"You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt." - Exodus 23:6-9
Just as we were prohibited from countenancing a poor man in his dispute because of his poverty, we are here equally obligated to not be unjust to him, just because we know that he is helpless because of that same poverty! God's eyes and ears are upon the poor always, because their condition has been ordained by Him to test our character (how we respond to them), as well as provide an opportunity for good works (to glorify Him through our service and right conduct) on their behalf.
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their wickedness, but one of the reasons was also their mistreatment of the poor. "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." - Eze 16:49-50. (This certainly seems to be the environment we are living in today... we should be ashamed at the iniquity and judgment we are heaping upon ourselves) King Ahab was judged because of his shameful acquisition of Naboth's vineyard. David for stealing his faithful servant's wife. Retribution may be delayed, but it will always come, and God is particularly incensed in the cases of the powerful abusing their power to prey on the powerless
.
We are to stay away from false accusations – the worst of which is a false accusation that results in capital punishment. This text is a solemn warning to judges to make sure that they do not pronounce a death sentence on the innocent, as well as a guarantee to the wicked that they may escape man's judgement but not God. "I will not justify the wicked" is particularly fearsome from the lips of One who means every word that He says. Israel has paid a terrible price for spilling the most innocent and righteous of all blood. "Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children." – Matthew 27:25 Our Lord presciently said... "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (Mt 18:7). Christ's betrayal and death were predetermined events, but they were precipitated by the "free" will of men making their own choices and they were held responsible for those choices by God Himself. (The word "free" is in quotes, because the will of man is not truly free - it is a slave to sin, unless the Spirit is gracious enough to loose those chains and make our will truly free to choose good over evil – therefore those who crucified Christ were not making a totally free choice) Israel has suffered through captivity and exile, genocide and anti-Semitism – because of the hate of the enemy, but that hate has also been used as an instrument of judgment, for no nation has had such Laws, such a God, and committed such adultery against Him as them. Christians beware – do not despise or lightly esteem the Grace extended to you – lest you face the consequences during your mortal time here on this earth – because it has come at a very great cost.
Bribery is forbidden, as it corrupts and blinds justice. It is interesting to note that it is not –just- because it leads to bad judgments being passed down, it actually is said to have a -corrupting influence- on the persons receiving bribes! Isn't that the truth? Hasn't democracy been influenced by "lobbyists" and "special interests"? We do not mean to say that all lobbying is akin to bribery, far from it. We have a right to bring our petitions and causes before our elected representatives, however, let us not forget that the stated aim of lobbying is to influence, and that can take many forms, some legal, and some barely so. This has led to our political system being slowly blinded and even well intentioned political figures falling under its sway, as the text says, even the discerning and righteous are affected.
Lastly, we have what seems to be a repetition of an injunction not to oppress a stranger (read immigrant). Whenever we see repetition in the Word, it should make us sit up and take notice even more – it may be repeated for emphasis, but usually it means we are to view it in a fresh context. Here it is in the context of justice in the court. Strangers may not be fully acquainted with all the laws and policies of the land, or able to afford justice or legal representation. Israel is told to be compassionate and empathic with them, because they knew what it was like to be a stranger in Egypt – enslaved, oppressed, fearful, and unjustly treated. As we have seen earlier, God's Law mandates that the same rules be applied to the stranger as to any citizen of the country, including those that would be beneficial to their cause. The judge is not to cherry-pick the application of the Law to take advantage of their ignorance.
"Do unto others as you would be done unto you..." is a statement that we should always be mindful of. It encapsulates so much truth into a single sentence, and shines back at us through every facet of this wonderful and beautiful diamond which is the Law!
Hallelujah!