Social Justice as Revealed in the Old Testament and Understood Today

The following is an essay I wrote for my Pentateuch class during this Fall semester.

Social justice is a hot topic within our nation and specifically among young people. We have an emergence of businesses like Toms shoes who donate a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold. There are campaigns spreading which call for the capturing of dangerous men as seen in the recent Kony 2012 campaign, seeking the capture of Joseph Kony. It is very easy for someone to retweet Kony 2012, buy a pair of Toms shoes, maybe donate to an organization building wells and say that they have done justice in the world. Unfortunately, it seems that this ideology has leaked into American Christianity and this is not the true heart of justice intended by the Lord. True, biblical social justice can be understood properly by studying the shalom which occurred in creation before the fall, the Lord’s instructions to Israel regarding justice, and Jesus’ dealings with society. The Christian view of justice should include the act of remembering God’s grace, realizing the priority between a daily condition or an unjust episode and an understanding that only Christ can bring about true justice.

In the Beginning . . . was Shalom

When God created the heavens, the earth, creatures, man and woman, everything was as it ought to be – shalom. The Hebrew word shalom means much more than peace, but is the essence of how things should really be between God and His creation. Philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff goes so far as to describe shalom as “flourishing.”[1] Before the fall and corruption, everything God had made was flourishing and just as it ought to be. Doing justice is the hope and desire to return to this original flourishing; to see people connect with God and commune with others, just as we were originally created.

A large part of this original flourishing includes the image of God: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”[2] If all are made in the image of God, it would be impossible for someone to disrespect another person, as pointed out by John Willis.[3] If Christians truly took this scripture and applied it correctly, there would most likely be shalom. There would be no need to talk of social justice because every man would see his fellowman as created in the image of God and fellowship with him. Unfortunately, because of our broken and sinful state no one can truly apply this.

After Shalom Came the Israelites

In the writings of the Pentateuch, there is a strong call toward Israel to be a community of justice. As Tim Keller explains in Generous Justice, Deuteronomy 15 is a great passage to see how God intended a just society to function. In verse four, the Lord says that “there will be no poor among you.”[4] The Sabbatical Year is introduced just a few verses before this statement, which releases the poor of their debts every seven years. Keller states that the poor could not be cut off from the community’s generosity until they had reached self-sufficiency. “God’s concern for the poor is so strong that he gave Israel a host of laws that, if practiced, would have virtually eliminated any permanent underclass.”[5]

One of these laws includes leaving some of the grain for the poor and sojourner to glean for themselves as seen in Leviticus 19:9-10. Keller describes this not as charity, but as “voluntarily limit[ing] their profit-taking” and “enabl[ing] the poor to provide for themselves without relying on benevolence.”[6] This shows the generosity and humility of the community to not take in all of their profit but to share it with those who truly did not deserve share of the earnings of the harvest. Keller’s point of this law not being about charity also shows how all people want to realize their worth and potential. The fact that the poor and the sojourner worked to glean the grain for themselves should be a reminder that most people do not simply desire a “handout” but truly want to work for what they receive and yearn to discover their potential.

The most remarkable and gracious commandment is the year of Jubilee. Every seventh Sabbath year (every forty-ninth year) the land would return to its original tribal allotments first made as the Israelites came to the land.[7] Craig Blomberg remarks, “each person or family had at least a once-in-a-lifetime chance to start afresh, no matter how irresponsibly they had handled their finances or how far into debt they had fallen.”[8] This was a radically generous law that God had put in place for the community of Israel. This also seems to suggest an important reminder that “property does not really belong to man, but to the Lord, and therefore man is not to use it selfishly but to help the poor and to supply the needs of others.”[9] This concept can be applied both ways in the situation of the year of Jubilee. If one loses their property, this is a strong reminder that the possessions had always been the Lord’s and that he will provide for them again. If one gains property, this shows the Lord’s mercy in supplying property when the recipient was truly not worthy of it. 

Justice as a Memorial

One theme that is prevalent within the Pentateuch is the idea of a memorial. There are numerous times when the Israelites create some sort of memorial in order to remember something God has done for them. Part of doing justice is a memorial. In Deuteronomy 5:13-15, the Lord commands the Israelites to observe the Sabbath day and on the Sabbath day even the servants and sojourners are to rest. This is to be a reminder to the Israelites that they were once slaves in Egypt and that God had brought them out of their slavery. Willis observes, “God’s people had learned by bitter experience in Egypt what it was to be slaves, and they must not allow themselves to treat others in an inhumanitarian way.”[10] Justice is done toward the servants and sojourners as a memorial to the Israelites of God’s deliverance.

Shalom Seen Again in Jesus and the Early Church

With the first coming of Jesus on earth, justice was a large part of his ministry. Even non-Christians can explain that Jesus loved the poor, the widow, and cared for the stranger. A very important event which demonstrates this is Jesus’ discussion at the dinner party with the Pharisees in Luke 14[11]. In verses 12 through 14, Jesus gives the man who had invited him some advice on who to invite to a dinner. Jesus tells him not to invite those who can repay him, “but when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”[12] A dinner or a feast was not just about receiving sustenance for the body, but it was about community. We have many dinner parties recorded in the gospels that show Jesus conversing with others. God is not calling us to simply provide for people’s appetites but to invest in their lives and commune with them – just as Jesus did.

The Priority of Justice

In his lecture entitled “Justice in Scripture”, Wolterstorff discusses two forms or injustice that we see. There are episodes of injustice, like a robbery, and there are people whose daily condition is unjust. Our priority should be those who are daily living in injustice: the poor, the widow, the sojourner, et cetera. This is a helpful way of viewing injustice and realizing whether someone is experiencing an episode or a daily condition. Viewing justice within this perspective will allow us to recognize which is receiving more attention. Of course we should reach out to those involved with an episode of injustice but we should also be zealous to find those living in injustice every day and generously give to them, love them, and commune with them.

Justice Today and Why?

Although many secular organizations do justice in the world, they are simply lacking something. Wolterstorff explains that many secular writings such as Plato’s Republic mention justice and discuss justice but do not speak about widows, orphans, or the sojourner. It is extraordinary that the Bible stresses justice toward these specific people who daily live in injustice and are ultimately deficient in some vital human relationship.[13] While many modern organizations like Toms as mentioned earlier are doing wonderful things for the world, they are lacking something imperative to the reason for doing justice. They lack communion and relationship with those living in injustice and they lack the ability to bring true justice and transformation. Abstract concerns for justice can corrupt our hearts and corrupt our churches. It is simply foolish to be concerned about injustice happening in other countries while we pay no attention to those who are living a daily condition of injustice in our very own neighborhood.[14]

When this abstract concern for justice corrupts, we lose the reason and the motivation for doing justice in the first place. Keller describes two basic motivations behind doing justice. One is the “joyful awe before the goodness of God’s creation” and the other is “the experience of God’s grace in redemption.”[15] When we do justice, we should be in awe of creation and of the redemption we have received.

Accordingly, how do we fit these motivations and beliefs about justice into our ecclesiology in order to properly instruct our congregations? Steve Cabral, Pastor of Recovery at Grace Church Reno and Lucas Slavin, Multnomah Reno-Tahoe student and community group leader, attended the International Justice Mission Conference in Portland, Oregon this past February. They returned home with some interesting thoughts on justice and how the church as a whole views the subject of justice. In a written dialogue, they discussed some aspects that the church seems to be missing or misunderstanding. Cabral shows that our model for justice has been saturated with our own idolatry. Our overall motivation has not been awe of creation or God’s grace in redemption but has sadly been our awe of our own pitiful and meager accomplishments of “justice”.

Cabral brings us to the concept of sin by describing, “No matter what crime has been committed against another human being, the fact that the act is sin derives from it the reality that no one was more shamed, abused or attacked than God Himself.” God addresses this injustice Himself through the cross of Jesus Christ, leading us to this conclusion: “You and I as the church respond to what Christ has already done, because that alone is the means to change and transformation, not us.” Slavin informs us that justice can be done without this message of the Gospel, as we have previously seen with Tom shoes and other organizations seeking justice, but it is “the proclamation of the good news of the absolute, ultimate restorer of shalom, Christ, [which] completes the work.”[16] Justice done without the restorer of shalom is absolutely and utterly incomplete and committed in idolatry.

If we truly desire to lead our congregations to right theology in regards to justice, the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be taught, emphasized, glorified, and at the center of our hearts. When the people of God meditate on this and hide it in their hearts, they can’t help but respond in genuine worship through acts of justice. Our congregations will act in justice out of a remembrance of the grace they have received from God and His ultimate deliverance. The people of God will realize the priority of the daily condition of injustice in their neighbor next door, instead of focusing completely on an abstract concept of worldwide justice. Finally and most importantly, our congregations will understand that no act of justice will save souls; we must proclaim the good news of the ultimate restorer of Shalom as we seek justice for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner.

---

[1] Nicholas Wolterstorff, Shalom and Human Flourishing, Video, 4:39, February 2012, http://askquestions.tv/dr-nicholas-wolterstorff-shalom-and-human-flourishing.
[2] English Standard Version, Genesis 1:27
[3] John T. Willis, “Old Testament foundations of social justice" Restoration Quarterly 18, no. 2: 65-87. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed October 25, 2012), 68.
[4] ESV, Deuteronomy 15:4
[5] Timothy Keller, Generous Justice (Dutton: New York, 2010), 27.
[6] Ibid.
[7] ESV, Leviticus 25:8-55.
[8] Timothy Keller, Generous Justice (Dutton: New York, 2010), 28.
[9] John T. Willis, “Old Testament foundations of social justice" Restoration Quarterly 18, no. 2: 65-87. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed October 25, 2012), 77.
[10] Ibid., 71.
[11] Nicholas Wolterstorff, Antioch Church, February 2011, http://www.antiochchurch.org/media/stand-alone-sermons/justice-in-scripture.htm#.UJcIym_A-So.
[12] ESV, Luke 14:13-14.
[13] Nicholas Wolterstorff, Antioch Church, February 2011, http://www.antiochchurch.org/media/stand-alone-sermons/justice-in-scripture.htm#.UJcIym_A-So.
[14] Nicholas Wolterstorff. Redux: The Fine Texture of Justice in Everyday Life. February 2011. http://askquestions.tv/speakers/wolterstorff.
[15] Timothy Keller, Generous Justice (Dutton: New York, 2010), 82.
[16] Lucas Slavin, e-mail message to author, October 25, 2012.