The Bible consistently reveals God's deep concern and care for the poor, emphasizing His compassion and justice towards those in need. Throughout Scripture, God is portrayed as a defender and provider for the impoverished, urging His people to reflect His character by caring for the less fortunate.

Old Testament Insights

In the Old Testament, God's care for the poor is evident in the laws given to Israel. The Mosaic Law includes numerous provisions to protect and support the poor. For instance, Leviticus 19:9-10 instructs, "When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God." This command ensures that the poor have access to food and sustenance.

The Psalms frequently highlight God's concern for the poor. Psalm 68:5 describes God as "a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows," underscoring His protective nature. Similarly, Psalm 140:12 affirms, "I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy."

The prophets also echo this theme, calling out social injustices and urging the people to act justly. Isaiah 58:6-7 challenges the Israelites to true fasting, which includes "to share your bread with the hungry and to bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh."

New Testament Teachings

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ embodies God's care for the poor. His ministry is marked by compassion and outreach to the marginalized. In Luke 4:18 , Jesus declares His mission, quoting Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor." This proclamation sets the tone for His ministry, which consistently uplifts the downtrodden.

The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) further illustrates the call to care for those in need, transcending social and ethnic boundaries. Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25:35-40 emphasizes that acts of kindness towards the poor are acts of service to Him: "For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in."

The early church continued this legacy, as seen in Acts 4:34-35 , where believers shared their possessions so that "there were no needy ones among them." The apostle Paul also encouraged generosity, as in 2 Corinthians 9:9 , "As it is written: 'He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.'"

God's Character and the Call to Action

God's care for the poor is rooted in His character as a just and loving Creator. Proverbs 14:31 states, "Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him." This verse highlights the intrinsic value God places on every individual, urging His followers to act with compassion and justice.

Believers are called to reflect God's heart by actively engaging in acts of mercy and justice. James 1:27 defines pure religion as "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." This call to action is a tangible expression of faith, demonstrating God's love to a world in need.1 Samuel 2:7
The LORD makes poor, and makes rich: he brings low, and lifts up.
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Job 5:15,16
But he saves the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
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Job 31:15
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?
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Job 34:18,19,28
Is it fit to say to a king, You are wicked? and to princes, You are ungodly?
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Job 36:6,15
He preserves not the life of the wicked: but gives right to the poor.
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Psalm 9:18
For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
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Psalm 10:14
You have seen it; for you behold mischief and spite, to requite it with your hand: the poor commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
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Psalm 12:5
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, said the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffs at him.
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Psalm 14:6
You have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
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Psalm 34:6
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
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Psalm 35:10
All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like to you, which deliver the poor from him that is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him that spoils him?
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Psalm 68:10
Your congregation has dwelled therein: you, O God, have prepared of your goodness for the poor.
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Psalm 69:33
For the LORD hears the poor, and despises not his prisoners.
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Psalm 72:2,4,12-14
He shall judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with judgment.
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Psalm 74:21
O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise your name.
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Psalm 102:17
He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
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Psalm 107:9,36,41
For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
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Psalm 109:31
For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
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Psalm 113:7,8
He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the dunghill;
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Psalm 132:15
I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
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Psalm 140:12
I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
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Psalm 146:5,7
Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
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Proverbs 22:2,22,23
The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
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Proverbs 29:13
The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lightens both their eyes.
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Ecclesiastes 5:8
If you see the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regards; and there be higher than they.
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Isaiah 11:4
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
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Isaiah 14:30,32
And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill your root with famine, and he shall slay your remnant.
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Isaiah 25:4
For you have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
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Isaiah 29:19
The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
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Isaiah 41:17
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue fails for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
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Jeremiah 20:13
Sing to the LORD, praise you the LORD: for he has delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
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Zephaniah 3:12
I will also leave in the middle of you an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
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Zechariah 11:7
And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took to me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
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Matthew 11:5
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
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Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
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Luke 7:22
Then Jesus answering said to them, Go your way, and tell John what things you have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
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Luke 16:22
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
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James 2:5
Listen, my beloved brothers, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?
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Epistle xxxv. To the Clergy, Concerning the Care of the Poor and ...
... In safety, by God's grace, I greet you, beloved brethren ... I request that you will
diligently take care of the widows, and of the sick, and of all the poor. ...
/.../cyprian/the epistles of cyprian/epistle xxxv to the clergy.htm

The Finding of Moses
... saw one of the Egyptian taskmasters treating one of the poor Israelite slaves ... Yet
in spite of God's care and goodness towards them, these Israelites were often ...
/.../steedman/the babe in the bulrushes/the finding of moses.htm

The Psalms of David
... 1 2 3. Charity to the poor; or, Pity to the afflicted. ... Deliverance from oppression
and falsehood; or, God's care of his people, in answer to faith and prayer. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watts/the psalms of david/

God's Love for Man
... Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath ... life was one of self-denial and thoughtful
care for others. ... tenderest regard to every member of the family of God. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/steps to christ/chapter 1 gods love for.htm

The Poor Man's Friend
... GOD IS THE POOR MAN'S FRIEND; the poor man, in His helplessness and despair, leaves
his case in the hands of God, and God undertakes to care for him. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 53 1907/the poor mans friend.htm

On God's vineyard
... On Sunday evening the society meets; but care is taken to dismiss them ... goods, laying
up treasures on earth; instead of restoring to God in the poor, not so ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 107 on gods vineyard.htm

God's World
... speaks entirely about things which we hardly care or even ... that same power, that same
Word of God, who made heaven and earth, looks after the poor gnats in ...
/.../kingsley/twenty-five village sermons/sermon i gods world.htm

God's Banished Ones
... These poor beach- combers of the Pacific, not happy in their ... deep sense, still bears
the image of God, and by reason of His continued love and care over them ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/gods banished ones.htm

The Good Shepherd: a Farewell Sermon
... the ministration of a poor miserable sinner, a poor, but happy ... be one missing for
whom Christ died, God the Father ... takes of them; he takes as much care of each ...
/.../selected sermons of george whitefield/the good shepherd a farewell.htm

Homilies on the Statues.
... for Antioch, [1370]346; arguments used in, [1371]383; of the poor, [1372]351 ... Jacob,
his care of Laban's sheep, [1379]354 ... Jephthah's vow allowed by God, [1381]434 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/chrysostom/on the priesthood/homilies on the statues.htm

What does the Bible say about giving to the poor? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about being poor? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to be poor in spirit? | GotQuestions.org

Poor: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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