Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses an interesting exemption to the rule that one must pay workers promptly (by sunset or sunrise of the day or evening that the work was completed, subject to certain conditions. See Ahavas Chessed, Laws of Payments of Wages, 1:9.):

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: הָאוֹמֵר לַחֲבֵירוֹ צֵא שְׂכוֹר לִי פּוֹעֲלִים – שְׁנֵיהֶן אֵין עוֹבְרִין מִשּׁוּם ״בַּל תָּלִין״. זֶה, לְפִי שֶׁלֹּא שְׂכָרָן , וְזֶה, לְפִי שֶׁאֵין פְּעוּלָּתוֹ אֶצְלוֹ.

The Sages taught: Concerning one who says to another: Go out and hire workers for me, both of them do not violate the prohibition of delaying payment of wages if they fail to pay immediately. This one, the employer, is exempt because he did not hire them himself, and strictly speaking they are not his hired workers. And that one, the middleman, is exempt because his work is not performed for him. 

Essentially, on a technicality, there is a deflection of responsibility since the one who hired them is not the one who they are working for.

There is a famous question that since we are taught that the reward for mitzvos is in the world to come, and not in our physical lifetime (Kiddushin 39a), how is God not in violation of delaying payment of wages?

There are several clever answers, but we will focus on one, which also can be used to explain another theological principle. Rav Dovid Hamilnik (see Bas Ayin, Re’eh, “O Yomar”) says, based on our gemara, since the Torah was given via Moshe, the above rule applies.  God cannot be held accountable to make the payment of wages at the set time, since Moshe “hired” us on his behalf, not God.

This is where it gets interesting. We have a tradition that the first two commandments were heard from God himself, and not via Moshe. Those commandments are about belief in God: “I am the Lord your God” and: “You shall have no other gods” (Exodus 20:2, 3).  (See Makkos 24a. Also see introduction of Rabbenu Kreskas’ Ohr Hashem, where he points out that the first two commandments are written in first person, as if God is speaking himself, unlike the rest of the commandments.)  Therefore, since these mitzvos did not come indirectly through Moshe, the commandments of faith in God must be compensated for immediately.

This shrewd derush allows us to understand how simple faith may transcend beyond merit.  That is to say, even when a person might not ordinarily merit divine intervention, possibly due to not receiving reward in this world, faith will “require” compensation from God in a more timely manner.  This also can be explained in a spiritual-psychological fashion. If faith creates a more direct relationship with God, which of course eliminates the middleman, it follows to reason that it will result in a more direct conduit of divine blessings. 

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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