“For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” Deuteronomy 15.11

The practice of caring for the poor was the responsibility of families (Deut. 15:7, 8), first of all, and of the communities in which poor people lived. Distributive justice is thus, in the first instance, a concern of local government.

Distributive justice extends to religious workers as well. Priests and Levites, who did not own property in ancient Israel, and whose working life was devoted not to creating material wealth but to nurturing spiritual health and wellbeing, did not have the time to provide for their own needs. This was the responsibility of the community served by such people, through their tithes and offerings. It is not hard to see how such benefit could be extended to other public servants in a wide range of occupations.

Distributive justice also worked to make sure that inheritances were kept intact and could be passed on to legitimate heirs without interference or loss. Wages were determined on the basis of distributive justice, as Jesus demonstrated in the parable of the workers (Matt. 20:1-16). Workers and employers were expected to reach agreement on compensation, worker by worker. And employers were expected to distribute those wages in a fair and timely manner.

T. M. Moore

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.