God is on the side of the poor

I believe it was Christian philosopher Arthur Holmes who described God's justice as 'love in action'. Obviously this is not a reference to retributive justice, but rather to the sort of justice that Jeremiah refers to in my last post. In fact, biblical commentators, in regarding the frequent reference to distributive justice throughout the Bible, have taken the position that God is particularly on the side of the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized, those least able to defend themselves.

Of the dozens of examples that could be given, two will suffice, both prayers of women regarding their sons. Hannah, the mother of the great Old Testament prophet and leader Samuel, uttered this lovely prayer of dedication for her son when he went into the service of the Israelite high priest Eli:

1 Samuel 2

1Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.

5Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry hunger no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.

8He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.

This idea that God raises up the marginalized is a regular theme in the Old Testament, as we saw with Jeremiah, but carries on into the New, eloquently expressed in Mary's Song as she marvels that she bears the Lord's Christ in her womb.

Luke 1

46And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.

52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.

So important is the Christian responsibility to meet the needs of the poor that St. Paul said: If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8).

This is entirely consistent (as one would expect of Paul) with Jeremiah's declaration that championing the vulnerable was virtually the indication that one knew God. Remember that the work 'knew' was the Hebrew word that was used not for mere awareness but for intimate knowledge, such as: Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD” (Genesis 4:1).

One final important consideration. Retributive justice and restorative justice apply to all the world's inhabitants in biblical teaching.

1 John 2:1-2 - My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

2 Corinthians 5:19 - God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.

But what of distributive justice? Was God's mercy for the most vulnerable limited to the Israelites of the Old Testament and the Christians in the New? Or is God's concern for the marginalized also universal?