>Leviticus 19:15 reads: “You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.”

This Levitical law shows that God is concerned with the righteous treatment of each person, whether that person is rich or poor. God warned the people of Israel not to violate the rights of the poor and those less fortunate individuals who were deprived of material wealth. However, God also warned the Israelites not to violate the rights of the rich. Justice for individuals, whether rich or poor, can be perverted when one group of people is treated with the kind of partiality that deprives the other group of the rights which belong to them.

In his commentary on Leviticus, S. H. Kellogg (The Book of Leviticus [New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1901], p. 400) wrote an observation on this Levitical law that is very relevant to American society today. Kellogg wrote:

A plain warning lies here for an increasing class of reformers in our day, who loudly express their special concern for the poor, but who in their zeal for social reform and the diminishing of poverty are forgetful of righteousness and equity. It applies, for instance, to all who would affirm and teach with Marx that “capital is robbery” or who, not yet quite ready for so plain and candid words, yet would, in any way, in order to right the wrongs of the poor, advocate legislation involving practical confiscation of the estates of the rich.

These words, first written in 1899, have a powerful message for our society today.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Leviticus 19:15, Partiality, Poor, Rich