Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:3-4)
There is a clear and unambiguous message presented here: those with power and influence (e.g. judges, rulers) should use that power to help those who are in need. In fact, this element of justice is inferred in the command, “You shall not pervert justice nor show partiality” (Deuteronomy 16:19). Consider what the Scripture says of King David; when he reigned over all Israel, he administered “judgment and justice to all his people” (2 Samuel 8:15), implying that he was charitable to the less fortunate as he administered justice.
This doesn’t mean that the poor and needy are excused from doing what is right; no, everyone is expected to do justly. But Scripture makes it clear that doing what is right includes considering those who are less fortunate, and especially when they are widowed, fatherless or oppressed by wicked men. In a manner of speaking, Israel was expected to do for others what was done for them. God found them helpless and hopeless while in Egyptian bondage and so He delivered them from the hand of the wicked; shouldn’t He expect that God’s people would be motivated to do the same for others? It would be a slap in the face, so to speak, if they were to ignore those in need; even worse if they used their power to impoverish those already struggling in life.
That last observation brings to mind the parable of the unforgiving servant. Messiah told of a man who owed a huge debt to a king but was unable to pay. When the king threatened to sell him and his family in order to pay the debt, the king was moved with compassion and forgave the debt. Unfortunately, the man refused to be as compassionate with others as the beneficent ruler was with him. He found someone who owed him a trifle and had the person thrown into prison until he could repay his debt. Upon hearing of this, the king confronted the unforgiving servant and said, “Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” (Matthew 18:32). The man was subsequently delivered to the torturers until the debt was paid.
The point is that, we who have been forgiven much should love much — first love our Master but also His other servants. We are to have mercy and compassion on others because He has exhibited mercy and compassion toward us. To do justly encompasses doing something productive and beneficial when we encounter those who are afflicted and in need. In the words of a modern troubadour: “You have no right to be the judge to criticize and condemn; just think but for the grace of God it would be you instead of him. … So help your brother along the road no matter where he starts; for the God that made you made them, too, these men with broken hearts.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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