Some Leviticus 19 Thoughts on Justice in Society (for the Poor) and in the Courtroom

[The following was originally published on this blog in April of last year; I'm re-posting it now, because I happened to be studying Leviticus 19 in my Bible study this morning, and it is still relevant.]

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:9-10).

In these verses, the Mosaic law does NOT provide for the poor through having the government tax landowners, re-distributing their wealth. HOWEVER, the law does regulate private industry in a way to limit greed and supply for the poor. Therefore we cannot argue that such legal limits on free enterprise are unjust.

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:15). In this verse, there are two errors of injustice to be avoided in court: deferring to the great AND being partial to the poor. We cannot make up for injustice against one economic/social group by perpetrating injustice against another. Rather, true justice displays impartiality in regard to social/economic status.

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34). These verses do not directly speak to immigration policies in current nation-states. HOWEVER, they certainly speak to the attitude that people should display toward immigrants who are living among us. If we love immigrants (especially those whom we encounter in our daily lives) any less than we love people from our own ‘group,’ then we are engaging in sinful injustice.