The topic of poverty is large and it permeates all of Scripture. I decided to list the verses on poverty and to classify them. The first section of this blog is my observations. The second section I listed the verses I used. I did not include Isaiah 53, because it is too long. To make things easier, I identified Israel and the Church together in my summary. This approach is crude, this is only a few of the verses, and it only scratches the surface of a very complex topic, even so I hope you find it useful.
Applications
My suggestion is to read all the verses and mediate on them. My observations are not profound, but God's Word is. Reading all these verses together made me want to do something to honor God. Here are two links where you can help the Haitian poor.
Please pray for Dan and me as we prepare for Haiti.
My Observations
- God Loves the Poor and Intends for the Church to Care for Them.
- Deut. 10:18, Deut. 15:11; Proverbs 14:31; Jeremiah 22:16; Ezekiel 16:49; Matthew 6:3-4; 25:31-40; Luke 12:32-34; Luke 16:19-31; 1 John 3:17
- God Loves the Poor and Gives Them Hope.
- 1 Sam. 2:7-8, Job 5:15-16; Psalm 9:18; Psalm 12:5; Psalm 72:12-14; Psalm 113:7-8; Isaiah 41:17-20; Luke 4:8
- The Poor Will Always Be With Us.
- Deut. 15:11; Matthew 26:11
- Jesus Was Homeless and Suffered Hardships.
- Isaiah 53; Luke 9:57-58
- Some Christians in the Past have Suffered, Some Christians are now Suffering, and Some Christians in the Future will Suffer from Poverty and Homelessness.
- 1 Cor. 4:11-13
- 2 Timothy 3:10-12
- Hebrews 11:36-40
- Matthew 16:24-26
- The Gospel Message Is Intended for All, But Is Especially Targeted to the Poor.
- Matt. 19:23-30; Luke 4:18; Luke 16:19-31; James 2:5-7
- God Will Be Glorified Through His Treatment of the Poor.
- Job 5:15-16; Proverbs 14:1; Isaiah 41:17-20; Jeremiah 22:16;
Scripture References
Deuteronomy 10:18He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.Deut. 15:11
For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’1 Samuel 2:7-8
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;Job 5:15-16
he brings low and he exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouthPsalm 9:18
and from the hand of the mighty.
So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts her mouth.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,Psalm 12:5
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,Psalm 72:12-14 ESV
I will now arise,” says the LORD;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
For he delivers the needy when he calls,Psalm 113:7-8
the poor and him who has no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.
He raises the poor from the dustProverbs 14:31
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,Isaiah 41:17-20
but he who is generous to the needy honors him.
When the poor and needy seek water,Jeremiah 22:16
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
He [King Josiah] judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? declares the LORD.Ezekiel 16:49
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.Matthew 6:3-4
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.Matthew 16:24-26
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?Matthew 19:23-30
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.Matthew 25:31-40
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"Matthew 26:11
For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,Luke 9:57-58
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”Luke 12:32-34
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.Luke 16:19-31
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”Romans 15:26
For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
1 Corinthians 4:11-13
To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.2 Timothy 3:12
You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Hebrews 11:36-40
Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.James 2:5-7
Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?1 John 3:17
But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
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