Mentor's Manual

162 For the Nex t Generat i on: The Urban Mi n i s t r y I ns t i tute ’ s Mentor Manua l

4. Show how God is identified with the poor, i.e., it is his design to lift and bless them from their state, to punish those who oppress them, and to demand that his people demonstrate the same concern that he has on behalf of the broken, poor, and the oppressed. The Exodus is a key event which embodies God’s identification with the poor and the oppressed, revealing his heart of justice, the creation of his covenant community which was called to be a reflection of his holiness, a model of justice and mercy, and a beacon for the nations. 5. Lay out the biblical causes of poverty, including natural disaster and calamity (e.g., famine, drought, storm, etc.), personal laziness and slothfulness (e.g., bad decisions, immoral character, idleness, hard-heartedness, etc.), and oppression and injustice from the hands of the powerful (e.g., mistreatment, exploitation, defrauding wages, etc.). The term “the poor” in the Scriptures is linked to a number of different concepts which serve as synonyms, including “the widow,” “the fatherless,” and the “stranger.” 6. List the standards God gave to his covenant people in regard to the generous and just treatment of the poor as a witness. These include special provisions for the care of the poor which were factored into the harvest and gleaning stipula- tions of the Law, justice in the courts where all matters, measures, and transactions were to be done honestly and rightly, regardless of person, and resources were to be shared in the Sabbatical year, with the poor provided a share of the produce of the fields and vineyards. 7. Further list out the standards, including how the people of God were forbidden to charge interest to the poor, fair timely payment for a day’s work (i.e., wages to be paid the same day with no oppression or defrauding allowed), with radical hospitality to be practiced to the poor (an “open hand policy”), and resources to be set aside for them (i.e., certain portions of the tithe and bounty to be given to the most needy and vulnerable in the midst of the community). The poor were to be included in all celebrations, and in the year of Jubilee, the poor were to recover their property, with provision made for those whose funds were short or absent. 8. Note the implications of these standards for God’s covenant community: God’s people were in all their dealings to reflect God’s identification with the poor, informed by God’s deliverance of them at the Exodus, and were to demonstrate

Teaching Objectives for Capstone, by Module