Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
This command sits in a run of case laws given at Sinai, and it names the two people in Israel with no natural protector. One commentator explains why they head the list of those the law shields, and what God puts around them in place of a husband or father:
Next the law commends the helpless to their hearts. Of all the helpless ones who appeal to our compassion, the widow and the fatherless surely have the first claim. God here surrounds them with the powerful defence of His own arm. If anyone afflicts them, that man will be killed, and his wife and children will become a widow and orphans. All through Scripture these two groups are shown as the special object of God's care, and so they should be the objects of our compassionate concern.
This protection is not a random rule. It comes out of what God Himself is. One writer draws that out from Moses' words about God:
Here Moses speaks not only of God's doings, dealings and ways, but of Himself — of what He is. He is high over all, the great, the mighty and the terrible. But He has a heart for the widow and the fatherless. They are helpless ones stripped of every earthly and natural support — the poor grieving, broken-hearted widow, and the lonely orphan. God thinks of such people and cares for them in a very special way; they have a claim on His loving heart and mighty hand. "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." "Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me."
So who deals with the man who preys on a widow? The answer here is not a court sentence:
The law set no exact penalty for mistreating or oppressing a stranger, a widow or a fatherless child, though it firmly forbade this (vv. 21-24). But God warns that if the oppressed cried out to Him, He would step in Himself. He would kill the oppressor by the hand of an enemy with a sword, leaving their wives as widows and their children fatherless.
The punishment mirrors the crime.
This command does not stand alone. The verses around it protect others who are easy to exploit, and together they show what the Lawgiver is like:
Verses 21-27 safeguard the rights of the people who count for least and can defend themselves least — strangers, widows, the fatherless and the poor. Fallen mankind tends to take advantage of these people. It oppresses them and cheats them. God hates such conduct, and His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."
Why should Israel care? One writer points to their own past, and to the God they had come to know:
They knew God in the wonderful work He had done for them, and also in the commandments that displayed His character. God called them to imitate Him. If He cared for the fatherless and widows, and for the stranger, they too must care. And had they not known what it was to be strangers in Egypt? He had brought them out of that land with an outstretched arm, and He had multiplied them wonderfully through all their suffering.
The command here is a prohibition. One writer traces how it reappears in the New Testament as something positive, and points to where it was lived out perfectly:
In Exodus 22:22 we read, "You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child." In James 1:27 it says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Christ, as seen in the Gospels, is the perfect example of this verse. Think of the son of the widow of Nain as one instance.
- Claim — the widow and the orphan have lost every natural protector. That gives them the first claim on our compassion, and a claim on God's own heart and hand.
- Defence — they have no one to defend them, so God puts His own arm around them. He is their Defender.
- Cry — the law names no human penalty here. Their cry goes straight to God, and He steps in against the oppressor Himself.
- Mirror — the sentence matches the sin. The man who makes widows and orphans leaves his own wife a widow and his own children fatherless.
- Imitation — Israel had once been strangers in Egypt, and God called them to imitate the One who rescued them. In the New Testament that same care becomes visiting widows and orphans. Christ lived it perfectly.
If thou afflict him in any way, if he cry at all unto me, I will certainly hear his cry;
This verse sits inside a long list of civil rulings. Yet here God stops fixing penalties and speaks about Himself: the cry of a wronged foreigner, widow or orphan reaches His own ear, and He answers it.
One writer roots this care in Israel's own memory of Egypt, and shows how God puts His own strength around the helpless.
The stranger comes first, and the memory of what they had been in the land of Egypt was to govern their conduct toward such people. They had known bitterness of soul under Pharaoh's hard slavery. So they could enter into the feelings of those who were strangers in a strange land. The helpless are next commended to their hearts. Of all the helpless who appeal to our compassion, surely the widow and the fatherless have the first claim. So God surrounds them here with the powerful defence of His own arm. All through Scripture these two groups are marked out as the special object of God's care. So they should be the objects of our compassionate concern. So James says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
The law names no human judge for this offence. God keeps the case for Himself.
God set no precise penalty for mistreating or oppressing a stranger or widow or fatherless child, though He firmly forbade it (vv. 21-24). But God warns that if those who were oppressed cried to Him, He would step in Himself. He would kill the oppressor by means of an enemy with a sword, leaving their wives as widows and their children fatherless.
Commentators read this run of verses as a guard around those least able to defend themselves. One writer hears God's own character in it.
The verses in between (21-27) safeguard the rights of the less important and more defenceless folk — strangers, widows, fatherless and poor. The tendency of fallen mankind is to take advantage of these, oppressing and defrauding them. God hates such conduct. His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."
The same code that demands repayment also bends toward the weak. One writer holds both together.
These "judgments" reveal the true character of the law: inflexible righteousness, with its inescapable demands of restitution and penalty. There could be no escape from their responsibility. Yet the spirit in which the children of Israel dealt with each other, following these divine instructions, expressed the beautiful features of grace and compassion. These words support what I am saying. They were not to mistreat a stranger, or afflict the widow and the fatherless (Ex. 22:21-22). They were not to charge interest to a poor man who borrowed money (Ex. 22:25). They were not to keep a neighbour's pledged garment overnight (Ex. 22:26-27). To this last God adds this beautiful expression, "for I am gracious."
One writer sets God beside the unjust judge of the parable, and shows why His delay is never indifference.
If the unjust judge hears and acts for the defenceless, whatever his motive, will not God? But this is far from all. God has His affections — not only His character, but objects of His delight. "And will not God give justice to his elect?" The righteous God, who takes vengeance, can never make light of evil or let the wicked go unpunished. For then how would He judge the world? He notices the cry from the oppressed day and night, and it is the cry of His own elect. "I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily."
Israel had more than a ban on oppression. They had a model to copy, and their own past was the reason.
They knew God in His wonderful work for them, and in the commandments which displayed His character. God called them to imitate Him. If He cared for the fatherless and widows, and for the stranger, they too must care. And had they not known what it was to be strangers in that land? He had brought them out of it with an outstretched arm, a people wonderfully multiplied through all their suffering.
- Cry. The wronged have no human court here. Their cry goes straight to God, and He hears it Himself.
- Defender. The law fixes no human penalty here. God takes the case Himself and defends the stranger, widow and fatherless.
- Mirror. The punishment mirrors the crime. The man who makes widows and orphans will leave a widow and orphans behind him.
- Gracious. The same rulings that demand full repayment carry God's own words: "I am gracious."
- Imitate. God rescued Israel when they were strangers in Egypt. Having received that care, they had to show it — what James calls pure religion.
and my anger shall burn, and I will slay you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
This verse sits in a long list of civil laws, yet it is not ordinary legislation. It is a personal warning from God: the man who crushes a widow or an orphan will lose his own wife and children. Why does God attach His own anger to a crime no human court is told to punish? And what does that show about the heart behind the law?
This law protects people who have no one to protect them. One writer shows who defends them, and how far the punishment reaches.
Next, the helpless are entrusted to their hearts. Of all the helpless people who appeal to our compassion, the widow and the fatherless have the first claim. So God surrounds them here with the powerful defence of His own arm. Anyone who harmed them would be killed, and his wife and children would become a widow and orphans.
Every other offence in this chapter carries a fine or a sentence. Here God names none. Instead His own anger burns, and He takes the case Himself.
The law set no exact penalty for mistreating or oppressing a stranger, a widow, or a fatherless child, though it firmly forbade this (vv. 21-24). But God warns that if the oppressed cried to Him, He would step in Himself. He would kill the oppressor by the sword of an enemy, leaving their wives as widows and their children fatherless.
The punishment matches the crime. One writer finds the same rule when God judges nations.
He counts every wrong done to His people as done to Himself. Through them the same evils would come back in judgment on the nations that inflicted them.
The threat is fierce, but the motive behind it is not. Reading the whole paragraph these verses belong to, one writer draws out what kind of God is speaking.
The verses in between (21-27) protect the rights of the lowlier and more defenceless people — strangers, widows, the fatherless, and the poor. Fallen mankind tends to take advantage of them, oppressing and cheating them. God hates such conduct, and His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."
The same care runs through the whole body of laws. Among the rules about repayment and damages, God protects those who cannot defend themselves.
No one may take advantage of the weak or of those under authority. Violence cannot go unpunished, and neither can disrespect where we owe honour... No one may harass or mistreat a stranger, a widow, or an orphan. No one may weigh down the poor or insult judges.
The people most at risk are those holding office. One writer points to the judges, who stood in God's place and yet wronged the people God defends.
Here (vv. 1-4) the sin is the injustice of the judges. They stood in the place of God Himself... yet they badly misrepresented His character and wronged His people, especially the defenceless... The highest will be brought lowest. Those will fare worst who least of all should have turned their high position and great power into greed that dishonours God, and into oppression of the weak and wretched.
The warning has a positive side. God's care for the widow and the fatherless is meant to become ours. One writer asks why this call comes first, and why we need it pressed on us.
The answer is that God, our Father, has a special care for the fatherless and the widow, and so He puts this call first. Could the reason also be that we are slow to care for the fatherless and the widow? In any case, this is a very powerful call — and we do well to take it to heart.
Notice too that these are laws, not sentiments. They set a floor under how a society treats the people at its edges.
These laws, spite of the fact that the children of Israel were now governed from Sinai, permit us to see into the depths of the heart of God.
- Cry. The widow and the orphan have no defender on earth. So they cry to God, and He hears them.
- Defender. Where the law names no fine and no court, God acts Himself. His own arm is their defence.
- Sword. The punishment matches the crime. The man who made widows and orphans leaves a widow and orphans of his own.
- Power. The heaviest warning falls on people in power. They above all should never turn their position into greed and oppression.
- Grace. Even as He gives law, God's kindness shows through. That same care is meant to become ours, because we are slow to feel it.