpless. They are to lift up and vindicate again and again those wronged and misjudged, and to do God's work with careful regard for one another's feelings, since oppression, partiality, and cowardice in defending the wronged bring no reward.