Biblical Justice (7)
“For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’” Deuteronomy 15.11
With us always
The Bible does not teach a preference for the poor, as though merely being poor were some virtue in itself. People can become poor for many reasons, not all of them deserving of material assistance. Some may be poor because they are simply unwilling to work. The apostle Paul explained that such people deserve the fruit of their lethargy and are not to be cared for by the community (2 Thess. 3.10).
All who are able are expected to work, for, as we have seen, by the work we’ve been given to do we may glorify God in the Kingdom economy. But we work not just so that we can provide for ourselves, but so that we may have wealth and possessions to share with those who are truly in need, as Paul explained in Ephesians 4.28: “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” The New Testament, following the lead of the Law of God, teaches that consideration of and care for the poor should be a part of the Kingdom economy of the followers of Jesus Christ.
And this introduces us to the final facet of the Biblical view of justice.
The final facet of the Biblical teaching on justice is what we may call distributive justice. In ancient Israel, it was the responsibility of a local community to distribute freely of its goods to those who were in need among them. Whether such people became poor through some unforeseeable exigency, or whether they were immigrants or disabled, justice required that they be provided for, according to their need, by the community in which they lived.
The poor and the priests
But this did not entail free handouts to any who wished them. As we have seen, the poor generally had to work for their keep, thus retaining a measure of dignity and keeping their work habits intact. The statutes requiring landowners not to harvest all their produce—to leave grain and dropped bundles of harvest, as well as grapes on the vine and olives in the tree—allowed the poor to have something to glean and thus, through honest labor, to provide for their needs. The land, after all, belonged to the Lord, as did all the harvest He provided.
Communities were also required to care for those who ministered the Word of God. Since these men were devoted to priestly duties, they did not have the time to provide for all their needs by the work of their own hands. By various kinds of tithes and offerings, local people distributed of their wealth to care for the physical needs of those who cared for their souls. The apostle Paul insisted that this requirement is still in force in these last days, as an aspect of justice in the Kingdom economy (1 Cor. 9.13, 14). He wrote that those who worked hard in sowing and cultivating the Gospel should expect to make their living by this work: “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches” (Gal. 6.6).
A local obligation
As with meeting the needs of priests, the practice of caring for the poor was a local responsibility, in the first instance, of families (Deut. 15.7, 8). Heads of households were expected to meet the needs of those who had become poor from among their brothers or sisters, even to the extent of taking poor relatives into their own homes.
At the next level, the communities in which poor people lived became involved. Distributive justice is thus, in the first instance, a local responsibility of charitable initiative and government. In the Kingdom economy of these last days, caring for the poor provides a unique opportunity for churches to demonstrate the reality and beauty and constancy of grace, and to demonstrate the power of God’s Law to express His love within a community.
Distributive justice also worked to make sure that inheritances were kept intact and could be passed on to legitimate heirs without interference or theft on the part of government. Contracts were established and wages were paid according to precepts of distributive justice. Jesus confirmed the validity of these precepts in the parable of the workers (Matt. 20.1-16). Workers and employers were to reach agreement on compensation, worker by worker. And employers were expected to distribute wages in a fair and timely manner. The apostle James scolded those wealthy believers in his day who, following the practice of the world rather than of the Law of God, kept back workers’ wages, thus defrauding them (Jms. 5.1-4).
Distributive justice thus completes the jewel of justice described in and commended by the Law of God. Taken together, practicing obligatory, preventive, restorative, retributive, and distributive justice encourages the flow of grace in a society so that neighbor-love will provide the prevailing social and economic motif of a society (cf. Matt. 14.12) and, moreover, that the Presence of God will be increasingly real and powerful.
The five facets of justice are all addressed in the Law of God, and it’s not difficult to see how, working together, the commandments, statutes, precepts, and rules of God’s Law can help us in our day to see our way through to sustaining a more just, peaceable, dignified, and productive society.
But we must be very careful that we understand the role of God’s Law in the Kingdom economy, and how to make proper use of it, if we are to gain the benefits the Law can provide in making grace rather than greed the defining mood of our society.
For reflection
1. What are some ways that your local community practices distributive justice? Could this be improved in any ways?
2. What dangers exist in taking distributive justice too far? Can you give some examples?
3. Suggest some ways in which Jesus Christ embodies all the various facets of justice:
Next steps—Demonstration: How can local churches work together to help meet the needs of poor people in their communities? What are they doing in your community? Find out what you can, and seek the Lord concerning how you might help.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our daily Scriptorium column is focusing on Ephesians 4. This week in our Read Moorepodcast we begin a look at three brief and related books, beginning with The Gospel of the Kingdom. Our Crosfigell teaching letter continues our study of the life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
