On Poverty and Economic Justice

A biblical perspective on the poor, by Bruce Power

I

t happened in Bethany. In the home of a man known as Simon the Leper. A woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, broke the jar and poured it over Jesus’ head.

Immediately the critics noted a year’s wages had been spent on this act, declaring the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. They took the woman to task for her extravagance. But Jesus comes to her defense: “The poor you will always have with you …” (Mark 14:7).

The gospel account continues with Jesus pointing out to the woman’s critics “[you] can help the poor any time you want. But you will not always have me.” (Mark 14:7).

The sobering reality is that the poor are still with us. And the gap between rich and poor has not closed any tighter with the increased advantages of technology and science. With a world of resources at our disposal the poor still inhabit the streets of major cities, dwell in substandard housing provided by slumlords, and eke out an existence at the margins of our Western society. Yet by world standards our poor are wealthy.

With a world of resources at our disposal the poor still inhabit the streets of major cities, dwell in substandard housing provided by slumlords, and eke out an existence at the margins of our Western society. Yet by world standards our poor are wealthy.

What does it mean to be rich? Or poor for that matter? Normally, we launch into lexical studies to resolve such a problem and define our terms. Soon, we will have a grasp of the biblical sense of the term “poor.”

But first, let’s jot down some texts while they come to mind, for clearly the Bible’s authors grapple with the plight of the poor. In the sermon on the plain, Luke tells us that Jesus directs the attention of his disciples to the poor:

Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh (Luke 6:20-21).

We don’t want to forget that text, or conversely the warning that is sounded to the well-to-do:

But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep … (Luke 6:24-25).

And there’s that wonderful passage in which Jesus describes his own solidarity with the poor. This is another quotation we would be well advised to cite for it’s a statement concerning poverty and justice that Jesus declares to mark our reception in the final age:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 25:34-40).

Plainly, the Bible contains rich discussion on the topic of poverty and economic justice. Literally, hundreds of references come to mind, a wealth of information that stretches from the beginnings of human history and encompasses as well, visions of the end of time. But it really is time to get systematic. On to those lexical studies! Let’s see … pull out the Bible dictionary … ‘p’ for ‘poor.’ But wait, what’s this?

Despite much excellent work on countless individual texts (and even authors such as James and Luke), and innumerable general studies following the classical word-study methodology, we still lack a solid, thorough overview of NT teaching on the poor/poverty. The utter inadequacy of word-study approaches may be seen in the common omission of such theologically fundamental texts as Matt 25:31-46, where poverty is concretely described (‘I was hungry … thirsty … naked’) but without a general word for poor/poverty. Sweeping theological conclusions drawn from highly selective word studies have tended to be misleading. [1]

Despite much excellent work on countless individual texts (and even authors such as James and Luke), and innumerable general studies following the classical word-study methodology, we still lack a solid, thorough overview of NT teaching on the poor/poverty.

So what does the Bible say about poverty? What have we got so far? The poor will always be there. God cares for the poor. And we are to be involved with the poor in a manner that is transformative to their lives and honoring to God. That sounds easy. The tough question is what does this mean from day to day?

We search the Bible in vain for a checklist. Even the amassing of verses leaves us wondering what to think, let alone what to do. And if we take the context of these varied texts into account, rather than simplifying the situation, our anxiety level tends to escalate.

We are left with the critical results of our preliminary study. They read like this: God takes the plight of the poor seriously. God regards justice as essential to a society that honors him. Those who consider themselves righteous will be measured by their treatment of the poor. But from that point on things are less clear. Some texts seem to demand that believers must rid themselves of all forms of wealth, and through giving it to the poor, ensure their eternal happiness. Other texts suggest the judicious use of wealth to continue to meet the needs of those who are less privileged economically.

As Luke Johnson puts it:

“It is terribly difficult, I think, for the Christian who takes the Bible seriously and regards it as providing guidance for daily life, to find a clear-cut, concrete directive which can be followed consistently. To be a real Christian, must I be poor, join a commune, or make enough money to give alms? Should I seek in my ministers a radical poverty, an administrative hand, or a worker priest?” [2]

What we would like is a clear set of criteria. To some extent these are there. To love God. To love your neighbor as yourself. To act justly. To love mercy. But the specifics change from scene to scene and are not prescriptive but descriptive. They suggest a character of responsiveness rather than a program of action.

But surely the simple teaching of Jesus offers a solution? Time and again as I walk past a situation, too busy to help, too ‘in demand’ to be engaged by the need of another, I hear played again the simple story of the “Good Samaritan” and the probing question about who demonstrated love for neighbor. This has a power that a prescriptive demand to love one another lacks. I know somehow that I need to “do something.” That I need to side with the victim, that I need to avoid becoming like Levite and priest, self absorbed in my religion. Too busy with my own life. Afraid of the cost of compassion. And most of the time I feel condemned as I take my place beside them. Still, there is something helpful, even transformative, about that experience. Likewise, when Jesus tells the rich young ruler that he must sell everything he has and give it the poor, and the young man “goes away sad,” I always wonder what he asks of me. But somehow I either know, or hope that this demand is particular to this circumstance, to this individual. And read with some reassurance that Jesus makes no similar demand from Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). Yet there is a value to having the question posed afresh.

In this evasiveness we may find the very power of the biblical perspective on poverty. Jesus’ realistic declarative “the poor you will have with you always” confronts us with a reality experienced by countless generations before the turn of the millennia and by hundreds of generations since that time. This reality of the constant presence of the poor is intertwined with a collection of varied responses to the dual mandate to “love God” and “love your neighbor.” Could the answer be that each generation is called to face poverty and the demands of godliness and struggle to find appropriate answers?

Could the answer be that each generation is called to face poverty and the demands of godliness and struggle to find appropriate answers?

Maybe I should check the lexicons again — ebyon ‘poor, needy.’

“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits” (Exodus 23:6) in a passage about mercy and justice. Hmmm. In the Covenant Code (Exodus 20-23:19). Lots of ideas concerning justice and a social order which pleases God. A few verses later another reminder about knowing “how it feels to be aliens” (Exodus 23:9 also 21:22). Then legislation for a sabbath for the land, so “the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove” (Exodus 23:11).

Now here’s a passage:

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you this day. For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but they will not rule over you (Deuteronomy 15:1-6).

It all seems pretty clear. “No poor among you.” But the very next statement picks up with the realization that “the poor will always be with you” (Deut 15:7), and leads us to a new realization – Jesus was quoting!

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land (Deuteronomy 15:7-11).

So back then people looked for ways to avoid their moral and legal obligations too! Some things never do change.

So back then people looked for ways to avoid their moral and legal obligations too! Some things never do change.

Other typical uses of ebyon affirm the interest of YHWH in the poor, but add nothing further of substance to the discussion. “The LORD hears the needy …” (Psalm 69:33). “I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy” Psalm 140:12. [3]

Let’s try again … dal ‘poor.’[4]

Exodus 23:3 “nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his suit”? People then didn’t wear suits! Oh. Suit like lawsuit. That’s got to be KJV! We’ve been here before. Talk about legal loopholes being covered. Use two terms to say the same thing three verses apart. But no discernible difference in meaning or intent.

Now this is interesting. In the atonement offering rich and poor are to be equals: “The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives” (Exodus 30:15). That’s different – often there are separate options depending on wealth. What makes this any different? Why should the poor have to pay the same as the rich? Oh, it’s a mark of membership in the community of the redeemed. We’re all equal there.

Why should the poor have to pay the same as the rich? Oh, it’s a mark of membership in the community of the redeemed. We’re all equal there.

More about impartiality in Leviticus 19:15. A prayer affirming God’s care and compassion for the poor in 1 Samuel 2:8. And a declaration that one who is merciful to the weak and sick will be delivered by God (Psalm 41:1). The observation that one who oppresses a poor man insults God, but honors God if he treats the poor with kindness (Proverbs 14:31). Proverbs 29:7 argues that “the righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.”

A series of verses in Amos are part of an overall picture of the elite of the land grinding the poor under their heels – so to speak. Amos plays on the irony of the fact that the community established to model equality and justice for all as a considered response to bondage in Egypt has now recreated the situation all over again. [5] But where in Egypt it was an “outsider” who oppressed the people, now it was the minority of people who had been entrusted with the leadership of God’s people who had violated the trust given them. In situation after situation the elite have recreated Egypt’s bondage for their kinfolk. The charges against them echo the instruction (torah) God had given for Israel at point after point.[6] The larger picture of oppression can be represented by the terminology we are following for “poor”. Further examination would simply further articulate and nuance the situation:

They trample on the heads of the poor
As upon the dust of the ground
And deny justice to the oppressed (2:7).

Hear this word …
You women who oppress the poor and crush the needy (4:1).

You … turn justice into bitterness
And cast righteousness on the ground …
You hate the one who reproves in court
And despise him who tells the truth.
You trample on the poor
And force him to give you grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
You will not live in them;
Though you have planted lush vineyards,
You will not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your offenses
And how great your sins (5:7, 10-12).

Amos, the first of the prophets for whom we have a written collection, speaks on behalf of YHWH, for the continuing rights of the poor. Meanwhile his audience is rushing to wrath in their intense and all consuming desire to “live the good life.” YHWH’s response is that they are rushing to their own demise.

Hear this, you who trample the needy
And do away with the poor of the land,
Saying,
“When will the New Moon be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market wheat?” –
skimping the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating with dishonest scales,[7]
buying the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat (Amos 8:4-6).

And what about ani ‘poor, oppressed’ … a variant liked especially by Psalms and Isaiah … or rush ‘poor, impoverished’ favored by Wisdom writing.[8]

Or the little cluster of verbs from the root muk ‘to be or become low or poor’[9]

The whole lot of terms add little to what we have already.[10] God cares for the poor. We are to care for the poor. And prayers and observations about being poor. No program for a modern age. And a program for ancient times that, at best, struggled to have people actually keep it. [11] Take the following legislation from the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17-26) — those verbs clustered around muk.

If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold (Leviticus 25:25).

If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you. You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit. I am the LORD your God … If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:35-40).

If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien’s clan, he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his relatives may redeem him … (Lev 25:47-48).

If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, he is to present the person to the priest, who will set the value for him according to what the man making the vow can afford (Lev 27:8).

What about the New Testament? The dominant term for ‘poor” is ptochos. All four gospels use the term:
Matthew 5:3; 11:5, 19:21 26:9, 11
Mark 10:21, 12:42; 43; 14:5, 7
Luke 4:18; 6:20; 7:22; 14:13, 21; 18:22; 19:8; 21:3
John 12:5, 6, 8; 13:29.

But let’s look another way. Many of these are parallel texts …
Blessed are the poor (Luke 6:20); Matthew adds ‘in spirit’ (5:3).
The woman who sparked the debate we began with … (Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 12).
The rich young ruler (Matthew 19; Mark 10; Luke 18).

Now where are we? That leaves Matthew 11:5. Jesus responds to a question from John the Baptist about his identity with a description: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Matthew 11:4-5).

Mark 12 and Luke 21 tell the story of a poor woman who puts her only two coins in the temple treasury, a gift Jesus points to as monumental.

John 13 is a reference to Judas as the treasurer of the disciples and the misunderstanding of a statement by Jesus. (Jesus is assumed to have told Jesus to go and provide a gift for the poor, when Judas leaves the upper room where their final meal together is being held).

Luke offers a couple more references somewhat unique to his gospel account. Luke’s special interest in the marginalized women, widows, orphans, the poor and sick and so forth [12] most clearly articulates a theme which is included in the other gospel accounts, but does not dominate them. Luke also provides us with an important subsequent volume, to which we can add the limited lexical evidence from the letters. [13]

Luke begins with the story of Jesus’ birth into a humble family. Mary “sings”:

My soul praises the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
For he has been mindful
Of the humble state of his servant … (Luke 1:46-48).

The shepherds to whom the birth is announced are the marginalized, those who might be caring for temple flocks but are rendered “unclean” and treated with suspicion and as outsiders as a result of their vocation. And Luke’s initial witnesses to the resurrection are women – whose sworn testimony would not be accepted in a court of law.

According to Luke’s account, this reading from Isaiah, which takes place in the synagogue in Nazareth marks the beginning of his ministry.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
Because he has anointed me
To preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
And recovery of sight for the blind,
To release the oppressed,
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19).

The only portion of the address given by Jesus is “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (4:22). Then the narrative begins to reveal these very events happening. And throughout the gospel account Jesus’ solidarity with the poor, the dispossessed, and the suffering is clearly articulated.

So there are no simple lexical answers, though I struggle with terminology for poor, and poverty in Greek and Hebrew. But what about a bigger picture … ?

Creation speaks of a world in which all persons are equal with their needs provided for, but soon after the question is posed: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). And the warning God has given Cain, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (4:7). In this text is laid out the choice between doing what is right and being consumed.

Various ideal types are set up, so it seems from the beginning. And the tension between being godly and having riches is never simple to articulate. Abraham, for example, is blessed by God and material wealth is a demonstration of this. Job, on the other hand, explores the issue of poverty and distress touching someone’s life. In an outer frame we are given the insight that Job is a righteous man, and that the tragedies which befall his life are completely beyond his control. The central section recounts how his friends fully articulate the traditional wisdom which declares the righteous benefit and those who are evil or impious never prosper. [14] But we have the profound theological insight – things are not always what they seem.

It dovetails nicely with the discussions between Jesus and his disciples about priorities and possessions, power and privilege. For example, Mark tells us that on a particular day Jesus’ question to the disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” produces an awkward silence because “on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Jesus responds by declaring “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:34-35).

Again and again principles are held up as ideals– but the specifics are neutralized within the very texts that bring up the principle. Ideals speak of a year of jubilee, but not a single texts describes such a year, nor is such a year used in any dating formula — despite the fact it would have great economic implications [15]. No year is named as a “jubilee year.” [16] But even if such are only idealizations they hold forth a call to be better people than we are, to learn afresh the power of God to transform circumstances and people. This is the evocative power of the idea of the jubilee. A return to a state where all people are equals. In itself this symbol of jubilee is part of a larger symbol system of material goods and power.

This is the evocative power of the idea of the jubilee. A return to a state where all people are equals. In itself this symbol of jubilee is part of a larger symbol system of material goods and power.

“The way we use, own, acquire, and disperse material things symbolizes and expresses our attitudes and responses to ourselves, the world around us, other people, and, most of all, God.” [17]

When Micah expresses the triad of justice, mercy and love as the centre of worship, he affirms the same essentials from another perspective:

With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:6-8).

This makes it clear that actions are of equal importance to formal acts of piety.

Some other ‘talking points’ can be found in historical realities … but will everyone be asleep by now? We could look at attempts to establish an egalitarian society by those liberated from a ‘feudal’ one.[18] Or discuss kingship, the constant risk of abusing power or embracing imperialism,[19] or the sort of ambivalence which is reflected in texts towards the theological legitimacy of kingship.[20] We could look at the continuing role of the prophets, critiquing the structures of power and oppression.[21] The role of priests in sustaining the ideals of the state could be examined.[22] For example, at least one model of priesthood has [in theory] the priest maintaining the status of the disinherited and dispossessed the perpetually landless among us.

Legal texts abound which describe the manner in which all persons must be treated: there is not to be favoritism (Exod 23:3; Lev 19:15); the poor are to be protected in the legal system (Exod 23:3; Deut 16:19; Ps 82:3), with interest free loans available to those in need of funding. Provision is also available for the poor through mechanisms like the rights of the poor to glean in field and vineyard (Lev 19:9-10, 23:22; Deut 24:19; Ruth); and similar rights to produce on the sabbatical of the land (Exod 23:11; Lev 26:6); a tithe of the crop for every third year is for the poor (Deut 14:28-29; 26:14). We could look at the manner in which the cult standards regard less expensive offerings by the poor as acceptable (Lev 12:8; 14:21; 27:8; Luke 2:24).

And we should remember the poor would also enjoy the food and good times afforded to them by participation in community and national festivals (Deut 16:11-12 Esther 9:22), and that at all times, the hungry could take enough to eat from a field or vineyard (Deut 23:25; Luke 6:1).[23]

According to Luke, an experiment in the communal holding of wealth marked the early church in Jerusalem. This appears to have been soon abandoned (Acts 2:41-42; 4:32-35). Some have suggested that this early enthusiasm – perhaps with the expectation of an imminent parousia [?] was responsible for the economic collapse of the Jerusalem church.[24] Whatever the case, Paul uses the situation as an opportunity to demonstrate the ‘oneness in Christ’ in which there is no longer ‘Jew or Gentile, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28). [25] The collection for the relief of the church in Jerusalem would demonstrate this unity in a tangible sense, and was vital to Paul’s christology and ecclesiology. James argues in his letter that the church should not be marked by class or economic distinctions (James 2:1-12; 5:1-6). We could look for answers through further examinations of the New Testament letters. We could work through the economic practicalities of the ‘house church,’ and the need for sponsors and hosts who could use their wealth in a god-honoring way. We could discuss how easily things could go off course, how various menus would be served at hosted meals, and how this common practice threatened to invade the Church’s common meal … undermining the whole ideology of oneness in Christ.

Well it’s time to summarize and draw conclusions. The topic never strays far from where we began. Love God. Love your neighbor. You work it out from day to day through your relationship with God. That is the biblical paradigm for personal responsibility. It also appears to be the corporate model – for state or congregation. The challenge to live this righteous life is frightening.

Love God. Love your neighbor. You work it out from day to day through your relationship with God. That is the biblical paradigm for personal responsibility. It also appears to be the corporate model ..

Genesis 18:16-33 tells of Abraham’s pleading with God for the sake of ten righteous in Sodom – and still the city falls short. Jeremiah retells the story – but this time God seeks justice in Jerusalem. Among his own people God declares he will forgive Jerusalem if only one just person can be found (5:1). Does this perhaps include the prophet himself? And if he were to come to our city? And you or I were the prophet?

Would he be pleased with the manner in which we love him and our neighbor? Still, we can begin to change the world by striving to be that one just person so desperately sought after.

Bruce Power is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Booth College in Winnipeg. As well as continuing to research biblical traditions and the ancient Near East, he plays a little guitar and enjoys life in Toronto.

NOTES

[1] Thomas Hanks: ‘Poor, Poverty, [New Testament]’ 414-424 in ABD 5, 414. Lexical conclusions based on the Hebrew Bible are similarly vague. Cf. J. David Pleins: ‘Poor, Poverty, [Old Testament]’ 402-414 in ABD 5.
[2] Luke Johnson: Sharing Possessions, 25. Johnson argues that “historically, it seems, most Christians have taken the Bible seriously as a set of directives and have exercised the option of selectivity regarding the use of possessions” 26.
[3] A couple verses in Amos which also use the same terminology describe how the poor are sold for profit (2:6) and are refused justice at the city gate (5:12).
[4] In the prophetic texts, therefore, the term dal depicts the politically and economically marginalized elements of society’ Pleins: ABD 5, 505.
[5] The rich gouging the poor demonstrates an ongoing problem in the sociology of redemption. As the poor become rich they lose touch with their roots.
[6] For example, compare Amos 2:8 with Exodus 22:26-27.
[7] Leviticus 19:35-36. The Psalter also describes those who lay awake planning evil.
[8] Proverbs 10:4; 13:8, 23; 14:20; 17:5; 18:23; 19:1, 7, 22; 22:2, 7; 28:3, 6, 27; 29:13; Ecclesiastes 4:14; 5:8.
[9] E.g. Ps 9:18; 10:2, 9; 12:5; 14:6; 34:6; 35:10; 37:14; 40:17; 68:10; 70:5; 72:2, 4, 12; 74:19; 21; 86:1; 109:16, 22; Isaiah 3:14, 15; 10:2, 30; 14:32; 26:6; 32:7; 41:17; 58:7; 66:2.
[10] “In Proverbs, mahsôr connotes (1) poverty that results from laziness (6:11; 14:23; 21:5; 24:34), and (2) poverty that results from excessive living (21:17)” Pleins: ABD 5, 407.
[11] At some levels the book of Ruth deals with this issue. Legislation for the widow and orphan suggest that differences between this theoretical solution to the problem and social realities continued to create real need.
[12] Widow, orphan, foreigner/sojourner (+ Levite in Hebrew Bible traditions).
[13] Romans 15:26; 2 Cor. 6:10; 8:9; Galatians 2:10; James 2:2, 3, 5, 6; and Rev 3:17; 13:16. This exhausts the NT references to ‘poor’ except for the variant terminology in 2 Cor 9:9; and an additional term used in Luke’s account of the poor widow’s gift (Luke 21:2). A word psomiso in 1 Cor 13:3 and Romans 12:20 describes “feeding with morels,” hence by implication, the sick or children.
[14] Wisdom writing advocated charity toward poor as a virtue; cf. Proverbs 19:17; 22:9; 29:7. Poverty may also offers insight; see Proverbs 28:11. “Although the life of poverty is certainly no virtue to the proverbial writers, the pursuit of wealth should not involve mistreating the poor” Pleins: ABD 5, 406.
God is also shown as impartial, and the advocate of the poor. Cf. Job 34:19 and 34:28.
[15] For the legislation regarding the Jubilee, cf. Leviticus 25:8ff. 2 Kings 23:21-23 and 2 Chronicles 35:18 describe the celebration of passover in the time of Josiah as unequaled since the era of the Judges. Whether it has not been celebrated at all, or in a proper manner, or not taken seriously, is open to interpretation. The legislation of something like the jubilee, occurring every 50 years, could be much more easily avoided / ignored. [Perhaps the counting began with the reign of a king? Or didn’t begin at all?]

Ezekiel looks for the resolution to the problem of sin in the giving of a new heart and a new spirit to a new humanity who will bring in the new age. The language of Jubilee suggests that this radical transformation will mark an age in which justice and equity are universal. Once again, everyone will have their “piece of the pie.” Sin remains possible, in Ezekiel’s theology  but poses no danger because the world is inhabited by humans who have been given a new heart and a new Spirit.
[16] As in “It was the year of the jubilee …,” or “in the year of the jubilee.”
[17] Johnson: 40. Johnson closely relates this to idolatry.
[18] The case made by ‘apiru, shashu, the Amarna letters, etc.
[19] Assyrian, Babylonian, Aramean and Persian political and economic expansion serve as a backdrop to much of the Hebrew Bible. By the New Testament period this had been replaced by Greek, and then Roman imperialism. In its heyday, Egyptian expansionism could view the rest of the world as somehow sub-human. Both the temptation to ‘play the role’ or to ‘sell out’ removed YHWH from his role as Israel’s ultimate sovereign (cf. Deut. 17).
[20] In general we would have to observe “… the plight of the poor was not a vital issue for ancient Israel’s ‘historians’ … one must press the text to have these chroniclers address the topic of oppression” Pleins: ABD 5, 413.
On the other hand, deity and king are to guarantee justice throughout ANE. In Israel, mišpat, a noun referring to the act or consequences establishing and preserving order designates these ideals of justice.
“The primary duty of the king to obey and enforce obedience to the divine laws as foundational to personal and national success (i.e., covenant blessing) is noted frequently in the historical books (2 Sam 22:23 Ps 18:22[23]; 1 Kgs 2:3; 6:12-13; 9:4-5; 1 Chron 22:13; 2 Chron 7:17). Failure to obey these laws brings divine punishment (1 Kgs 11:33 Neh 9:29-31), and Israel’s history is largely a history of disobedience (Ezek 20:11, 13, 16, 18-19, 21, 24-25)” Schultz: TDOTE, 842-843
[21] “Poverty is a decisive issue in the prophetic and legal traditions. It is in these traditions that we are brought face-to-face with the harsh living conditions of the poor: hunger and thirst, homelessness, economic exploitation, legal injustices, lack of sufficient farmland. All these form the web of poverty in ancient Israel” Pleins: ABD 5, 413.
[22] “Since Israel’s standard of justice is based not on a human law code but on the character, actions, and demands of God, there are relatively few occurrences of mišpat that are not fundamentally theological in nature. Human actions are essentially responses to prior divine decisions, which, accordingly, reflect obedience/disobedience or justice/injustice … justice is often subverted, especially for some members of society: the widow, orphan, foreigner, and the physically challenged” Schulz: TDOTE 4, 839-840.
[23] “All the legal and priestly texts clearly focus on the economic deprivation of the ‘anî, as do the prophetic texts. Yet, unlike the prophetic texts, the pentateuchal materials try to spell out the specifics of society’s obligations toward those who are economically deprived” Pleins: ABD 5, 410.
[24] Ananias and Sapphira are not condemned for their lack of complete participation in the community of goods, but for their efforts to deceive the community (cf. Acts 5:1-11).
[25] See 2 Cor 8-9 for Paul’s view on Christian charity.

Bibliography

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1 Comment to On Poverty and Economic Justice

1. pretty weak argument Bruce…hahahaha…kidding, I love it when we have such a rich presentation of the heart of God and call to the church. This is required reading for Field at CFOT. And as for the “little guitar” playing? You could say you have a “little beard” and that would be about the same stretch. Peace.
   Rick
Rick Zelinsky on October 11th, 2006

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