The Powerful and the Poor
With Amos and the other prophets, exploiting the poor was not simply a matter of social injustice it was a violation of the torah and a sin. It was a religious crime as well as an economic one. The Proverb warns against hurting the poor because God is their maker (14:31; 17:5) but it is not only saying we are all brothers and sisters (22:2). It is reminding the oppressor of God's creation purposes. Those who have been given power have been given power over the creation goods that God means for all to enjoy because he continues to make the sunshine and the rain fall on even the evil and thankless (see Matthew 5:45 and Luke 6:35; Acts 14:16-17 and 17:25). When Psalm 72 profiles the ideal king he turns out to be a defender of the poor and the needy.Despite our tendency to hoard and be selfish none of us would say food, clean air and water, shelter and health were meant for us alone. We may act that way at times but in our bones we know better so our answer would be that the basic blessings of life are meant for us all. But blessings don't fall down out of the sky ready-made for consumption. They come to us via a complex chain of events--from the ground to the table via work and a host of inter-related agencies. The trouble is that millions aren't able to make it to the table or the workplace or anywhere else where the goods become available. It's tough enough to get to the blessings if no one is hindering you but what if (as it was in Amos' Israel) the people with the power were building fences around the goods? And worse, what if they knew they were doing it and didn't care that they were doing it? What if they "drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph." (6:6)?
And what if because they were rich they could "buy" judges and get "justice" while the poor and needy went to the wall (5:7, 12; 6:12)? What if through shrewd land-deals the barons owned so many servants that they could sell one for an extra pair of shoes (2:6 and 8:6)? What if power and possessions so corrupted the "haves" that poor families were wiped off the face of the land and disappearing from tribal listings (8:4)? ("What ever happened to the Currys?" "Oh, that family line was wiped out a couple of years ago. Sad story. Got in debt, mortgaged their land, lost it to a loan shark and sank like a stone.")
I notice for the most part that while Amos isn't silent about other sins his attack was mainly against oppression, greed and injustice and that the poor were the burden of his burden. It's a spooky message. I notice also that when Ezekiel tells us why Sodom went down (16:49) under God's blazing fury that their sexual crimes aren't the main indictment. "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me." God gave Nebuchadnezzar dominion over the earth (compare Daniel 2:37 with Genesis 1:26) and when he threatened to bring him down it was because of his arrogance and the fact that he didn't take care of the poor and needy (4:27-28). God gives people power that they might take care of the poor and woe betide those who don't do it.
The very existence of want and deprivation is the outcome of human sin, which triggers the holy discipline of God.
But since the poor and the needy are feeling the burden of it above all others they are bearing the lion's share of the curse, which really belongs to the whole human family. To add to their burden compounds the crime under which humanity labours. The existence of poverty in Israel could only be due to sin (one way or another). Either there was drought and famine (redemptive chastisement from God in response to sin) or there was the exploitation of the ignorant and naïve (this was sin). Provisions had been made in he torah for the poor. The poor get it in the neck from transgressors in the best of times so when famine comes it is those who've been enjoying God's blessings who feel it most. It's true that the poor feel it as well but they were feeling severe deprivation because the powerful sinners were depriving them even during times of plenty. For all these reasons God has a special place in his heart for the poor. We had better take them seriously.
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