Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

Preface
Introduction

PART 1: OLD TESTAMENT

1. Finding the roots of poverty in Genesis 1 – 11
God, humanity and the soil
The legacy of Cain
The flood and its aftermath
The development of nations
Conclusion

2. God’s covenant with Abraham and its significance in the history of redemption
The story of Abraham and Sarah
The content of the covenant with Abraham

3. Divinely ordained government in the Old Testament
Moses as a ruler
Israel’s four categories of ruler
Conclusion

4. The laws to prevent poverty
The significance of the land for Israel
God’s laws that condition Israel’s occupancy of the land

5. Welfare law and what it implies about being poor
Old Testament welfare laws
What the law teaches about being poor
Conclusion

6. The glory and inadequacy of the Mosaic covenant
The age of the judges
The transition to monarchy
Israel’s failure and the prophetic vision of a new covenant

PART 2: JESUS AND THE FINAL REVELATION OF DIVINE GOVERNMENT

7. Jesus the supreme ruler
Jesus superior to Adam
Jesus superior to Abraham
Jesus superior to Moses
Jesus superior to Israel
Jesus as prophet, priest, king and judge

8. What Jesus did: the acts of the supreme ruler
Touching the untouchable
Driving out unclean spirits
Forgiving sins
The death of Jesus: breaking the power of sin

9. What Jesus taught: the Beatitudes
The Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3–10)
Salt, light and a city on a hill (Matt. 5:13–16)
The old and the new righteousness/justice (Matt. 5:17–20)

10. What Jesus taught: strategies for kingdom living
Actions that break the cycle of sin (Matt. 5:21–48)
The standard pious acts of kingdom people (Matt. 6:1–18)
The disciples’ reason for living (Matt. 6:19–34)
To whom do we entrust the good news of the kingdom? (Matt. 7:6–11)
The Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12)
The conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount

11. What Jesus is doing: the work of the Holy Spirit
The Spirit in the Old Testament
The Spirit in the Gospels and Acts
The sanctifying work of the Spirit
12. What Jesus is going to do: the final judgment
The Christian hope
Continuity between the present and the eschatological future?
Eternal rewards
The judgment of the unrighteous/unjust

PART 3: GOD’S GOVERNED SOCIETY – THE CHURCH

13. The ordered society of the supreme ruler
The church is a gathering community
The church is a suffering community

14. The church is a joyful community
The impact of the resurrection: a new humanity
The early church was a sharing community
The testimony of the epistles
The church in the world
Conclusion

15. The church is a community who speak God’s words
Prophecy
Prayer
Conclusion

Epilogue: which story are we in?

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(From the ) INTRODUCTION

One striking fact that needs to be kept in focus as we start this book is that throughout history poverty has been largely unnecessary. Generally the earth and human ingenuity have always ensured enough provision for everyone. Poverty is fundamentally a matter of distribution of the adequate provision that has always been there. Throughout history a proportion of the earth’s population has always enjoyed an abundance of the goods available at any one time while a proportion suffered want of the most basic goods needed to sustain life at all.

Evolutionary theory argues that there is a physical reason for this. It is a priority for every organism to pass on its genetic imprint to another generation at all costs. If this means capturing a disproportionate control of the goods available to secure the flourishing of the next generation and in the process eliminating fellow organisms, then so be it. It is a matter of the survival of the fittest. But most scientists and philosophers committed to the evolution paradigm have argued from the beginning that this ‘physical’ law, which is supposed to explain the appearance of all creatures on earth including human beings, cannot provide the ethical principles needed to condition the way in which human beings ought to relate to each other and the rest of the natural world. Curiously evolutionists on the whole have argued that the principles of morality should take us in the opposite direction to the principles of physical evolution. Morally, they say, we should make every effort to fit as many as possible of our fellow organisms for survival, although our ‘selfish’ genes are pushing hard in the opposite direction. It seems to me that there can be only one result when two trains travel on the same line in opposite directions!

There is clearly a need for a deeper, spiritual understanding of the origin of human beings and the type of human behaviour that leads to poverty and away from it. The conviction underlying this book is that the Bible provides such an understanding. The approach taken to the Bible is canonical, which means attempting ‘an appraisal of the [biblical] material . . . according to the interrelationships of its parts in the form in which it has been received’. The work done by scholars in the historical reconstruction or deconstruction of the text is not dismissed as irrelevant, but is not considered as essential for grasping its meaning. The message explored is the narrative presented in the canon of Scripture as it stands. Finally the whole study is based on the conviction that what the Bible says speaks at a profound level to our contemporary circumstances.

The underlying theme of this book is that poverty has to do with the way in which human beings use the power God gave us when he created us. The core meaning of ‘power’ is the ability to do something. So this book begins with an examination in the biblical ‘Book of Origins’ (Gen. 1 – 11) of the source of the immense power vested in human beings and the reason why some often use that power to the detriment of others. The Book of Origins ends with the two defining stories of human history. On the one hand, we have the story of the Tower of Babel, which epitomizes the pride of human beings in their rebellion against God as they seek to concentrate power and build an empire (which inevitably involves violence and oppression). On the other hand, we have the genealogy of Noah’s son Shem down to Abram, who was destined to be the source of God’s alternative way of giving power away. In chapter 2 below, what the covenant with Abraham tells us about God’s answer to the endemic evil use of power is explored. Then three chapters follow on the Mosaic covenant. Chapter 3 looks at what God revealed about those who were to exercise power among his redeemed people. The power that causes or prevents poverty is human power. The vast number of human beings in our day who suffer because of poverty is overwhelmingly the result of the ungodly use of power by other human beings. Among those who use power to the detriment of others, rulers are the most culpable. It is amazing to see that the types of rulers required for just government are clearly described in the Mosaic covenant. Just rulers exist to administer just law, so chapters 4 and 5 look at the pro-poor elements of the Mosaic law. Chapter 5 concludes by focusing on what we learn about what it means to be poor from the pro-poor laws. Chapter 6 deals with the nature and development of governance after Israel had settled in Canaan and on their failure to keep the Mosaic covenant, which culminated in loss of the land, exile and the prophets’ prediction of the establishment of a new covenant focused on a divinely anointed Ruler, who would exercise his power through suffering.

The concept that justice will be established by suffering rather than by inflicting violence comes through clearly in the last Suffering Servant song in Isaiah 53. It is the most intense expression of another fundamental theme that runs through the book – that a living faith in God is needed to enable us to live in a way likely to reduce rather than increase poverty. Insecurity, leading to exclusion and risk aversion, is a key spiritual force that ensures the persistence of poverty. The source of this insecurity is our universal alienation from God. So the restoration of our relationship with God is a key factor in overcoming poverty. Risky faith in God is a prerequisite to doing what is right and just. This fundamental principle has far-reaching implications ….