1. The God Who Does Justice
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who shows no partiality and takes no bribe.
He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.
And you shall love the sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
— Deuteronomy 10:17–19, SRT
Mercy begins in God. He does justice to the orphan and widow and loves to give bread and clothes to the stranger.
2. The Cry of Widow and Orphan
And you shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.
If you afflict them in any way, and they cry to Me, I will surely hear their cry;
and My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall become widows, and your sons orphans.
— Exodus 22:20–23, SRT
The vulnerable may lack earthly defenders, but they are not undefended. God hears their cry.
3. Courts, Bribes, and the Destitute
You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his dispute.
Keep far from a false matter; and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not acquit a wicked man.
And you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and perverts the words of the righteous.
And you shall not oppress a sojourner, for you know the heart of a sojourner, because you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
— Exodus 23:6–9, SRT
Justice must not be perverted from the destitute; bribes blind open eyes and pervert the words of the righteous.
4. Gleanings, Wages, and the Poor Brother
And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
And you shall not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes; you shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner. I am the LORD your God.
— Leviticus 19:9–10, SRT
You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
And you shall not swear falsely by My Name and thereby profane the Name of your God. I am the LORD.
You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you until morning.
You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.
You shall not do injustice in judgment. You shall not show partiality to the poor or favor the great; in righteousness you shall judge your fellow.
You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people; you shall not stand by while your neighbor’s blood is shed. I am the LORD.
You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your fellow, so that you do not bear sin because of him.
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
— Leviticus 19:11–18, SRT
And when your brother becomes poor and his hand falters beside you, you shall support him; as a sojourner and settler he shall live with you.
You shall take no interest or profit from him, but you shall fear your God, so that your brother may live with you.
You shall not lend him your money at interest or give him your food for profit.
— Leviticus 25:35–37, SRT
The land is not to be stripped bare; wages must not be retained; the poor brother whose hand fails must be helped, not exploited.
5. Open Your Hand Freely
When there is among you a poor man, one of your brothers, within any of your gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother.
Rather, you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him enough for his need, whatever he lacks.
Take heed to yourself, lest there be a worthless thought in your heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is near, and you look with an evil eye upon your poor brother and give him nothing; then he cries to the LORD against you, and it becomes sin in you.
You shall surely give to him, and your heart shall not begrudge it when you give to him; for because of this matter the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand.
For the poor shall never cease from the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor and needy in your land.
— Deuteronomy 15:7–11, SRT
You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who is in your land within your gates.
You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun goes down, for he is poor and sets his heart upon them, lest he cry against you to the LORD and you incur sin.
— Deuteronomy 24:14–15, SRT
The worker’s life may depend on his wage. The poor brother’s need must not be met by a closed hand and cruel eye.
6. Worship Rejected Without Justice
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to untie the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the wandering poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly. Your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD shall answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, “Behold Me.” If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and the speaking of wickedness;
if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom shall be like noon.
— Isaiah 58:6–10, SRT
“I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Though you offer burnt offerings and grain offerings to Me, I will not accept them; and I will not regard the peace offerings of your fattened animals.
Take the noise of your songs away from Me; I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
But let judgment roll on like waters, and righteousness like a perennial stream.
— Amos 5:21–24, SRT
He has declared to you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, to love steadfast love, and to walk humbly with your God?
— Micah 6:8, SRT
Songs, feasts, and fasts cannot compensate for oppression. The Lord seeks justice, mercy, and humble walking with God.
7. Christ, the Poor, and Pure Religion
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed at liberty,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
— Luke 4:18–19, SRT
And He also said to him who had invited Him, “When you give a midday meal or a dinner, do not call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and repayment come to you.
But when you make a feast, invite the poor, maimed, lame, and blind.
And you will be blessed, because they have no means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
— Luke 14:12–14, SRT
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I thirsted, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me;
I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You drink?
And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You? Or naked and clothe You?
And when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?’
And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’
— Matthew 25:34–40, SRT
Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
— James 1:27, SRT
My brothers, do not hold the faith of our glorious Lord Jesus the Anointed One with partiality.
For if a man wearing a gold ring and splendid clothing enters your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also enters,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the splendid clothing and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here beneath my footstool,”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my beloved brothers: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?
But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you before judgment seats?
Do they not blaspheme the good Name called upon you?
If indeed you fulfill the royal law according to the Writing, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the Law as transgressors.
— James 2:1–9, SRT
The Gospel reaches the poor; hospitality must include those who cannot repay; pure religion cares for fatherless and widows in distress; the assembly must not flatter gold rings and despise ragged poverty.
Trial
Every doctrine, practice, counsel, ministry habit, and public word touching this matter must be tried by the Word.
- Does it imitate God’s justice for orphan and widow?
- Does it hear the cry of the poor and pay wages lawfully?
- Does it refuse bribes, partiality, and flattering the rich?
- Does it make worship and mercy stand together?
- Does it love in act and truth, not tongue only?
Settlement
We will not close the hand, withhold wages, receive bribes, strip the field bare, flatter the rich, or despise the poor.
We will administer justice aright, love mercy, walk humbly with God, and remember that Christ receives mercy done to His poorest friends.