"If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins. "You shall not permit a sorceress to live. "Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death. "Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction. "You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. "If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. "You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me. "You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Exodus 22:16-31
There is a great deal in these verses that needs and deserves careful and detailed study, but there is a certain advantage in taking them together first of all, in order to see and appreciate the common theme that runs right through them. It may be aptly summed up in the words we find at the end of 27, 'for I am gracious'. It is the grace and compassion of the Lord Jehovah that shines through each separate enactment. One can only marvel at the gentleness and tenderness with which those that tend to be wronged in society are regarded and cared for by God. We do well to remember this. It is one of the great lessons to be learnt from the Old Testament and it gives the lie to those who often dismiss the Old Testament Scriptures as harsh and legalistic and lacking in the love of the New. Nothing could be further from the truth. The divine provision for the wronged maid is a case in point, and one finds oneself thinking instinctively of the harsh censorious attitude of the Pharisees towards the woman taken in adultery, in contrast to the Lord's gentle dealing with her and to the spirit of 16, 17. It seems clear from 16 that this act is regarded by the Lord virtually as marriage, and this being so, the man is not allowed to contract out of his responsibility in the matter. Whether or not actual marriage is unsuitable is something decided not by him, but by the maid's father. He has forfeited his right to pronounce on the suitability of the match. He must think in terms of responsibility now, not suitability. And he is responsible to God Who cares for the defenceless maid and is her Protector. It can hardly be denied that such a lesson is in urgent need of being stressed in our day.