Passage Read: Exodus 19-22
Meditation Verses: 22:22-24
Thought
Almost all of God's laws have a specific consequence that should be carried out by the judges and the community. But oppressing a widow or orphan does not. There is no codification of what counts as afflicting an orphan or widow, but if you do it and if they cry to God against you, then God will kill the man who does it and make his wife a widow and his children orphans. His own family will experience what it's like to lose a husband and father, because he took advantage or mistreated others. The community either isn't qualified to determine what counts as afflicting orphans or widows, or else it's not qualified to carry out sentence, so God reserves this punishment to Himself. A man is the head and covering and protector of his own family, and he should be concerned about providing for them and leading and training them to walk in God's ways. If he does not, his family will suffer by losing their protector and leader. But God steps in to defend the widow and orphan, when the community fails to protect and care for them. So the family who loses husband and father because he afflicted widows or orphans could be seen as blessed, because they gain better protectors in the community that honors God and in God Himself. And every man who hears this command and genuinely cares for the wellbeing of his own family must also be careful to treat orphans and widows well, so as to protect and provide for his own family. While God's Law doesn't require a man to go out of his way to provide for the widow or orphan, it does make provision for them through the community. And the man who understands the heart of God to watch out for the unprotected will also go above and beyond what is required. Boaz is a great example of what God has in mind here, even though he had no family of his own.
Application
If I oppress or afflict orphans or widows, my own family is likely to suffer my removal. It is not the ideal situation for a family, especially when society at large does not fear God, so I shouldn't want that for my family. That means I need to be careful how I treat orphans and widows, and that means I need to know who the orphans and widows are around me. Actually, this is a good thing to recognize when serving at this boarding school, where these students are in a state similar to orphans. I don't want to afflict them, either by unkind treatment or by allowing them to live as slaves of their flesh. I need to think of them the same way I would think of my own children, to give them the best foundation and preparation for a life that pleases God. How I treat them will come back to my own children, so I should do to them what I want God to do to and for my own family if I were not here.