Great new(ish) books on biblical justice

'Ecosystems of Jubilee' and 'Just Discipleship' are standout resources

Happy almost-summer! I recently read a couple great books that added new dimension to my thinking on justice. I’m so grateful for other authors who are thinking on, writing about, and practicing the work of justice. The two pillars of my writing are 1) biblical grounding and 2) practical equipping - and both of these books are strong in both, with a lot of examples from the author’s real lives. This is not just theory for them - these are authors who are walking the talk.

The first is Ecosystems of Jubilee: Economic Ethics for the Neighborhood

The second is Just Discipleship: Biblical Justice in an Unjust World

Jubilee in our day

I always struggle to come up with modern-day applications of Jubilee - the generational economic reset designed by God to give periodic fresh starts for the people coming out of Egypt to their own fresh start (Leviticus 25). How can we faithfully mimic at least some of these elements in our less-agrarian, non-theocratic context?

So I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Adam Gustine and José Humphreys III’s book Ecosystems of Jubilee: Economic Ethics for the Neighborhood. Their book elucidates not only Jubilee but two other biblical justice pillars that I teach on: sabbath and gleaning. It was full of great practical suggestions on how to view our local economies with a justice lens and how to incorporate economic justice into our daily lives.

My biggest takeaway from Ecosystems was their application of Jubilee in promoting home ownership. I loved this application! Facilitating people and families having their own piece of land is such a big part of Jubilee and there are so many things we can do (like down payment assistance) to make this happen in each of our own communities.

It’s a very readable book that dives into the biblical case, the injustices we see around us, and the solutions we can bring as people and communities.

For example, after leading the reader through James 5:1-5, Adam and José bring this to our modern context:

Today the economic oppression of the poor continues in the form of predatory lending, delinquent landlords, the bail/bond system, unlivable wages, unsafe working conditions, and detrimental governmental policies that create barriers for the poor in their pursuit, not of wealth, but of basic human sufficiency and flourishing.

This would be a great book to go through with a group of friends or a group at church. Lots of great history, great biblical teaching, and great suggestions of ways to think and do things differently in our local economies and communities.

Just Discipleship

I was waiting for months for Michael Rhodes’ book to come out because of how biblically rich his tweets on justice are. There is so much overlap on what we teach on the biblical grounding of justice - it’s fun to see others in that space. And he is an American seminary professor in New Zealand - pretty dreamy spot to land!

My biggest aha moment with Just Discipleship was how the work of justice is not just an external call from God - it is fulfilling our identities as justice doers. As people made in the image of God, we are not just called to do justice, we are made to do justice. It’s a core part of living out who God envisions us to be and now makes us to be.

Justice-light Christianity stands in stark contrast to Scripture’s own witness. Indeed, when the Gospel of Matthew declares that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophesy that the Messiah would lead “justice to victory,” that “in his name the Gentiles” would “hope,” he placed Jesus at the turning point of a justice story that stretches across the entire Bible (see Mt 12:17-21).

This book is more dense than Ecosystems (and more focused on poverty and race). It’s a great deep dive into understanding the designs and dynamics of just community that God lays on for his people who are leaving Egypt and setting out as God’s people headed to the promised land - and continues to lay out throughout Scripture. And then thinking through how those designs and mandates can apply to our modern conversations and decisions - both inside the church and in broader community life.

Quoting Willie James Jennings, Michael talks about how a holy imagination that is backed with our community resources can be completely transformative:

Money here will be used to destroy what money normally is used to create: distance and boundaries between people.

Whew! What a fantastic summary of what is accomplished with both the tithe feasts in Deuteronomy and economic leveling done by the Christian community in Acts.

With deep dives into Scripture’s takes on community feasts, Jubilee, political engagement that draws from the Mosaic law, the Prophets, Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament, Just Discipleship is a theologically rich and practically oriented resource for justice doers.

Contours of Justice Bible Study

I love hearing from those of you who have done the Contours of Biblical Justice study I wrote in your Sunday School classes and Bible studies. If you want to do a Bible study focused on some of these same topics as the above books, I have you covered! Contours of Justice: Six Pillars of God's Design for Just Community.

So what are you up to these days? What are you reading? What justice topics are you thinking about or struggling with? Let us know in the comments!