The Laws for Neighbors

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. (Exodus 22: 21 to 27)

The You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor's House; You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor's Wife, or His Male Servant, or His Female Servant, or His Ox, or His Donkey, or Anything That Is Your Neighbor's Commandment seems to emphasize one's neighbor. In his parable, Jesus Christ answered a lawyer who was one's neighbor as described below.

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10: 29 to 37)

According to Christ, a neighbor is anyone who needs mercy. So, the You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor's Belongings Commandment was asking us to treat not only one's neighbor, but also anyone who was in need, such as the sojourner, widow, fatherless child, etc. If not, then one could be reprimanded severely, even death. In addition to showing mercy and respect to the neighbor, the laws remind us to respect and honor the ruler and God Himself who oversaw the justice among us as described below.

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: 28 to 31)

These laws could be summarized by what Jesus Christ had answered to Sadducees and Pharisees as described below.

But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22: 29 to 40)

Indeed, the purpose of the laws was not to bound us by legality but through how to treat our neighbors we could build a relationship with the loving God, so that the resurrection and eternal life could become reality for us through the words of Christ. Emmanuel.

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