Charles Ellicott Commentary Deuteronomy 24:17-22

"Thou shalt not wrest the justice [due] to the sojourner, [or] to the fatherless, nor take the widow`s raiment to pledge; but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands. When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest [the grapes of] thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it after thee: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing." — Deuteronomy 24:17-22 (ASV)

The stranger, the fatherless, and the widow — are the subject of all the laws in these verses. For the first two (Deuteronomy 24:17–18), see Exodus 22:22-24. Regarding the harvest, see Leviticus 23:22. It is noticeable that this law is connected with the Feast of Pentecost in that passage. Never was such care for the widow and the poor manifested as after the day of Pentecost in the New Testament. When great grace was upon them all, it is written that neither was there any among them that lacked.

In a very special way and for some special reason, all through the Old Testament, the Lord careth for the stranger. What the reason is, if we had the Old Testament only, we might find it hard to discover. But when we open the New Testament, we may see that this is one aspect of the love of God the Father for His Son Jesus Christ, who was one day to come among us as a stranger, when there was no room for Him in the inn. His coming here as a stranger could not be unnoticed. Therefore, the name and mention of the stranger all through the Old Testament is like a path strewn with flowers, in expectation of the coming of one who is greatly beloved.

We see angels walking upon the earth, entertained as strangers. The wealthy patriarch, a prince of God among the Canaanites, confesses himself a stranger and pilgrim on the earth. Those who inherit the land are put in the same category: Ye are strangers and sojourners with Me. The stranger sits beside the Levite at Israel’s table. The second great commandment is repeated again for his special benefit: He shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself. There is only one key to all this combination of tenderness: I was a stranger, and ye took me in.

Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt. — An exhortation thoroughly in place here, in the writings of Moses. In this form it occurs repeatedly in the Pentateuch, but not elsewhere. It is not the language which would naturally suggest itself to the prophets of later times.