Amos 5:12-14

12
For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
13
Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
for the times are evil.

14
Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.

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God's Concern For The Poor And Disadvantaged

God has expressed His great concern and compassion for the poor, the needy and the oppressed.
(1) He reveals himself as their refuge, their help, their deliverer and their provider.
(2) When God revealed His law to the Israelites, He provided a number of ways to ease or relieve-and in a general sense to eliminate-poverty in their community (Deauteronomy 15:7-11). His overall goal was that "there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, He will richly bless" (Deauteronomy 15:4). For this reason, God's law did not allow the charging of interest on loans to the poor (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-36). If a poor person gave something as collateral, such as his cloak or other personal item of value, the person ;oaning the money had to return the item by sunset. If a wealthy individual hired a poor person for a job, the emploter was to pay wages on a daily basis, so that the worker could buy food for himself and his family (Deauteronomy 24:14-15). During the hervest season, grain that fell to the ground was to be left for the poor (Leviticus 19:10; Deaueronomy 24:19-21). In fact, the edges of the field were to be left unharvested so that people in need could gather the extra grain for themselves (Leviticus 19:9).

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More remakable was God's command that every seven years all debts of poor Israelites were to be canceled (Deauteronomy 15:1-6). Also, a wealthy lender could not refuse to make a loan to a poor person simply because it was too close to that seventh year (Deateronomy 15:7-11). In addition to providing the year of debt-relief, God provided a year for the return of property. This was called the year of Jubilee (every fifty years), in which all land that had been bought, sold or traded since the previous year of Jubilee was to be returned to it's original family owner (Leviticus 25:8-55). Most importantly, justice was to be fair and handled equally. This meant that no one-rich or poor-was to receive favor or special treatment in the courts (Exodus 23:2-3; 6; Deauteronomy 1:17; Proverb 31:9). In all these ways and more, God determined to protect the poor and disadvantaged from being misused by those who were wealthy. There was to be equal justice for all (Deauteronomy 24:14).

(3) Sadly, the Israelites did not always follow these laws. Instead, many of the rich took advantage of the poor and increased their misery. Therefore, the Lord used His prophets to pronounce harsh judgement against wealthy Israelites (Isaiah 1:21-25; Jeremiah 17:11; Amos 4:1-3; 5:11-13).

To be continue... on "The New Testament Christian's Responsibilty To The Poor And Disadvantaged"

Thanks for reading.
God bless you.
Shalom.

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