Had the nation of Israel obeyed God's laws, their land trol. "A poor man's field may produce abundant food,
Proverbs had to send the people to Babylon to give the land a rest.
the upright is a highway" (15:19 niv). The diligent man or woman can always find a reason to work, but the sluggard always has an excuse for not working. Evangelist Billy Sunday defined an excuse as "the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie," and he was right. People who are good at making excuses are rarely good at doing anything else.
What are the causes of poverty and need? Some people are poor simply because they won't work. Work is available, but they prefer not to know about it. "Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth" (Prov. 10:4 niv). "Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty" (20:13 nkjv). Or perhaps the enemy is pleasure: "He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich" (21:17 nkjv). Of course, the drunkard and the glutton are usually among the poor (23:21). Time, energy, money, and opportunity are wasted when leisure and pleasure control a person's life.
What finally happens to the sluggard? For one thing, unless others care for them, sluggards live in poverty and hunger. "Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger" (19:15 nkjv; see 10:4; 13:4). "If any would not work, neither should he eat" was the standard for the New Testament church (see 2 Thess. 3:6–15). The saints were happy to care for those who needed help and couldn't care for themselves, but they had no time for freeloaders who lived by the sacrifices of others (Acts 2:44–47; 1 Tim. 5:3–16). The sluggard gets so lazy, he won't feed himself even when the food is brought right to him (Prov. 19:24; 26:15)! The sluggard loses his freedom and is enslaved to others. "The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor" (12:24 nkjv). His debts accumulate to the point where he has to become a slave and work off what he owes (see Lev. 25:39–55; Deut. 15:12–18). The "easy life" of leisure turns out to be very costly as the sluggard exchanges his pillow for a plow and has to work off his debts the hard way.
Unfortunately, some people weren't disciplined when young and taught the importance of work. "He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored" (13:18 niv). Listening to orders and obeying them, paying attention to correction and reproof and not repeating mistakes, and respecting supervision are essential to success in any job. It's worth noting that the prodigal's first request was, "Father, give me!" But when he returned home, his desire was, "Make me one of your servants" (Luke 15:12, 19). He'd learned the value of his father's discipline and the joy of hard work.
Some people are needy because they like to talk but never act. "In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty" (Prov. 14:23 nkjv). This reminds us of our Lord's parable about the two sons (Matt. 21:28–32). People can become poor because of unwise financial dealings. Rush impulsively into a "good deal" and you may lose everything (Prov. 21:5), and beware of signing notes and assuming other people's debts (6:1–5), especially strangers (11:15). "A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, and becomes surety for his friend" (17:18 nkjv; see 22:26–27). The Jews were permitted to loan money to other Jews, but they were not to charge interest (Lev. 25:35–38; Ex. 22:25). They were permitted to charge interest to Gentiles (Deut. 23:20). However, they were warned against "going surety" and assuming debts larger than they could pay (Prov. 22:7).
The sluggard wastes God-given resources. "He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster" (Prov. 18:9). The lazy person may be "working" but not doing a very good job. Consequently, what's done will either have to be thrown out or done over; this means it will cost twice as much.
The sluggard also wastes God-given opportunities. "He who gathers in summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame" (10:5 nkjv). When the fields are ready for harvest, the reapers have to go to work, because the opportunity won't be there forever (John 4:27–38). Diligent people are alert to their God-given opportunities and seek to make the most of them.
There are also times when people become poor because of people and events over which they have no control. "A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away" (13:23 niv; see 18:23; 28:8). The prophets condemned wicked rulers and businessmen who crushed the poor and seized what little they had (Isa. 3:13–15; 10:1–4; Amos 2:6–7; 4:1; 5:11–12; 8:4–10). When there's justice in the land and people fear the Lord, then the poor have a voice and protection from oppression.
2. The Poor and Needy Had the nation of Israel obeyed God's laws, their land would have remained fruitful and there would have been very little poverty or oppression of the poor. Every seventh day was a Sabbath, when the people rested and gave their land and farm animals rest. Every seventh year was a sabbatical year, when the land and workers were allowed to rest for the entire year. Every fiftieth year was a Year of Jubilee, when the land not only lay fallow but was returned to its original owners (Lev. 25:1–34). By this means, the Lord sought to restore the fertility of the land regularly and also prevent wealthy people from amassing huge farms and thus controlling the economy. According to 2 Chronicles 36:20–21, the nation didn't obey these special laws for the land; God
Oppressing the poor is condemned by God. "He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy" (Prov. 14:31 nkjv). God doesn't respect the rich more than He respects the poor. "The rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is the maker of them all" (22:2