Anawimic Theology-- Outline

Summary: Anawim is a Hebrew word that means (in context), “the oppressed and outcast who depend on God for deliverance.”  Anawimic Theology is that which focuses on the lowliness and oppression of God’s people and on God’s deliverance of them.  1. Those who suffer for the sake of righteousness, 2. those whose vulnerability is taken advantage by oppressors, and they cry out for help from the Lord and 3. those who are punished even though they are innocent and look to the Lord for justice.

Source of the term, anawim: Anawim is used extensively throughout the Hebrew Bible, especially in the Psalms.  In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran community used the term anawim as a personal title for their group, thus showing that in the first century, some groups understood the anawim to be a group of poor and oppressed whom God would deliver.  In the NT, the concept of “the poor” is a translation of this Hebrew word.

Some Major Anawimic Passages:  Genesis 4, Exodus 1-17; Deuteronomy 14:22-15:18; 26:1-19; I Samuel 1-2, 16-31; II Samuel 15-16; I Kings 17-19; Esther; Job; Ruth; Isaiah 40-66; Lamentations; Jeremiah 29-31; Ezekiel 36-37; Daniel 1-6; Habakkuk; Matthew 5:3-12, 38-48; 6:19-34; 7:7-29; Matthew 8-11, 15:21-38; 18:1-35; 20:1-34; 21:28-22:14; 23:5-12; 24:4-13; 24:42-25:46; 26-28; Mark 1:21-4:34; 5:1-6:13; 14-16; Luke 9-10; 15; 22-24; John 12; 15-16; 18-21; Acts 2-12; 16; 20-28;  Romans 1-11; I Corinthians 7;9; II Corinthians 11-12; Ephesians 2; Philippians 2; Hebrews 11-13; James 2; I Peter; Revelation 4-22.

Anawimic Psalms: 2-7, 9-14; 16-18; 20-23; 25-27; 29-31; 33-45; 49, 52-64; 68-71; 73-75; 77-83; 86, 88, 91, 94, 102, 107, 109, 116, 120, 121, 124, 126, 129, 130, 137, 138, 140-144.

Paradigms of the Anawim: Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, Joseph, Tamar,  Children of Israel, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Jephthah, Sampson, Ruth, Hannah, David, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Naaman, Jehosephat, Hezekiah,  Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the three, Jesus, those healed by faith, Apostles; Caananite woman, Peter, Stephen, Paul, John, Cornelius, Onesimus.

Principles:

God’s Impartiality

1.      God provides equal justice for every person, based on what they do, not showing favoritism to the rich or the poor, to any ethnic group or human distinction.

2.      God provides food and warmth, all of the basic survival needs, to all people equally, whether they are righteous or unrighteous before him.

3.      God calls everyone to himself, to love him and to do what is righteous before him, for he does not desire that anyone would be punished on the final day.

The Anawim

4.      God especially focuses on those who are vulnerable in the world—whether vulnerable social stations (widows, slaves, etc.), a vulnerable people (nations who are enslaved or displaced, etc), vulnerable due to some illness, or vulnerable due to humility (the lowering of oneself due to a desire to seek God), because these are less likely to receive justice on earth.

5.      The Anawim are those who, in the midst of their vulnerability and suffering, will seek the Lord for deliverance and cry out to him.  They may do this without specifically knowing who the Lord is, or how his deliverance will come, but they know that they need to trust in Him for that deliverance.

6.      God will listen to the cries of the vulnerable against injustice, for they have no where else to turn and he will answer their cry with deliverance.

The Anawim in Jesus

7.      There is a distinction between those who seem to be the “children of the kingdom” and those who really are.  Many who are “children of the kingdom” will be cast out, while many of those who are outcast from the kingdom of God of this age, “the lost”, will be welcomed in. The seeming “children” are those who are socially of God and create social structures to make their standards seem like God’s standards.  The true children of the kingdom are those who hear the word of Jesus and do it.

8.      God especially calls those who are outcast from the social structure of those who are apparent “children of God” to come and join the kingdom through Jesus. While the “children of the kingdom” also hear this message, they usually lack the humility to accept it.

9.      Anyone who follows the call of Jesus surrenders their possessions, social positions, righteousness, time, abilities, and even their very lives to be subject to his Lordship.  This means a surrender of the way of life one was used to, and an accepting of a new way of life, made in the shape of the life of Jesus.

10.  The surrender of one’s past life and the proclamation of the new life found in Jesus means that the follower of Jesus will be rejected, hated, oppressed and sometimes beaten or martyred.  This is not just an option, but it is a characteristic of the people of God in Jesus.

Under Other Authorities

11.  The people of God are not only under Jesus as their true master, but they are also in the authoritative realm of another master or masters. 

12.  While they are to obey Jesus first and foremost, they are also to remain submissive to the earthly authorities in whose realm they still live, in as much as doing so does not oppose the life or teaching of Jesus.

13.  These lesser masters will at times attempt to oppress the vulnerable people of Jesus because of the righteousness they live by. 

14.  The people of Jesus are to remain vulnerable and lowly, not returning evil for evil, but doing good to their oppressors. 

The Deliverance of God

15.  God is the one who delivers his people from oppression, the people do not do it in their own power. 

16.  While God will cause some deliverance from under the hand of oppressors to occur in this age, most of the people of Jesus will have to be delivered on the last day.

17.  God will punish the oppressors for their wickedness.

18.  Everyone in Jesus, who has suffered his sufferings, will be risen from the dead on the last day.

19.  God will raise up the vulnerable of his people to rule over his kingdom.

The Ministry of the Anawim to the Anawim

20.  The Anawim do not focus on their own needs, but on the needs of other Anawim around them.

21.  The service to the Anawim takes place in the following ways:

1. The calling of the outcast to join the kingdom of God through humility, repentance and commitment to Jesus.
2. The deliverance of the vulnerable from things that separate them from God’s kingdom through the power of God.
3. The deliverance of the oppressed from the spiritual powers and bondages that separate them from God’s kingdom, using the authority of Jesus.
4. A continuing encouragement and correction to lives in accordance with the teaching and life of Jesus.
5. Giving food, warmth, housing, support and healing to those who are vulnerable and in need, especially to those who follow Jesus, in accordance with the resources available.
6. The sacrifice of one’s well being and even life for the sake of meeting the needs of the Anawim.

22.  All service to the Anawim needs to be done in a spirit of love, being concerned for the needs of others before one’s own needs and desires.  This means that the service is done in a spirit of humility, gentleness, reconciliation, politeness, and joy.

23.  Because this is ministry done by the Anawim—those who are vulnerable and who usually have few resources—it is done from dependence on God, recognizing that no ministry will be done without him.

The Wealthy in Anawim

24.  There are many within the Anawim in Jesus who are wealthy and have many resources.

25.  The wealthy could very well be in the Anawim, if they are outcast due to some other distinction and they are seeking God for deliverance.

26.  The wealthy who use their resources for their own desires or their own concerns will be cast out of the kingdom of God and are not a part of the true Anawim, for they are trusting in their wealth for deliverance, not God.

27.  The wealthy who use their resources for the good of others, using all of their wealth to meet the needs of the Anawim, will stand with the Anawim on the last day.

28.  By one’s own strength, it is impossible for a rich person to surrender his or her wealth, but by God’s grace all things are possible.

The Leadership of the Anawim

29.  Some among the Anawim in Jesus are called to be lower than others, and surrendering their jobs, homes, communities in order to proclaim the kingdom of God.  They do this, depending completely on God for their provision, clothing and security.   These are the true leaders of the Anawim (church), even if they do not administrate or make the daily decisions of how the structure of the Anawim will run.

30.  Those in authority under Jesus remain vulnerable under the earthly authorities, and they rule over the vulnerable in the church by serving them and doing good to them.

31.  The leaders of the church do not make commands that they expect everyone to follow, but simply speak the words of Jesus in simplicity and love.

32.  Anyone who stands with these “underground” leaders, or who supports them through hospitality or meeting their needs, will on the last day be called supporters of Jesus and will be given the reward of the leaders.

33.  Anyone who refuses to help these leaders will be called rejecters of Jesus and will be punished on the last day.