God places the treatment of the weakest among us, including orphans, widows, and foreigners, at the top of the factors that make or break a relationship with Him. Through Jeremiah He commands an end to exploiting them (Jeremiah 7:6), and through Isaiah He pairs religious observance with this duty. Judah kept services, holy days, Sabbaths, and sacrifices, yet God hid His eyes and refused their prayers because their hands were full of blood. His remedy has two parts. First, wash yourselves, put away evil, and cease to do it. Second, learn to do good, seek justice, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:17). Learning to do good captures the intent of all God's laws, and He distills it to helping the oppressed, the fatherless, and widows. This corresponds to the Ten Commandments, whose last six cover how we treat other people. Those who are willing and obedient will eat the good of the land, but those who refuse and rebel will be devoured. Defending the fatherless is therefore part of the obedience God demands, and not an optional extra.