Monday: Robbing the Poor
Read Proverbs 22:22-23; Proverbs 23:10. What are we warned about here?
Though it’s always wrong to steal, this prohibition concerns stealing from the poor and the oppressed, who are the most vulnerable. They are truly helpless, and therefore they qualify for God’s special concern (Exod. 22:21–27). The case of David, who killed Uriah in order to steal his wife, and Nathan’s parable of the ewe lamb (2 Sam. 12:1–4), come to mind.
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Robbing from the poor is not just a criminal act: it is a sin against the LORD
(2 Sam. 12:13). To take from someone who has less than what you have is worse than stealing; it is also an act of cowardice. Do these thieves think that God doesn’t see their actions?
Indeed, Proverbs 22:23 implies that even if the thief gets away with no human punishment, God will repay. The reference to the Redeemer, the Goel (Prov. 23:11), may even allude to the divine scenario of end-time judgment (Job 19:25).
So, this warning, along with others in the Bible, speaks against those who are interested only in the immediate gains
of their actions, and not the long-term results. They take possession and enlarge their properties at the expense of others, and they are willing to cheat and kill for that purpose. They may enjoy it now, but they will pay later. This reasoning should not only discourage the thief; it should show that our ethical values are intricately tied to the Sovereignty of God.
In England some atheists had the following slogan placed on city buses: There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.
Though there are many retorts one could give in response, think about this one: if there were no God, then those who steal from the poor, and are getting away with it now, really have nothing to worry about. Indeed, all those who have done great evil and seem to have gotten away with it will, in fact, have really gotten away with it. How should faith in God and in His promises of judgment help give us some peace of mind regarding all the injustice we see in the world now?
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All around us we see want and suffering. Families are in need of food; little ones are crying for bread. the houses of the poor lack proper furniture and bedding. Many live in mere hovels which are almost destitute of conveniences. But many glorify themselves while their fellow men are poor and hungry, suffering for want of food, they spend much on their tables and eat far more than they require. What an account men will by and by have to render for their selfish use of God's money! (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 358).
My self assessment of robing the poor -
How much food does my children waste on a given day?
Do I really need to purchase more clothes and accessories?
Do I rationalize that people don't deserve my assistance because I've worked hard for what I possess?
Do I use my influence to suppress others freedom of choice?
Do I refuse to help some individuals despite their urgent need?
Do I influence others to halt their assistance to those in need?
Do I need to charge for my service to someone who is struggling to feed his family?
Do I overcharge for my service to someone ( especially a less-fortunate person)?
Do I return what I borrowed?
"Whosoever is kind to the poor[less fortunate]lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. ( Prov 19:17)"
The counsel "stop worriying and enjoy your life" is wise and accurate. On the sermon of the mountain Jesus gives that very message. Bit the reaon is completely opposite and different. Our trust in our Father and our knowledge of his character is our reason for stop worrying and enjoy life as He enjoys it: blessing others.
people should stop robbing the poor.
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The assumption is because God sees the injustices in the world, we should find comfort in knowing that he will bring the violators to justice in his time and they won't get away with it. But for me, faith in God and in his promises says that we as a body of believers and as a church who lay claims as Gods Remant, should be openly active and vocal regarding all the injustices in the lives of Gods people lost and saved, including those in our very own SDA churches, and all over the world.
We as a Church body have a spiritual, moral, civil, and public responsibility to speak out against all injustices including white supremacy, black on black crimes , the oppression of woman and women's rights, minorities who are railroaded every single day in the court rooms of injustice, children who are abused, the poor and the oppressed and the oppression and brainwashing of Gods children by religious organizations including our very own SDA ORGANIZATION.
I believe that when our mindsets and our hearts as a Church body through total submission to God and a love for each other are intentionally challenged to assist those in need right now in this life, only then would we have fulfilled our purpose, and God will also in his time, combined with our efforts, ultimately execute his judgement on those who are guilty, thinking that they have gotten away with it. Let's work a work while it is still day. That is Peace of mind. Love to all Gods children lost and saved alike. Be bless.
The last paragraph of the lesson is a very accurate statement about the philosophy of evolution. It is all about who ends up on the top of the heap in this world and concern about how a person gets there isn't even considered. But why should that surprise us since to those people this world is all there is and it has always been about the big fish eating the little fish.
We most often think of being poor in terms of finance. To me the word poor can mean many things and goes well beyond the narrow concept of money. Often people without much in the way of wealth are happier than those whose barns are overflowing yet there is a bottom where they can be in "pinching want" where physical survival is threatened.
Who is poor? Maybe we can start by realizing that some of the poorest are those who are poor spiritually. "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD" (Amos 8:11 NKJV; see also Matt 13:14-15).
In fact Jesus didn't come to give people wealth. What He gave them was what money couldn't buy, hope and faith and peace of mind and above all, "I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:14-19 NKJV).
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God's generosity by consenting his own Son to come & die to rescue us from the pit of sin shows us that divine love that surpasses all kinds of human love. Jesus by giving up his throne and the adoration of a host of angels to come to redeem us gives us an example of how we ought to love our neighbor. God blesses us so we can be a blessing to others in return. He fills my cup daily to the brim. The more I give the more i receive. It keeps me going back to the Giver, for His resources are unlimited.
Robbing the poor is making a gain from someone with less than I have. It means injustice of any kind.
For any injustice we may have suffered, let's be of good cheer, it's not ours to worry. God is surely fighting for the "poor" whether now or in the end time Prov 16:4.
If we've done any injustice to others, God is ready, He's faithful to forgive us. We must confess it. 1 John 1:9. That's wat it means to "know truth". It must change us!
Sometimes i feel like God has let evil overflow to the brim . You see around you people who are extreemly rich from doing wrong and their lives seem to be perfect. Infact they seem to prosper even more n more and you wonder,where is God? So, to speak frankly sometimes am confused.
Anne, the questions you have are the very same questions Habakkuk had:
God answered him very plainly:
After that God set forth a series of woes upon the wicked and then concluded, "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him" (Hab. 2:20 NKJV)
In other words, what the wicked do now is not going unnoticed. The list of wrongs is growing and at an appointed time those things are going to come up before God and then He is going to act and it will not be a good time for the wicked for their end is eternal death. As for the righteous we have many promises of a future life where things will be all for the good, where righteousness reins and goodness triumphs.
It is what happens in the end that matters not what happens now. The seventy some years we have in this life can't be compared to the eternity that lies ahead. As for the wicked they will finally realize what their life has done, that it has unfitted them for heaven, that they have lost what was really important and traded a few short years of pleasure for an eternity of joy.
Gods children s are going trough this kind of tribulation, bare in mine do let them kill the body but do not let them kill Spirit.We must always trust fill with rich Gods spirit and let them ruin them self but Our father will give us later.
Jesus said that we will always have the poor among us to test ourselves if we will open our hands and share the blessings we received. It is a test for our selfish nature.
In this world of materialism and well being it's easy to find ourselves stealing from the poor unknowingly....lets learn to mind and care for the less fortunate
What is my responsibility?
Ezekiel & Jesus help me understand.
Sigh & Cry: I should be prepared to stand up and say these things are an abomination to the LORD
Watchman: I need to warn the wicked that the result of their rebellion is everlasting separation from the LORD
Compassion: I need to help and heal the oppressed and abused
I would like to base my argument from this extract from our lesson.
""Robbing from the poor is not just a criminal act: it is a sin ‘against the LORD’ (2 Sam. 12:13). To take from someone who has less than what you have is worse than stealing; it is also an act of cowardice. Do these thieves think that God doesn’t see their actions?""
We also need to balance the beam by also warning those wo call themselves poor and are trying to be rich by exploiting the rich man. Using unjust scales because they think he is too busy to know whatever is happening on the background.
This is even a bigger crime.
We even at times in our churches, programmes and in our boards vote in favour of someone or a group because they are felt to be more superior in the organization, rejecting the poor mans thought. Even in administering church discipline, we might be culprits by disciplining the poor man more and saving the rich man from embarrassment by making their sin/ fault dismal. It might be because he contributes more or for whatever reason, but This is very wrong.
Have you not seen a leader who works to supress the other In the church. Church choirs fighting success of youth choirs, or such? Old men and women supressing young people, and also criticizing and mounting lies and evils on them? It all lies on the same beam balance. We should be fair at all times and to everyone.
I support the ideology of the person who said that, the perspective of argument "poor" can be diverse