Do Your Best To Help The Poor
Why doesn't the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment?
Why must the godly wait for Him in vain?
Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.
They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.
They take the orphan's donkey and demand the widow's ox as security for a loan.
The poor are pushed off the path...
Like wild donkeys in the wilderness, the poor must spend all their time looking for food, searching even in the desert for food for their children.
They harvest a field they do not own,
And they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering.
They are soaked by mountain showers,
And they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.
The wicked snatch a widow's child from her breast,
Taking the baby as security for a loan.
The poor must go about naked without any clothing.
They harvest for others while they themselves are starving.
They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,
And they thread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
The groans of the dying rise from the city,
And the wounded cry for help,
Yet God ignores their moaning. Job 24:1-12 (NLT)
Why must the godly wait for Him in vain?
Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.
They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.
They take the orphan's donkey and demand the widow's ox as security for a loan.
The poor are pushed off the path...
Like wild donkeys in the wilderness, the poor must spend all their time looking for food, searching even in the desert for food for their children.
They harvest a field they do not own,
And they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering.
They are soaked by mountain showers,
And they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.
The wicked snatch a widow's child from her breast,
Taking the baby as security for a loan.
The poor must go about naked without any clothing.
They harvest for others while they themselves are starving.
They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,
And they thread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
The groans of the dying rise from the city,
And the wounded cry for help,
Yet God ignores their moaning. Job 24:1-12 (NLT)
Job is in the pit of destitution.
His lot in life has changed and he is reflecting over the plight of the poor and underprivileged.
He is reflecting over the suppression of the poor by evil people who have control and power.
They steal the possessions of others. They demand the widow's ox as security for a loan thereby making it impossible for the widow to benefit from the productivity of the donkey which could help her repay the loan in the first place. The poor are unimportant so people with clout push them off the path to make room for themselves. The wicked even take young children away from their mothers and use them as security for the loans they give them.
Job's observations about the life of the poor are heartbreaking.
They work for people of means and yet do not benefit much from their toils. They lie naked and cold at night because they either can't afford coats or have given their coats to lenders as security. They sometimes go about without clothing because they simply cannot afford it.
They cry for help and "yet God ignores their moaning."
I want you to pause and reflect over this passage for a long time. Don't just gloss over it.
What Job was describing thousands of years ago is something we live with in our day. People are living in very destitute conditions all over the world. In the cities of the richest countries, there are homeless people who die in the cold from lack of warm clothing. In the poorer countries, some families rummage through trash heaps to find things to sell and eat or discarded things to use. I have observed this in different countries.
The inequities of society are not the fault of God. It is a result of the wickedness of the human heart which is a direct result of sin. Wickedness came about when humans rejected God and decided to govern themselves since the days of Adam and Eve.
But let's not just bemoan the plight of the poor without doing something about it.
God wants you and I to reach out and help the poor and underprivileged! Whatever we do for the poor is directly done for God. The words of Jesus bear this out: "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...I needed clothes and you clothed me...Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:35-40).
So, get involved in charity. Make margins in your budget to help the poor. Be a part of feeding and clothing the homeless. Give to the missions and outreach programs of your Church. You cannot single-handedly eradicate poverty but you can certainly do your part.
His lot in life has changed and he is reflecting over the plight of the poor and underprivileged.
He is reflecting over the suppression of the poor by evil people who have control and power.
They steal the possessions of others. They demand the widow's ox as security for a loan thereby making it impossible for the widow to benefit from the productivity of the donkey which could help her repay the loan in the first place. The poor are unimportant so people with clout push them off the path to make room for themselves. The wicked even take young children away from their mothers and use them as security for the loans they give them.
Job's observations about the life of the poor are heartbreaking.
They work for people of means and yet do not benefit much from their toils. They lie naked and cold at night because they either can't afford coats or have given their coats to lenders as security. They sometimes go about without clothing because they simply cannot afford it.
They cry for help and "yet God ignores their moaning."
I want you to pause and reflect over this passage for a long time. Don't just gloss over it.
What Job was describing thousands of years ago is something we live with in our day. People are living in very destitute conditions all over the world. In the cities of the richest countries, there are homeless people who die in the cold from lack of warm clothing. In the poorer countries, some families rummage through trash heaps to find things to sell and eat or discarded things to use. I have observed this in different countries.
The inequities of society are not the fault of God. It is a result of the wickedness of the human heart which is a direct result of sin. Wickedness came about when humans rejected God and decided to govern themselves since the days of Adam and Eve.
But let's not just bemoan the plight of the poor without doing something about it.
God wants you and I to reach out and help the poor and underprivileged! Whatever we do for the poor is directly done for God. The words of Jesus bear this out: "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...I needed clothes and you clothed me...Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:35-40).
So, get involved in charity. Make margins in your budget to help the poor. Be a part of feeding and clothing the homeless. Give to the missions and outreach programs of your Church. You cannot single-handedly eradicate poverty but you can certainly do your part.
Prayer: Father, I thank you for all that you have blessed my life with. Please help me to reach out and help those in need. Amen.