Justice for the Vulnerable
Deuteronomy 24:14–22 is the movement “Justice for the Vulnerable.” Read it inside Moses’ final covenant instruction to Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan as the people prepare for life in the land. The section opens with: “Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:” It closes with: “And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.”
Within the book’s larger story, this section advances several important biblical threads. Love of God and Neighbor: Prompt wages, gleaning, and protections for widow, orphan, and stranger make neighbor-love concrete in Israel’s economy.