“. . . there should be no poor among you . . . ” the Hebrew leader Moses states in the Christian Old Testament scriptures. (Deuteronomy 15:4 (NIV)).
But, Moses acknowledges, “There will always be poor people in the land.”
That being the case, he says: “Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”
How were the Hebrews to carry out this command?
One way was debt forgiveness. In Old Testament times, land was the primary means of wealth. You grew crops for your family and sometimes to sell. If you accumulated extra money, you might buy the land of your neighbor and use it to obtain more wealth.
None of this was condemned in itself. However, it was understood that too much wealth could lead to unhealthy power for the wealthy. Ordinary citizens would become completely landless and at the mercy of the rich.
The answer was a year of debt forgiveness after every forty-nine years—the “Year of Jubilee.” Land was to be restored to the original families. The wealthy could accumulate more wealth for a time, but then the means of wealth was to be restored to all.
What are equivalents in modern times?
Suppose a financial recession, caused by dubious mortgage lending practices, wipes out the chief means of savings for many in the middle and working classes, the value of their homes? Lenders could be required to renegotiate mortgages into affordable payments for those affected.
When the price of higher education rises beyond the ability of ordinary families to send their children to college, state and federal governments could tax the more wealthy. The tax would subsidize the cost of higher education. After all, the owners of capital benefit from an educated work force.
When an unexpected medical emergency can send an ordinary family into debt for the rest of their lives, the government might consider an affordable health delivery system in which the chief object is healthy citizens, not millions for big pharma.
Unfortunately the ancient Hebrews failed to follow the practices laid on them. The wealthy began to “trample on the poor,” (Amos 5:11), God sent prophets calling them to change: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24)
When the Hebrews did not heed the warnings of Amos and other prophets, they were conquered by an enemy and went into exile for a season. They lost the land they would not share.