Exodus 22:16-23:19 Study Guide: Laws of Justice

Community Group Study Guide — Laws About Justice
Exodus 22:16-23:19

Study Information:
One of the things that made Israel distinct in the ancient world was how they were commanded to care for the powerless. Many nations in the ancient world lived by a survival of the fittest mindset and that started with how they viewed the individual value of people. The only person who was made in the image of God, in many ancient nations, was the king and that was it. In the beginning God said “let us make man in our image.” That includes every human being regardless of how society defined their worth. 

In this section of Exodus we are learning more about how the Ten Commandments were to be lived out in Israel. We’ve already ready about laws concerning life and property, this passage elaborates on laws around justice. How should we care for those who have no real power in the world? You might be thinking…, “this sounds a lot like social justice!!” That may excite you or give you hesitation. Our culture has divided over that term, especially over the last five years, because it has been used as a trojan horse for unbiblical ideas, however we see in passages like Exodus 22:16-23:19 a concern from God for those who cannot protect themselves that is hard to ignore. The bible never uses the term “social justice” but it does pair the words “righteousness” and “justice” together in the same verse quite a bit in the Old Testament. The idea is that God wants us to understand that there is a right way to live with those around us that honor God’s holiness and is concerned for what is fair and right especially to those who don’t have power in this world. 

Laws About the Powerless
Exodus 22:16-31
In this passage we read various laws like how God forbade sorcery and idolatry because it twisted one’s worship away from him, but the majority of this passage is about care for those who typically cannot care for themselves. For example Exodus 22:16-17 taught that if someone seduced or raped a woman that they couldn’t just move on without providing for her future. In the ancient world someone who was sexually active outside of marriage whether that was by choice or not would have been looked down upon and had fewer options for their future. This was God’s way of not only saying that was evil and sin, but also enforcing a code of care in Israel so that person could have a future. That woman had rights and there was a just response to the evil done against her.

In many ancient nations if you were an outsider you had no protections, but not so in Israel. Exodus 22:21-24 introduces the sojourner, fatherless and widow, three of the four categories of the vulnerable in the law (the fourth being “the poor”). The people of God were to protect and seek the good of even those from other nations in their midst and God promised to hear their cry, just like he heard Israel’s cry at the beginning of Exodus. Moreover the fatherless and widow, who had few protections in other nations, were to be protected in Israel. 

Likewise, if one lent money to another they were not to do so in such a way that kept the other impoverished. Often things today like cash advance places or predatory loans are designed in such a way that they keep people in poverty where you’re always just a little bit more behind each time and still need those services to get by. God forbade such practices and promised that he heard the cry of the oppressed (Exodus 22:27). 

What would it be like to open your life up to the fatherless, stranger, widow and poor? One way we do this is through foster adoption ministry or supporting organizations like Compassion International who specialize in family preservation and caring for those in extreme poverty in Christ’s name. Another way we can participate in this too is by being interruptible like Jesus. Jesus was always available to those that society overlooked and many of his greatest miracles and teachings came from the time he helped the sick, poor, widow and the gentile. Jesus in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, emptied himself and took on the form of a servant showing us incredible grace. Paul even went as far as to say that Christ “though he was rich, for our sake became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9).” Jesus lived as someone who was overlooked for 30 years of his life, in a poor family in a nowhere town and he did that so that we could become rich. Rich in God’s grace, blessing and God’s very presence given to us in the our reconciliation and adoption through Christ. Many of us are “somebodies” in the eyes of the world but when compared to God we were poor and in need, and Christ in his great mercy did not overlook us but sought us out to be his people.  

Laws Against Twisting Justice
Exodus 23:1-9 
God already told his people not to bear false witness but now he elaborates on that in relations to those who cannot defend themselves. The people of God are not to fall in with those who do evil or spread a false report or try to take advantage of the poor in things like a lawsuit (Exodus 23:1-3, 6-8). These commands come with a strong warning that God will not acquit the wicked. Psalm 1:1 taught something similar, specifically that we were not to slide into wickedness in our relationships. Psalm 1 painted a picture of getting worse and worse because of association with the language of walking, standing, sitting. We are not to walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of scoffers. The image here is someone getting more and more rooted in evil and twisting of what is good. There are people out there who take advantage of others with their power and might and do so as a group, Israel was to be the opposite of that kind of place. God’s people were to pursue what was fair and right, and speak the truth so that every human being may flourish in God’s presence. 

Laws About Festivals
Exodus 23:10-19
Finally, God gave his people festivals to remember his great work of freedom and redemption and they too were to be celebrated with the poor in mind. Notice Exodus 23:10-11, the people of Israel who owned land and farms were to leave their land open for the 7th year so the poor may eat and the beasts may eat. Work was to happen for 6 day but the 7th was a day of rest, why? So the ox, donkey, servant and stranger may have a break and not be taken advantage of! The festivals were also to be celebrated in such a way that all of Israel remembered that they were slaves once and the very same category of people that God was trying to protect with these laws. 

Summary:
In all these laws we see the theme that Christ has come to set the captive free and that God’s grace to the undeserving and overlook abounds. The gospel of Jesus includes forgiveness of sin, reconciliation to God and compels the people of God to care for one another with truth, grace and love. Today we can specifically look for opportunities to care for those among us who are often overlooked and by doing so partner with God’s heart for them. 

At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week? 

Discussion Questions:
Read Exodus 22:16-23:19

How do these various laws relate to God’s care for those who are overlooked? Why would God need to instruct his people to do that?

Exodus 23;21-25 call our four particular groups: the widow, fatherless, sojourner and poor. What are some reasons that God calls those groups out in particular?

Why do you think God the Son chose to be born to a poor family who had to live as sojourners in Egypt for a season, rather than a rich, powerful and influential family in Israel?

How can you be part of caring for the poor in the world or helping those who are overlooked in our area and around the world?