Proverbs 14:31 Commentary and Bible Study

The picture here is of a land owner who has it in his power to do good to the poor, since he is well provided for himself and could easily afford to help those less well off, but either through indifference or cruelty he prefers to oppress them. Maybe they stand in the way of some selfish goal which he wants to achieve, and because he regards them as of little worth, he is ready to sacrifice them on the altar of his personal gain. When he employs them to work for him, he takes advantage of their helpless state and pays them inadequate wages because they can find no one else to give them work. He takes no account of their common humanity with him, and how their misery calls for tenderness. Of course he should help them in a responsible way and do it with wisdom, encouraging the poor to work, to take responsibility for their own lives, to be grateful for the help they receive, but instead he just turns his back on them and leaves them to their suffering. There is a complete absence of grace and kindness in him, for their plight does not move him to pity in the smallest degree. This man’s very life is a reproach to God, for by his behaviour he reproaches the Lord who sends his rain and his sun on the good and the evil, and who commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves, and who especially is the avenger of the poor (Psalm 9:12, 18).The second half of the proverb contains a very remarkable incentive for taking care of the needy: those who do so honour the Lord. This powerfully reinforces the first half of the verse. God is so much the defender and protector of the needy that he watches closely to see how they are treated. He hates oppression and cruelty because of its injustice, for the oppressor should ask what put him in his position and what gave him power which the poor do not have? The answer is that it was nothing for which he can take any credit, and their positions could so easily be reversed. Therefore it is arrogance for the rich man to act as if he has any intrinsic superiority over the poor. The truth is that if the rich find themselves with greater resources, it is so that they can discharge their duty to the poor in the sight of God. It is no accident of providence that the poor exist, but part of God’s plan for the world. But though God is the avenger of all who are poor, he especially regards his children who have faith in him. They may be forced into dire straits because of their faith, for the world excludes and marginalises them just because they belong to God. They therefore suffer shortage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, and so they are the first among the poor whom believers should seek to assist.