Last year at this time I wrote a seminary paper on what the Old Testament says about the treatment of orphans, widows and the needy, entitled “What Our Treatment of Them Says About Us.”
The foundational verse from the paper was Proverbs 29:7, which states, “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” This verse makes clear that an individual’s relationship to God is demonstrated in his attitude toward the needy.
God’s Word states that a “righteous man” will:
- “share his food with the poor” (Prov. 22:9)
- “lend to the poor” (Prov. 19:17)
- “help the powerless” (Job 26:2)
- “save the arm of the feeble” (Job 26:2)
- “refresh others with his generosity” (Prov. 11:24-25)
- “open their arms to the poor” (Prov. 31:20)
- “extend their hands to the needy” (Prov. 31:20)
Job, who was described as “blameless and upright,” noted, “Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?” (Job 30:25)
But his grief grew into action and he:
- “rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him”
- “made the widow’s heart sing”
- “was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame”
- “was a father to the needy”
- “took up the case of the stranger”
- “broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth” (Job 29)
The video below demonstrates an example of “grief growing into action” on the part of Dominican and American believers together, “extending their hands to the needy.”
Our ability to further “rescue the poor who cry for help, and the fatherless who have none to assist him” is limited only by those who would choose to offer financial support to “helpus2helpthem.”
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/49910789 w=500&h=281]
