God's Heart

The middle of Exodus is a list of rules. They seem harsh and brutal and barbaric and in some cases they are. But, they were written for a brutal and barbaric people in a brutal and barbaric time.

Still, in the midst of them you can see God's heart. When dealing with oxen or murderers or sorcerers, God tells the people what the proper judgment and punishment should be and how to carry it out. These rules were about keeping the peace and keeping order.

When God gets to wrongly dealing with sojourners, widows and the fatherless, things change. The punishment isn't talked about, isn't discussed. God basically says, "If anyone messes with these people, you leave them to me. I'll take care of them."

The shift is subtle, but significant. God wants to be intimately involved in bringing justice here. He wants to play a part. He wants to make things right.

These are the people who cannot fight for themselves. These are the people who are marginalized. These are the people who fall through the cracks. These are the people who break God's heart.

They should break our hearts too.