Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
Christ spoke this command to ancient Israel through Moses, and it remains binding upon Christians in every age. It forbids oppressing one another and commands fearing God, for He is the LORD God. Its foundation is that God is owner and Householder of the land and of the whole earth, while people dwell upon it as His tenants. The ban on oppression is His practical provision for fair and respectful treatment of others, for just distribution of property, and for care of the poor.
The twofold requirement expresses the underlying principles of love for God and love for neighbor, which are the principles of Christianity and the gospel of the Old Testament. It is a practical missionary duty to one another. Oppression means selfish pride and selfish gratification, following the imagination of the heart, despising God's words, and failing to relieve human suffering. It includes gaining property through unjust dealings even when a court or the law permits it, and one who does so stands as an oppressor before God and must confess the wrong and make restitution as far as possible.
The command belongs with the every-seventh-year sabbath, when agricultural work and cultivation ceased and the land lay in spontaneous growth with free access for the poor, strangers, flocks and herds to invigorate worn-out soil, and with the fiftieth-year jubilee. Together they teach that the land is the Lord's, that He makes it productive by His blessing when obeyed, and that He cares for the poor by giving in the sixth year provision for three years. Obedience therefore requires liberality that overcomes stinginess and selfishness and does not close the heart and say No when brethren working in hard fields ask a favor. Setting this law aside as nothing shuts God's blessing away from men and from His professed people and brings God's curse upon the earth, upon man and beast, repeating the condition of the world before the flood and foretelling the coming of Christ and the end of all things, while doing His statutes and keeping His judgments brings dwelling in the land in safety with the land yielding fruit to eat to the full.
Carried out in the world today, these principles would make the condition of the people wholly different by preventing the terrible evils that in all ages have come from oppression of the poor by the rich and hatred of the rich by the poor. While observance might hinder the amassing of great wealth, it would tend to prevent the ignorance and degradation of tens of thousands whose ill-paid servitude builds colossal fortunes. It would aid in bringing a peaceful solution of problems that now threaten to fill the world with anarchy and bloodshed. Response to Christ's love is shown by acting with compassion toward the poor and suffering, as Zacchaeus did. The command also warns that God is displeased when the management of His work does not follow His direction.
Christ spoke this command to ancient Israel through Moses, and it remains binding upon Christians in every age. It forbids oppressing one another and commands fearing God, for He is the LORD God. Its foundation is that God is owner and Householder of the land and of the whole earth, while people dwell upon it as His tenants. The ban on oppression is His practical provision for fair and respectful treatment of others, for just distribution of property, and for care of the poor.
The twofold requirement expresses the underlying principles of love for God and love for neighbor, which are the principles of Christianity and the gospel of the Old Testament. It is a practical missionary duty to one another. Oppression means selfish pride and selfish gratification, following the imagination of the heart, despising God's words, and failing to relieve human suffering. It includes gaining property through unjust dealings even when a court or the law permits it, and one who does so stands as an oppressor before God and must confess the wrong and make restitution as far as possible.
The command belongs with the every-seventh-year sabbath, when agricultural work and cultivation ceased and the land lay in spontaneous growth with free access for the poor, strangers, flocks and herds to invigorate worn-out soil, and with the fiftieth-year jubilee. Together they teach that the land is the Lord's, that He makes it productive by His blessing when obeyed, and that He cares for the poor by giving in the sixth year provision for three years. Obedience therefore requires liberality that overcomes stinginess and selfishness and does not close the heart and say No when brethren working in hard fields ask a favor. Setting this law aside as nothing shuts God's blessing away from men and from His professed people and brings God's curse upon the earth, upon man and beast, repeating the condition of the world before the flood and foretelling the coming of Christ and the end of all things, while doing His statutes and keeping His judgments brings dwelling in the land in safety with the land yielding fruit to eat to the full.
Carried out in the world today, these principles would make the condition of the people wholly different by preventing the terrible evils that in all ages have come from oppression of the poor by the rich and hatred of the rich by the poor. While observance might hinder the amassing of great wealth, it would tend to prevent the ignorance and degradation of tens of thousands whose ill-paid servitude builds colossal fortunes. It would aid in bringing a peaceful solution of problems that now threaten to fill the world with anarchy and bloodshed. Response to Christ's love is shown by acting with compassion toward the poor and suffering, as Zacchaeus did. The command also warns that God is displeased when the management of His work does not follow His direction.