JBTM_10-2_Fall_2013

JBTM
Twyla K. Hernandez
41
• “They trample the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and block the path
of the needy” (Amos 2:7a).
• “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor, and do not
plot evil in your hearts against one another” (Zech 7:10).
These and other similar passages can be found throughout the Old Testament. They emphasize
the special care that God has, and therefore Christians should have, for “the poor among us.”
In this short treatment of the subject, it is imperative to limit the scope of our examination of
the Scriptures. Therefore, we will focus our Old Testament discussion on poverty on the book of
Isaiah to illuminate the importance God gives to taking care of the poor.
The prophet Isaiah’s audience was the southern kingdom of Judah. At this time, the people in
Jerusalem were getting the “religious” part right. They were meeting together and worshipping
God. Where they were going wrong was outside of the temple. They were not taking care of the
poor, and injustices were abounding. The situation was so dire that God tells the people to stop
making sacrifices and that He will not hear their prayers because their “hands are covered with
blood” (Isa 1:15).
What have the people of Jerusalem done, then, that has brought about this strong reaction from
the Lord? We discover the problem in Isa 1:23: “They do not defend the rights of the fatherless, and
the widow’s case never comes before them.” While this passage does not specifically mention the
poor, the fatherless and the widow are two categories of people in the Bible who were typically poor
and limited in their power to change their situation. They were left vulnerable to the whims of the
powerful, and God demanded that His people take special care of the less fortunate.
Indeed, Isaiah later shows how God Himself specifically takes care of the poor. In Isa 25:4, the
prophet states, “For You have been a stronghold for the poor, a stronghold for the needy person
in his distress, a refuge from the rain, a shade from the heat.” These are the qualities that God
looks for in Christian today as well. We should be a place of safety and refuge for the poor and
others in distress.
In Isaiah 41, we begin to see how this care for the needy is related to the coming restoration
and that again, God will care for the poor. In Isa 41:17, we read, “The poor and the needy seek
water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them; I,
the God of Israel, will not forsake them.” In this case, God is talking about restoring the people
of Israel, even after they have been so wicked that He sent them into exile in Babylonia. He looks
on them with His infinite loving kindness and promises that He will answer them.
Likewise, Christians must be willing to restore broken people without taking their former
offenses against them. Yes, it is true that sometimes poverty is brought on by bad choices in life.
But, just as God forgave the people of Israel and sought to restore them, we must be willing to
do the same.