Exodus 22: A Profound Connection, the Justice of Restitution Beyond Mammon

Exodus 22: A Profound Connection, the Justice of Restitution Beyond Mammon

"Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt." (Exodus 22:21, NIV)

The four great pillars of the Ten Commandments (God, people, possessions, Sabbath) are elaborated in chapter 22 into detailed instructions that penetrate every corner of our lives. The biblical writer begins with a stern warning against theft (verse 1) and progresses toward mercy and love between people (verse 21).

Here we encounter that 'profound connection' Jesus demonstrated when interpreting the Ten Commandments. Loving God and loving one's neighbor are not two separate commandments. They are completely one, like two sides of the same coin. Verse 28 warns, "Do not blaspheme God," and in this context, God (Elohim) can also refer to judges or leaders. In other words, treating the person below me or the vulnerable beside me carelessly is an act of blaspheming the God of heaven.

This connection even shakes our definition of 'holiness.' In verse 27, God declares, "When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate." Here the original form of the command "Be holy, because I am holy" is revealed. Holiness is not solemn temple rituals or an aloof existence separated from the world. Holiness is imitating God (Imitatio Dei) who is compassionate. That concrete 'mercy in life'—returning a poor neighbor's cloak, not oppressing the foreigner—is holiness itself.

Today we live in a world where money has become god, an age where mammon boasts of permanence. People fear the penalty of money (restitution) more than any other punishment. The ancient law of punitive restitution—'five oxen for one ox'—demonstrates severe judgment against those who violate means of survival. However, Scripture calls for mercy beyond judgment. The memory "you were foreigners," both during the Babylonian exile and for us today who have become captives of capitalism, is the only power that enables us to resist the gravity of mammon.