The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 184

nor oppress him•· (vcr. 21). 2. "Yi, shRll no1. afflict e.ny widow or fatherless child" ( \'l'r. ~:!). ~- "Thou Hhelt. not. lenrl thy nwne)' unto a~y of my people the.t is poor 11r~,11 nanry • (ver. 25). 4. "Thou shRlt not. te.ke thy neighbour's raiment to pledgo" ('l"cr. 26). 'l'he Divine protection is extended especially over four cle.asea of persons. (1) The stranger-the sojourner in a foreign le.nd-alien in blood, in le.ngue.ge in religion probably---ilut off from the protection of bis own government, or kinsfolk or fellow-tribesmen, and therefore all the more appealing for protection to the pity ~nd the providence of God. 'l'o him the Sabbe.th rest bad been e.lread.y extended by n 8pecial provision (eh. xx. 10); if be would be circumcised, be might eat the passover (eh. xii. 4h, 49); be might make bis offerings at the door of the tabernacle (Lev. xvii. 8, 9); be was to have acceBB to the cities of refuge (ib. x.xxv. 16). It was now enjoine<l that he should not be oppressed in any we.y; tbe.t he should not even be ",·exe<l." Kindness, consideration, courtesy, were ma.de the stranger's due. In the final summary of the law (Deut. x. 18, HI) it was declared tbe.t God " loved" him and the general command was given to all Israelites-" Love ye the stranger; for ye 'were strangers in the land of Egypt." (2) The wi,dow, His widowed mother was especially dear to our Lord; and it is perhaps with secret reference to the boundless tenderness called forth in him by her condition that throughout Scripture there is so deep a sympathy with the widow's lot. From the sad Naomi, with her piteous outbreak-" Call me not .l\a,imi, but Mara •·-to the bleBBed Anna and the pious Dorcas, the widows of the Revealed Word have the testimony of the Spirit in their favour. For the widow of Sarepta the great law of there being no return from the grave is first broken through, and the mother is comforted by receiving back her dead child (1 Kings xvil. 9-24). for the widow of Ne.in Christ wrought one of his three similar miracles. In the early Church special care was taken of widows (Acts vi. 1 ; 1 Tim. v. 3-9 and 16); and St. James was inspired to declare to the Church of all ages that" Pure religion and undefiled before God is this-to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world" (Jas. i. 27). (3) The fatherless. 1'he orphan is generally coupled with the widow in Scripture, and God's protection is equally ex.tended over both. In the present passage the oppression of both is alike forbidden; and in other parts of the law both are secured certain advantages (Deut. xiv. 29 · mv. 17, 19, 21; xxvi. 12, 13, etc.). God proclaims himself in an especial sense ,.' the father of the fatherless" (Ps. lxviii. 5), and "the helper of the fatherless" ( ib. x. H); in him the fatherless "find mercy" (Hos. xiv. 2). The.t tender compas- sion of the Most High, wherewith he looks on affliction generally, is poured without stint upon those who have so much need of his support and guidance, being left without their natural earthly protector. (4) The poor. Poverty is a far milder affliction than bereavement, since by nature all are poor, no man bringing with him into the world any property. Still, in states where there has been an accumulation of wealth, it is a disadvantage to be bom poor, and a still greater disadvantage to have known riches and to have lost them. Poverty will ever be the lot of large numbers; of the greater portion through their own fault, but of many without fault of their own. " The poor shall never cease out of the land," we are told (Deut. xv. 11); and, again, "'l'be poor ye have always with you" (John xii. 8). God's pity embraces this large class al,sc; and he seeks to attract to them the regards of their more fortunate brethren. Not only were the Israelites forbidden to lend money to them upon usury; but they were expressly commanded to be ready to lend to t~e~ without (Deut. xv. 7-10): Such as fell into servitude for debt, and completed tbeu- trme, were not to be cast adrift or sent away empty but to be furnished liberally out of their master's flock and granary and winepress (ib. vers. 13, 14), that they might ~gin the _world again with a_little capital, and be saved from destitution. In modern times, owwg to change of crrcumstances, bws such as this do not admit of a literal obedien~; b~t we may act in the spirit of them, by never pressing hard on the ~r, by shar1Dg wit~ them our superfl_wty, by ,lcading for them with others, and ''. see1Dg that such as ~e ID 0:eC? and nece_ss1ty have 1riaht." There is still much oppresS1on of poor men even ID Christian countries-much ::a 0 of improvement in their cottages, in th~ sanitary <:°':1ditio;° of their surrounding~, ii, the medical provision ma.de f?r them,_and m the ad.mimstrat10n of th4: laws for t~e1r rt:lief when old and infirm. A. Wlde field 1s open for those who would obtain the blessing 1.m:.lliist:d t,<, such as " consi<ler the poor" (Ps. xli. 1 ). rn. xxn. lG-31.] THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 195