I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 22-24.

The passage contains a series of commands which involve holding people responsible for the consequences of their actions.  There is another aspect to these commands as well.  They also tell us that the group must hold individuals responsible for sin, that even if others in the group are not victims of one person’s sin, the group suffers when one of its members sin.  Elsewhere in the Bible we are warned against showing favoritism to the rich and powerful.  Here God warns against showing favoritism for the poor and oppressed.  The poor and oppressed are not necessarily in the right when they go up against the rich and powerful and we should not side with them just because they are poor and oppressed.  Opposing opression is different than siding with the poor and oppressed.