The righteous consider the cause of the poor, but the wicked have no regard for such concerns. The righteousThe term "righteous" in Hebrew is "tsaddiq," which refers to someone who is just, lawful, and in right standing with God. In the context of Proverbs, the righteous are those who live according to God's commandments and seek to embody His wisdom in their daily lives. Historically, the righteous were often seen as those who upheld the covenantal laws given to Israel, and in a broader Christian context, they are those who have been justified by faith in Christ. The righteous are characterized by their integrity and moral uprightness, which sets them apart in a world often marked by injustice and corruption. care about
The Hebrew word used here is "yada," which means to know, perceive, or understand. It implies a deep, intimate knowledge and concern, not just a superficial awareness. This suggests that the righteous are not indifferent or detached from the plight of others but are actively engaged and empathetic. They are moved to action by their understanding and compassion, reflecting the heart of God who is intimately concerned with the welfare of His creation. the cause
The word "cause" in Hebrew is "din," which can mean judgment, justice, or legal case. It refers to the legal rights and needs of individuals, particularly those who are vulnerable or oppressed. In ancient Israel, the cause of the poor and needy was a significant concern, as the law provided specific protections for them. The righteous are those who advocate for justice and ensure that the rights of the marginalized are upheld, aligning with the biblical mandate to defend the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. of the poor
The Hebrew word for "poor" is "dal," which denotes those who are weak, lowly, or lacking in resources. In the biblical context, the poor were often those who were economically disadvantaged, but the term also encompasses those who are socially and politically marginalized. The righteous are called to care for the poor, recognizing their inherent dignity and worth as image-bearers of God. This reflects the biblical theme of God's preferential concern for the poor and His call for His people to act as His hands and feet in the world. but the wicked
The term "wicked" in Hebrew is "rasha," which refers to those who are morally wrong, guilty, or hostile to God. The wicked are characterized by their self-centeredness and disregard for God's laws. In contrast to the righteous, the wicked are often portrayed as those who exploit and oppress others for their gain. Their actions are driven by selfish ambition rather than a desire for justice or righteousness. have no such concern
The phrase "have no such concern" highlights the indifference and apathy of the wicked towards the plight of the poor. In Hebrew, this is expressed as "lo-yavin," meaning they do not understand or perceive. This lack of understanding is not merely intellectual but moral and spiritual, indicating a hardened heart that is unresponsive to the needs of others. The wicked's lack of concern stands in stark contrast to the righteous, who are deeply moved by compassion and a sense of justice. This dichotomy serves as a call to God's people to align themselves with His heart for justice and mercy, actively seeking the welfare of the poor and oppressed. Persons / Places / Events 1. The RighteousIn the context of Proverbs, the righteous are those who live according to God's laws and principles. They are characterized by their compassion and justice, reflecting God's own nature. 2. The PoorThis refers to individuals who are economically disadvantaged or marginalized in society. The Bible often highlights the plight of the poor and calls for their fair treatment and support. 3. The WickedThose who live in opposition to God's ways, often characterized by selfishness, injustice, and a lack of compassion for others. Teaching Points Compassion as a Mark of RighteousnessTrue righteousness is demonstrated through active concern and advocacy for the poor and marginalized. This reflects God's heart and commands. Indifference as a Sign of WickednessIgnoring the needs of the poor is a characteristic of wickedness. It shows a lack of alignment with God's values and priorities. Practical JusticeRighteousness involves more than personal piety; it requires practical steps to address injustice and support those in need. Reflecting God's CharacterAs believers, we are called to mirror God's compassion and justice in our interactions with others, especially the vulnerable. Community ResponsibilityThe church and individual believers have a responsibility to be proactive in addressing poverty and injustice within their communities. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Proverbs 29:7 challenge your current perspective on poverty and justice? 2. In what ways can you actively "consider the cause of the poor" in your daily life? 3. How do the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46 reinforce the message of Proverbs 29:7? 4. What are some practical steps your church or community can take to better support the poor and marginalized? 5. Reflect on a time when you either responded to or ignored the needs of someone less fortunate. What did you learn from that experience, and how can it inform your future actions? Connections to Other Scriptures James 2:14-17This passage emphasizes the importance of faith being accompanied by action, particularly in caring for those in need, which aligns with the righteous considering the cause of the poor. Isaiah 1:17This verse calls for seeking justice and defending the oppressed, which parallels the righteous person's concern for the poor. Matthew 25:31-46Jesus' teaching on the final judgment highlights the importance of caring for the "least of these," reinforcing the principle found in Proverbs 29:7. People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Aren't, Attention, Care, Cause, Concern, Concerned, Considereth, Evil-doer, Gives, Justice, Knoweth, Plea, Poor, Regardeth, Righteous, Rights, Taketh, Understand, Understandeth, Understanding, Upright, WickedDictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 29:7 5361 justice, human
5448 poverty, attitudes to
5449 poverty, remedies
5802 care
5882 impartiality
5885 indifference
7150 righteous, the Library An Obscured vision
(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas IscariotTwo Ancient Proverbs
A Sermon (No. 3080) Published on Thursday, February 20th, 1908. Delivered by C.H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington on Lord's Day evening, March 29th, 1874. "The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso puteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." --Proverbs 29:25. We have two ancient proverbs here; each of them is true as a separate proverb, and they are equally true when linked together. The independent proposition, that the fear of man bringeth a snare, is a truth which experience …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs The Baptismal Covenant Can be Kept Unbroken. Aim and Responsibility of Parents.
We have gone "to the Law and to the Testimony" to find out what the nature and benefits of Baptism are. We have gathered out of the Word all the principal passages bearing on this subject. We have grouped them together, and studied them side by side. We have noticed that their sense is uniform, clear, and strong. Unless we are willing to throw aside all sound principles of interpretation, we can extract from the words of inspiration only one meaning, and that is that the baptized child is, by virtue …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church But Sometimes a Peril to Eternal Salvation Itself is Put Forth against Us...
40. But sometimes a peril to eternal salvation itself is put forth against us; [2466] which peril, they cry out, we by telling a lie, if otherwise it cannot be, must ward off. As, for instance, if a person who is to be baptized be in the power of impious and infidel men, and cannot be got at that he may be washed with the laver of regeneration, but by deceiving his keepers with a lie. From this most invidious cry, by which we are compelled, not for a man's wealth or honors in this world which are …
St. Augustine—Against Lying Little Sarah Howley.
MISS SARAH HOWLEY, when she was between eight and nine years old, was carried by her friends to hear a sermon, where the minister preached upon Matt. xi, 30, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light;" in the applying of which scripture the child was mightily awakened, and made deeply sensible of the condition of her soul, and her need of Christ: she wept bitterly to think what a case she was in; went home, retired into a chamber, and upon her knees she wept and cried to the Lord as well as she could, …
John Wesley—Stories of Boys and Girls Who Loved the Saviour For, Concerning False Witness, which is Set Down in the Ten Commands of The...
36. For, concerning false witness, which is set down in the ten commands of the Law, it can indeed in no wise be contended that love of truth may at heart be preserved, and false witness brought forth to him unto whom the witness is borne. For, when it is said to God only, then it is only in the heart that the truth is to be embraced: but when it is said to man, then must we with the mouth also of the body bring forth truth, because man is not an inspector of the heart. But then, touching the witness …
St. Augustine—On Lying Palm Sunday
Text: Philippians 2, 5-11. 5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II It Remains Then that we Understand as Concerning those Women...
33. It remains then that we understand as concerning those women, whether in Egypt or in Jericho, that for their humanity and mercy they received a reward, in any wise temporal, which indeed itself, while they wist not of it, should by prophetical signification prefigure somewhat eternal. But whether it be ever right, even for the saving of a man's life, to tell a lie, as it is a question in resolving which even the most learned do weary themselves, it did vastly surpass the capacity of those poor …
St. Augustine—Against Lying What are Evidences of Backsliding in Heart.
1. Manifest formality in religious exercises. A stereotyped, formal way of saying and doing things, that is clearly the result of habit, rather than the outgushing of the religious life. This formality will be emotionless and cold as an iceberg, and will evince a total want of earnestness in the performance of religious duty. In prayer and in religious exercises the backslider in heart will pray or praise, or confess, or give thanks with his lips, so that all can hear him, perhaps, but in such a …
Charles G. Finney—The Backslider in Heart God's Glory the Chief End of Man's Being
Rom. xi. 36.--"Of him and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever." And 1 Cor. x. 31--"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." All that men have to know, may be comprised under these two heads,--What their end is, and What is the right way to attain to that end? And all that we have to do, is by any means to seek to compass that end. These are the two cardinal points of a man's knowledge and exercise. Quo et qua eundum est,--Whither to go, and what way to go. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning How the Impatient and the Patient are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 10.) Differently to be admonished are the impatient and the patient. For the impatient are to be told that, while they neglect to bridle their spirit, they are hurried through many steep places of iniquity which they seek not after, inasmuch as fury drives the mind whither desire draws it not, and, when perturbed, it does, not knowing, what it afterwards grieves for when it knows. The impatient are also to be told that, when carried headlong by the impulse of emotion, they act in some …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning How to Make Use of Christ as the Truth, when Error Prevaileth, and the Spirit of Error Carrieth Many Away.
There is a time when the spirit of error is going abroad, and truth is questioned, and many are led away with delusions. For Satan can change himself into an angel of light, and make many great and fairlike pretensions to holiness, and under that pretext usher in untruths, and gain the consent of many unto them; so that in such a time of temptation many are stolen off their feet, and made to depart from the right ways of God, and to embrace error and delusions instead of truth. Now the question is, …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Characters and Names of Messiah
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. S uch was the triumphant exultation of the Old Testament Church! Their noblest hopes were founded upon the promise of MESSIAH; their most sublime songs were derived from the prospect of His Advent. By faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, they considered the gracious declarations …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Proverbs 29:7 NIVProverbs 29:7 NLTProverbs 29:7 ESVProverbs 29:7 NASBProverbs 29:7 KJV
Proverbs 29:7 Commentaries
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