Daily Life in a Homeless Shelter - Social Justice in Scripture

Social Justice in Scripture...

Not every single verse that represents the words 'po0r' and 'needy' are here. Some of the omitted verses use the words in a context not related to poverty, and those that appear to refer to 'spiritual poverty' are also not included. I've categorized them in a way that seemed to make sense to me, but realize that there is a tremendous amount of overlap among them, and that such categorizations may be entirely artificial to begin with.

[Notes] are from the NIV editors.

[Notes - rwk] are added by myself for clarity and context.

The Local Church

Mt. 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Lk. 11:39-41 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish [Or what you have] to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

Lk. 12:32-33 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Lk. 14:12-14 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Ac. 10:3-4 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.

1Co. 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, [Some early manuscripts body that I may boast] but have not love, I gain nothing.

Ja. 2:1-4 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Ac. 4:33-35 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

The Courts & Legislature

Ex. 23:3 and do not show favouritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

Ex. 23:6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.

Le. 19:15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great, but judge your neighbour fairly.

Pr. 22:22-23 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.

Is. 10:1-3 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.

Je. 5:26-29 “Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?

Hunger

Ex. 23:11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unploughed and unused. Then 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.

Le. 19:10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

Le. 23:22 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.’”

Lending & Debt

Pr. 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

De. 24:10-13 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbour, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God.

Pr. 28:8 He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor. [that is to say, God will remove the wealth from him, and give it to the poor - rwk]

Ex. 22:25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a money-lender; charge him no interest.

Employment

De. 24:14-15 Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

The Social Contract

Pr. 31:9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Le. 25:35 “‘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 that he can continue to live among you.

Le. 25:39 “‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave.

De. 15:7-8 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 tight-fisted towards your poor brother. Rather be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs.

De. 15:9-11 Be careful not to harbour this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will towards 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 open-handed towards your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.

Pr. 13:23 A poor man’s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.

Ec. 5:8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. [Describing poverty as a systemic political construct - rwk]

Pr. 14:20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbours, but the rich have many friends.

The Family Compact

Le. 25:25 “‘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.

Le. 25:47-49 “‘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: An uncle or a cousin or any blood-relative in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.

And then God Said This....

Ps. 14:6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

Ps. 22:26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him — may your hearts live for ever!

Ps. 34:6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.

Ps. 35:10 My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, O LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

Ps. 37:14-15 The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

Ps. 112:1-9 Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures for ever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered for ever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures for ever; his horn will be lifted high in honour.

Ps. 140:12 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.

Pr. 14:21 He who despises his neighbour sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.

Pr. 14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honours God.

Pr. 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Pr. 21:13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.

Pr. 22:2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

Pr. 22:9 A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.

Pr. 22:16 He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich — both come to poverty.

Pr. 28:3 A ruler [Or A poor man] who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.

Pr. 28:27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.

Pr. 29:7 The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.

Pr. 29:14 If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.

Pr. 30:11 “There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among mankind.

Pr. 31:20 [a wife of noble character - rwk] opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

Is. 3:13-14 The LORD takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people. The LORD enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses.

Is. 3:15 What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

Is. 32:7-8 The scoundrel’s methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.

Is. 58:6-7 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Zec. 7:10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’

Ps. 72:4 He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor.