The election of the few out of the many who are called requires that the Household of God should be in a constant state of flux. From every possible quarter, both within the Brotherhood and without, questions arise which vex the many and manifest the few. Action and reaction proceed until the day when judgement is brought forth unto truth, and the. final division is made between the natural or animal, and the spiritual or eternal. Every occasion of stumbling which arises is but the putting in a new light of the old saying which proved so hard to the many, “No man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father”. In the inevitable state of reaction to such a saying, the many “go back and walk no more with Him'”, while to the few, the old question, with its challenge and its infinite sadness, is repeated : “Will ye also go away ?” Because, once it is admitted that it is the Spirit that quickeneth, and the flesh profiteth nothing, logic draws from the most unwilling heart the inevitable reply : “Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God”.
The questions which have served as stimuli to the refining process with the above result have been numberless, and the disputes arising therefrom fierce and interminable. One by one they have arisen and have fruit in a willing hearted few, and have slipped back into the past, from which, even now, disturbing echoes arise, as problems which ought never have been raised are brought up again and again.
But there was one question above all which searched the heart of man to its inmost recesses. Might being taken as the Right of almost every situation in the constitution of the world, the definition of an attitude towards the poor, needy, afflicted and oppressed revealed, as nothing else could, the extent of spiritual growth in men and women.
For this reason, the poor were constituted a class in both the ecclesia which was formed at Sinai, and that upon which the Spirit breathed at Pentecost. Once it is admitted, and rightly, that all blessings are of God, the presence of the poor in the midst of a people creates a challenge. (Blessings indeed come from God, but we must not for a moment imagine that possession of wealth indicates Divine favour. Poverty and riches are permitted like the “powers that be”, as one means among many by which the approved of God may be made manifest. The rich man is judged by his stewardship — the poor by his integrity. The ideal state is “neither poverty nor riches.”)
But we have digressed, though briefly.
The poor, as we said, were an integral part of both the ecclesias of God. Two scriptures will show the place they occupied.
In Deuteronomy 15.11 Moses writes, “For the poor shall never cease out of the land”, and in John 12. 8 Jesus declared, “For the poor always ye have with you ; but me ye have not always”. The context of these two passages is so significant that is is worthy of consideration at length, because here, as always, Moses and Jesus bear mutual testimony.
Firstly we notice the heart searching conditions of Deuteronomy 15. 11 :
“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in the and which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a base thought in thine heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand ; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought ; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him : because that for this thing the Lord shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land : therefore I command thee, saying, thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.”
Here was a law which could not be policed. There was no compulsion ; but each man in his own heart, and God from heaven, knew if he had fulfilled the spirit of its teaching. Not only were the Israelites to open their hands unto their brethren ; but they were to open them WIDE—to their brethren, to the poor and needy in the land. Giving was to be without grieving or baseness of thought.
It was not by accident that the Master’s magnification of this principle should be connected with a thought of utter baseness. In fact, it was uttered in circumstances which elucidate perfectly the type in. the Mosaic commandment. When Mary anointed the Lord’s feet with a costly ointment, and filled the house with the sweet odour of her willing-hearted sacrifice, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, said,
“Why was not this ointment sold for three-hundred pence and given to the poor ?”
This he said, not that he cared for the poor ; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, “Let her alone ; against the day of my burying hath she done this”.Why, how beautiful this is 1 The poor take the place of Christ, for, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me”.
Again, by our reaction to the poor and needy, we manifest either a Christ-spirit, Or a Judas-spirit, because, although we would not steal from the bag, we can by grudging deprive Christ of his right. The liberal, open spirit is the Christ-spirit—the hypocritical, self-interested spirit is the Judas-spirit, which leads to betrayal of the Master. Again, just as giving was not by compulsion, so in this liberality the value of the gift is immaterial, “For if there first be a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”
As we review and analyse the scriptural references to the poor and needy, so the realisation comes that these fall into various categories. And more, the further we pursue this study, the more we realise that lack of this world’s goods is only one form of need. This realisation in no way diminishes the responsibility to “the other poor”, some of whom, being unthankful and unholy, are typical of our own unworthiness of all the great mercy and truth showed unto us by the Father. Liberal and cheerful giving to such is a splended test of character ; but an even better test is the administering of an accompanying reproof as we determine not to “suffer sin upon our neighbour”. From this duty we too often shrink, and thereby lose the brother we might have gained. Because sloth, folly, bad management and wilful waste are very often a reproach to the bounty of the Creator.
Just as we recognised that the poor “brother in Israel” was a type of the Christ, so we must also recognise that the lack of this world’s goods, or even practical destitution, is only a type of another kind of poverty, which gathers in one all who are the chosen companions of the despised and rejected Son of Man. These are the Gospel poor, styled by the Psalmist in a prayer to the Lord,”The congregation of Thy poor”. Over these, Yahweh watches with eternal vigilance. That poverty and need of this sort have little to do with lack of material wealth is shown by the fact that kings and mighty men of wealth, were numbered in the company.
Confronted by the hardness of Zeruiah’s sons, or Absalom’s defiance, King David was manifested as one of the Spirit’s poor men. There is hardly need to mention the prophets, for “these all speak plainly”. Boaz (a mighty man of wealth), was one of the poor, as were Abraham and the patriarchs, Samson and Jephthah, and all who “chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for they had respect unto the recompence of reward”. And the One beside whom the foxes and the birds were rich in temporal things, yet upon whose smallest wish twelve legions of angels instantly waited, He, too, was poor. The Spirit which testified beforehand of his sufferings declared : “But I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. . .”
Through Him the “poor in spirit inherit the earth”, and possess all the riches of the Gentiles, because these are the “poor of this w, orldrich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him.”
In common with the vast multitude of the world’s poor, power was on the side of their oppressors . But the poor of this world, not having faith, are without a Comforter, and are subject to sin, disease, death, famine, pestilence, the sword and the tyranny of their fellow men. This state must continue until the time when God’s judgements are in the earth, when they shall “learn righteousness-. But for the Spirit’s poor there is One higher than the highest, and there be higher than they. One of their company bore this true witness :
“I have been young, and now I am old, yet never have I seen the righteous forsaken, or his seed begging their bread”, and this in spite of the fact that in old time, and perhaps somewhere now, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy—dwelling in mountains, in deserts, in dens and caves of the earth.”
The meanings of the various words translated “poor” and “needy” give a fair indication of the characteristics of this people. They are desirous, because they have an “expectation’. and a “hope” which shall not perish for ever. They are oppressed and afflicted, yet, at a given time, God sets the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock. They are lean, with the leanness complained of by Isaiah :
“My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me ! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. Yet, because they hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled. They are the trembling ones, of whom Jehovah makes mention in Isaiah : “For all these things hath my hand made, and all these things have been, saith the Lord ; but unto this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word.”
They lack many things, yet the riches of the Gentiles are laid up for them. They are weak on account of their nature; but, upon manifestation of faith, incorruption and strength are theirs. They are afflicted, that they might not go astray, as was Joseph, because “it was good for them to be afflicted, that they might learn the statutes of the Most High.” These are the poor and needy, whose Redeemer is mighty, and will plead their cause with the wicked, who, though they think themselves to be rich, are themselves poor, and miserable, and blind and naked.
Only in Israel, whether after the flesh or the spirit, do the rich and the poor meet on an absolutely equal footing in the sight of God. “The rich and the poor meet together, the Lord is the maker of them all”. This is commensurate with dignity, and tends to elevate the afflicted, no matter how straitened his circumstances. Contrast the Divine arrangements for the poor with the miserable expedients of the nations, which degrade and diminish the needy. The class produced by charitable institutions, etc., develops a mentality which is fully described by the word “abject” in Ps. 35. 1 5. “Yea the abjects gathered themselves together against me (that is, against the poor one of the Spirit), and I knew it not ; they did tear me, and ceased not”. In our recent experience we saw the “abjects” at their worst. But in elevating His poor and needy ones as it were from the abjection of the dunghill, to set them in prospect among princes, God impresses upon them that such a dignified state entails responsibilities which override all considerations of material standing. Riches could not buy privilege. Poverty was no exemption. Thus, in the temple levy all were valued alike. The half-shekel of the sanctuary was required of all males, whether poor or rich. Also, in the righteous provisions of the Law it was forbidden both to favour a poor man in his cause, or to wrest judgment against him. One law was for both rich and poor. Poor or rich, they would die in their wickedness,or live in their understanding and integrity. God is altogether just.
Having established that the poor man is a responsible person, of honourable estate in the service of Him who had not where to lay his head, subject to the same laws and judgments as the rich, we can now consider his cause. Briefly, his poverty lies in his utter helplessness. In the long view, this is more to his advantage than to his detriment. Those who despoil him do so because they think they can do so with impunity. Ordinarily, he has no redress. He has among men no disinterested advocate, and no impartial judge. None pleads his cause. Often, too often, the power arraigned on the side of his adversaries is strong enough to hide vital facts concerning his case. So the champion of the poor, who espouses his cause, must “search out the cause that he knows not”, and make right such cause.
Such searching out sometimes reveals that the cause is not what it ought to be, and requires setting in order before help can be given, or a complete change of heart before one can ally himself to such cause. Take Israel for an example. Scattered and peeled, desolate and afflicted, they lie in ghettoes, subject to every whim of the persecutors. Let them call but once, in faithfulness and truth, with confession, upon the Name of the Lord, and He will hear and extend his hand in mercy to them, as in the days of old. “Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time”, has not lost its application. Nor have the many promises of help been withdrawn. But until Israel bends his stiff neck, and makes supplication unto the God of his fathers, he must continue in the poverty-stricken state which his slothfulness in the Word of the Lord brought upon him. Or take Jerusalem, with the Master weeping over it : “O Jerusalem, which stonest the prophets, and killest them that are sent unto thee : how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”
Jerusalem lies under the abominations of the heathen, not because God willed it, but because Jerusalem chose it. At any time the way was open for sincere repentance. There were those who were sent by God to make right the cause of Israel and Jerusalem—His servants ; the prophets, whom he sent, shewing Israel by the words of his mouth. That was true help, which, if Israel had turned back and diligently sought the Lord, could have kept David’s kingdom flourishing to this day. Extending the application to ourselves, God’s mercy is predicated upon our acknowledgement of our own sin and iniquity ; and a readiness to turn again and do that which is lawful and right. Because these things exist, and are not righted, the poor never depart out of Israel, and “many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep”. “Wherefore, awake from the dead thou that sleepest, and Christ shall give thee light”. Arise, and work as workmen who need not to be ashamed, approved of God, and poverty will give place to riches and blessing. Seek the old ways, and the old paths, and walk in them.
Yes, zeal in righting the cause of the poor must be accompanied by discretion, because there are the poor who, like Israel and Jerusalem, are poor as a reflex of their spiritual condition ; and “there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches”. This latter does not plead his own cause. He is sufficiently exercised to order it and set it right by considering the teaching of the Word—constant self-examination sets him in a right position. All his ways are open before God. He has nothing on which to fall back for defence save the wisdom of the Spirit—pride, money, dependance on the arm of flesh, he has cast away. His strength lies in his ability to sit still, suffering evil with a good conscience, knowing that God will plead his cause, and bring him forth to the Light. That was the policy of Micah, whose name meant, “poor, humble, and stricken”.
The leaven of the Pharisees was a most insidious evil. It penetrated every atom of the first-century Ecclesia in spite of the most urgent warnings, and in time produced the monster known as the Apostacy. Not alone, however. The leaven of the Sadducees was at work also, and the leaven of Herod. But the leaven of the Pharisees has to do particularly with the subject under consideration.
Imagine the Pharisees in the meticulous perfection of their pious coverings. See them with their phylacteries, their fringes, and their borders of blue. Go into the synagogues and hear their long prayers, and the chanting of the rabbinical traditions — burdens too heavy to be borne, while they, the Chasidim or holy ones, would not so much as lift them with their little fingers. See them tithing mint and rue and cummin to the last bunch or the last ephah. How they bowed their heads in prayers! With what fervour they chanted the psalms. Then follow them out through the door of the Synagogue to the city wall. There lay the beggars—the halt, the blind, the maimed, the lepers, and the insane. There lay Lazarus, groaning in his desperate plight, full of sores, which the scavenging dogs licked. There sat the widow, homeless because of usury. There sat the fatherless, despoiled of his inheritance by some legal intricacy. The whole land was sick with this burden ; and in due time cast them out as unclean.
There can be no doubt that many of the precepts in their traditions were for helping the poor. Certainly, the Word of God which they professed was explicit on the point. But they had devised tortuous means by which the word could be circumvented, and its commandments reduced to practical nullity. They said ; but did not. They professed; but did not confess. They made white the outside of the cup and the platter ; but inside it was full of ravening and wickedness.
“Behold”, said the prophet, “Ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness : ye shall not fast, as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. It is such a fast that I have chosen, for a man to afflict his soul for a day ? It is to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him ? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord ? Is not this the fast that I have chesen ? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke ? Is it not to deal out thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out unto thine house ? when thou seest the naked that thou cover him ; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily : and thy righteousness shall go before thee : the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.” Such a fast must be sincere, and not in pretence, because He that pondereth the hearts considers it.
Reflections on the Potter and the Clay