Do not exploit[1] the poor because they are poor and do not crush[2] the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.[3]
Proverbs 22.22
By definition “poor” entails being vulnerable to an economic predator.[4] This is one reason why being charitable to the poor is so important. Not only does our charity enable them to fully participate in the life of our communities with dignity, our charity is also a mitigation against the very real temptation to exploit them for our own selfish ends.
Exploiting the poor – crushing them in court – will invite the Lord’s opposition. The Lord is their defender (Psalm 82.3, Proverbs 31.9, Jeremiah 5.28, 22.16) and will do to the oppressor what the oppressor has done to the poor. That is the pragmatic meaning of the phrase “exact life for life”:
God is not merely a formidable [opponent]… appearing before the unjust tribunal, in behalf of the wronged; He is not merely a judge sitting in a higher court of appeal; He is the executor of the universal laws of justice to which the judges as well as the arraigned of earth are alike amenable. When Jehovah “cheats or spoils” it is in vindication and not in violation of eternal justice and right.[5]
The oppressor is warned “not to use legal devices to exploit the poor, lest they find themselves arraigned before a much higher judge.”[6] It is only the evil who finds the poor’s vulnerability an inviting temptation. The righteous will not be tempted to exploit them. The righteous don’t have evil lurking in their hearts. Instead, they will have compassion on the poor and will want to be generous with them.[7]
The crushing comes as a result of the oppressor using the power of government to unfairly enforce their will on those who don’t have the means to resist. This easily happens when the powerful use the court system to further their own interests at the expense of the one whom they are suing, even when they don’t really need to do so. Exploiting the poor is a supreme act of selfishness which should never characterize a Christian business owner.
There is a law which is higher than our law. God’s laws supersede our laws. Just because the oppressor’s action may be legal doesn’t mean that it is moral in the sight of God.[8]
As Christian business owners, we should remember that we answer first to God for our actions and then to our American legal system. There is much in our present-day legal system which is morally repugnant to God. Christian business owners should guard and protect the rights of the poor and fight against the injustices which so many rich and powerful impose on them. Our primary obligation is not to our legal system, it is to God. Never forget this and never confuse the two.
[1] תִּגְזָל from גזל, tear away by force, seize, rob, take by force. This word is used 30 times in the Old Testament. Leviticus 19.13, “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.” Isaiah 10.2: “…to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people…”. In Deuteronomy 28.29, Jeremiah 21.12 and 22.3, Ezekiel 18.7, 12, 16, 18, 22.29, Micah 2.2, Psalm 35.10, Job 20.19, and 24.9, robbing is associated with being oppressed. Those who are oppressed have that which belongs to them taken by force by the oppressor. In Proverbs 4.16, those who are bent on evil “cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.” So while the oppressors rob the powerless of their meager possessions, their need to oppress robs them of their own sleep, peace of mind and a tranquility of life. In a very real sense, they oppress themselves.
[2] תְּדַכֵּ֖א from דכא, to be broken to pieces, to crush someone or a group of people. In this verse, the verb is in the Piēl stem, where the object of the verb “suffers the effect” of the action. Used 18 times in the Old Testament, the word appears in Isaiah 53.5, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.”
[3] NIV Proverbs 22:22–23
[4] Waltke, B. K. (2005). The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 15–31 (p. 230). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[5] Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Zöckler, O., & Aiken, C. A. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Proverbs (p. 197). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[6] Garrett, D. A. (1993). Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 14, p. 194). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[7] Read the section on Philanthropy in Chapter 8, A Christian Theology of Business Ownership, Bill English, Bible and Business, 2021.
[8] Ross, A. P. (1991). Proverbs. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 1066). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
