Proverbs 23:10,11 comments; he shall plead their cause with thee

 

Proverbs 23:10 ¶ Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: 11 For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.

Again, as in verse 28 of the last chapter we have a warning about moving landmarks to property, particularly, of the fatherless, implying that the victim is alone in the world with no one to defend them. But, God says he will defend them and take up their cause, when His poor are threatened.

The poor and powerless are often also naïve (Bible = simple) and will sell their property for a very low price being exploited by clever, wealthy investors trying to get control of commodity prices, food being a very important commodity. The World Bank released a report one year on this entitled “The Global Land Rush”. It’s happening quite a bit in Africa where simple landowners are being defrauded by clever, wealthy investors.

This sort of practice where corporations perform the wicked acts of 19th century European colonial powers is called neocolonialism. Imagine you are a poor, African farmer and someone comes in and offers you almost nothing, which is far more than the nothing you have right now, and you, in your naivete and desperation accept it, only to find that in a short time you have nothing again and now no land. If I, as a Christian, make a deal with a simple person, that robs him of his property for a pittance because I know he doesn’t know any better, it is wickedness and judgment is coming. Perhaps the world economy is coming down because God is visiting this wicked world for its theft, fraud, and extortions.

The world’s wealthy have played Monopoly with the poor’s life savings and lost them in the markets. They have exploited the naivete’ and lack of understanding of the poor and taken their property. There seems to be no end to the greed of the rich and powerful and it doesn’t matter what system of economy you go by. The Chinese Communist Party runs the economy in China and the wealthy are in the party so you can’t look to Communism as practiced. They have workers committing suicide and have built cities that have almost no people living in them and their economic success is such a fraud that it’s bound to collapse sometime soon. They buy our debt so we can purchase their products in a circular system that’s like a house of cards. The Capitalist elite run the show here in the US and have run us into the ground with their own mixture of government tyranny and corporate influence and manipulation and monopolies so you can’t look to that for justice, as practiced. Our government is so corrupt that you could call it a corporatocracy, with neither party actually offering anything but huge government control and huge profits for giant, international corporations. European socialists have made Europe a place of economic chaos, bland existence, and uncertainty so Socialism as practiced doesn’t provide an answer either. And all of the people who protest against these economic systems, which are really one and the same, have nothing to offer to replace them.

I know, I know, under the American business type of financial doctrine a deal is a deal and if you make a bad deal that’s your fault. Under God’s doctrine, though, if you make a deal with someone you know lacks experience in such matters, has no way to gauge what’s fair, or is desperate, and in doing so you skin them, you might feel clever and smart but to God you are as wicked as any Canaanite idol worshipper. I think this wicked world is being visited by God in judgment for, whether you are a communist, a capitalist, or a socialist, GREED is the world’s way, as in IT’S MINE. If we all viewed all of our resources as belonging to God then perhaps we’d behave differently as He makes very clear statements regarding how we Christians are to help each other. If you enlarged that idea to the world and to government you would have a different world for sure. It’s been said that under capitalism man exploits man and under socialism it’s just the other way around. (Get it?)

Under the Law God commanded the Hebrews;

Exodus 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

God is the judge and the deliverer of those of His who are disenfranchised, whose place in society is not secure, by virtue of circumstances they have no control over.

 

Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

The Christian church is to be a family, those without natural parents living should have their Christian family to protect them and care for them. Sadly, most churches today have turned over the care of their poor and their weak to the state. Now, it appears that the state will be less willing and able to perform that function so it may be put back on the church to take care of its own as the New Testament church did.

Here is the Bible’s definition of “pure religion”.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The point of this Proverb is not to oppress or infringe upon the rights or property of God’s poor and powerless for God is their protector and you’ll have to answer to Him for what you’ve done. Although this Proverb was given under the Law there is nothing about it that conflicts with Church age doctrine.