Proverbs 22:1-2, Proverbs 22:8-9, Proverbs 22:22-23, Psalm 125, Isaiah 35:4-7, Psalm 146, James 2:1-17, Mark 7:24-37.
A). THE CORRECT TREATMENT OF THE POOR.
Proverbs 22:1-2, Proverbs 22:8-9, Proverbs 22:22-23.
We have here three pairs of poetic couplets about attitudes to the poor. It is not that the Bible is against wealth itself, or even wealthy people. King Solomon, the writer of some of these Proverbs, was gifted with riches by God (1 Kings 3:13).
Proverbs 22:1. Nevertheless, having a good name, (i.e., a good reputation) is more desirable than the getting of riches. We should live as those upon whom God has cast His good favour, and should give no reason for other people to hold us in disfavour.
Proverbs 22:2. The rich and the poor may look different to each other, may dress differently, may have different attitudes, different priorities, different reasons for voting differently. But they have this in common: they are all made by the same God (whether they know it or acknowledge it or not!) Our common standing before God is perhaps the best foundation for democracy.
King David once reckoned himself a poor man (1 Samuel 18:23). Yet, after all, he proved to be ‘a man after God’s own heart’ (1 Samuel 13:14). Later, in Nathan’s parable, King David is now the rich man, and the prophet describes the poor man as one ‘who had nothing but one little ewe lamb’ (2 Samuel 12:1-3).
Proverbs 22:8-9 are best understood in context with the preceding verse (Proverbs 22:7). Rightly or wrongly, the reins of power often rest with the rich. And financial power is often wielded negatively against the poor, with interest rates potentially making the poor poorer.
Proverbs 22:8. The “iniquity” suggested here refers to injustice. Those who rule, and those with responsibility to exercise justice, have a duty towards God to get it right - as did Solomon in his early days, and as does Jesus always (Psalm 72:1-4; Psalm 72:12-14). They are going to reap just what they sow (Galatians 6:7-8), both those who get it wrong (Job 4:8; Hosea 8:7), and those who get it right (Hosea 10:12).
Proverbs 22:9. There is a beatitude here, and as with all beatitudes it is not that the blessing is earned, but rather that the action arises from the fact that the person is a blessed person. As all good things come from God (James 1:17), so the “bountiful eye”, or generous heart, is given by our bounteous God. Giving to the poor is lending to the LORD (Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 28:27), and there will always be those - sometimes not even all that rich themselves - who will “share their bread” with those poorer than themselves. They are blessed in the performance of this deed, and will also reap a reward in the hereafter (Ecclesiastes 11:1).
The opposite of a “bountiful eye” is an ‘evil eye’, sometimes translated as a ‘stingy eye’ (cf. Proverbs 28:22).
Proverbs 22:22. Our final poetic couplet begins in the imperative: “Rob not the poor, because he is poor.” The reference here is to a court case: “the gate” is the place where the city elders would hear and judge legal cases. Jesus mentioned one such case in His parable of the unjust judge and the importunate widow (Luke 18:1-5).
Proverbs 22:23. It is the LORD who pleads the lawsuit of the poor, and “spoils the soul of those that spoiled them.” He is both the defender of the vulnerable, and the judge of their oppressors. (Cf. Luke 18:6-8; Micah 2:1-3).
Part of the proof that Jesus is the Christ is that ‘the poor’ have the gospel preached to them (Matthew 11:5). In His time upon earth, Jesus was forever championing the cause of the poor, the widow, the orphan, the marginalised.
‘Gospel’ means ‘good news’ - and what is that good news? It is that ‘we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous’ (1 John 2:1). Jesus has procured pardon for our sins with His own blood upon the Cross (Acts 20:28). By His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
Jesus is the helper of the helpless, and the only hope for the hopeless.
B). A STURDY FAITH?
Psalm 125.
Sometimes we speak of a person’s great faith, or their unwavering trust in the Lord, as if this was not attainable by any and each and all of us. ‘Oh,’ we say, ‘he has such faith’. Or, ‘she trusts so entirely upon the LORD’. But Jesus, whilst He gently rebukes His disciples, ‘O ye of little faith’ (Matthew 8:26); also says that it only takes faith ‘the size of a mustard seed’ to accomplish things which we might otherwise have thought impossible (Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6)!
Our problem, sometimes, is that we put too much faith in our ability to ‘get up enough faith’ (whatever that may mean), rather than placing our trust in the Lord. Do you see the difference? One focuses on US, the other on HIM.
Our Psalm begins with two complementary similes. First, “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion” (Psalm 125:1a). Mount Zion stood for Jerusalem, or more specifically for the Temple; but spiritually, Mount Zion stands for the presence of God amid His people. Ultimately, this presence of God is personified in the Person of His incarnate Son, who ‘set up His tabernacle’ among us (John 1:14).
What is thus said about those who trust in the LORD? That “they cannot be moved” but “abide forever” (Psalm 125:1b). They are like trees planted by the waterside (Psalm 1:3) - but more than that (for trees might fall), they are like God Himself, for they are conformed to the image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29) and are assured that ‘nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:38-39).
Second “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people” (Psalm 125:2a). Although the pilgrims spoke about ‘going up’ to Jerusalem, Mount Zion is not actually higher, but lower, than the surrounding mountains. What can this mean? Well, before ever we had faith, we were already surrounded by God’s grace. Jesus tells His disciples, ‘You did not choose Me, but I chose you’ (John 15:16); and the Apostle John reminds us, ‘We love Him because He first loved us’ (1 John 4:19).
For how long does the LORD surround His people? “From this time forth and forever” (Psalm 125:2b). He will never let us go (read John 6:37-40)!
This reassurance is the basis of the confidence expressed in the middle verse of our Psalm. Because He reigns in our lives, there is no room for the sceptre of any other. “The land” HAS been “allotted to the righteous” (Psalm 125:3). It is Jesus who bears the sceptre of God’s righteousness into the world, and we ARE ‘the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Corinthians 5:21). In Him, our relationship with God is as sturdy and immovable as the mountains of Moriah. Only more so.
The Psalm offers a petition: “Do good, O LORD, to (the) good, and to (those who are) upright in their hearts” (Psalm 125:4). Who is good but God? Who upright (or righteous) but Christ - and all who are found in Him? Our goodness is founded upon His grace; and our righteousness is His righteousness, imputed to us through the blood of Jesus.
As for those who prefer “crooked ways” to uprightness, they will reap the consequences of their sin. They will be led away with the rest of the “workers of iniquity” (Psalm 125:5). This is not so much the flip side of the petition as a simple statement of fact.
Psalm 122:6 enjoins us, ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.’ The Apostle Paul invokes ‘peace and mercy’ upon ‘the Israel of God’ (Galatians 6:16). Psalm 125:5 ends with “Peace be upon Israel!”
We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and the salvation of Israel. Shalom. Amen.
C). SIGNS OF MESSIAH AND THE AGE OF THE SPIRIT.
Isaiah 35:4-7.
For those who are afflicted, who have waited, who have prayed and longed for deliverance: take heart, God will avenge, God will recompense, God will save you (Isaiah 35:4). The restoration of sight and hearing (Isaiah 35:5) is Messiah’s work (cf. Isaiah 42:18; Isaiah 43:8), and identifies Jesus as the Christ (Luke 7:22).
The lame leaping (Isaiah 35:6) also sees the continuing work of Jesus through the Apostles (Acts 3:6-8). As for the dumb singing – this is best illustrated by the plight of the man whose tongue was quite literally tied up in knots (Mark 7:32 uses the same rare word for ‘dumb’ as the Greek translation of Isaiah 35:6). Jesus touched Him, spoke words over him, and healed him (Mark 7:33-35).
All these physical healings anticipate a spiritual reality, also relating to Messiah’s reign (cf. Isaiah 32:3-4).
Waters breaking out in the wilderness (Isaiah 35:6-7) remind us of the water from the Rock of the earlier journey of Israel (Psalm 78:15-16). ‘That Rock was Christ,’ tells Paul (1 Corinthians 10:4). It also points forward to the abundance of the age of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 44:3-4; John 4:14; John 7:37-39).
D). A CALL TO WORSHIP.
Psalm 146.
The last five Psalms (146-150) all begin and end with an exhortation to praise the LORD, addressed collectively to the congregation of God’s people. Yet it is not enough for the praise leader just to call others to worship: it is also the exercise of his own soul (Psalm 146:1; cf. Psalm 103:1). The writer’s praise is his very life’s breath (Psalm 146:2).
Such should be our praise. It is not something in which we indulge ourselves on special occasions only, but something which is relevant to all times and in all places (cf. Philippians 4:4). It is easy to say “Praise the LORD” in the good times: but we should not be prevented from such worship even in the shackles of the deepest dungeon of our lives (Acts 16:23-25).
With the Psalmist, our commitment should be to worship the LORD “while I have my being” (Psalm 146:2). Yet this is no individualistic super-piety. On the contrary: our ‘soul’ is ‘bound in the bundle of life with the LORD our God’ (1 Samuel 25:29); and our worship belongs to all the generations of God’s people (Psalm 146:10) – even to generations yet unborn (Psalm 22:30-31).
Yet even while we are worshipping the LORD, the temptation is always there to put our trust in something or someone else. The children of Israel very quickly resorted to the golden calf (Exodus 32:1), and throughout their history made unhelpful alliances with the super-powers of their day (Isaiah 31:1; cf. Isaiah 30:3). Even good king Hezekiah made the mistake of trusting the Babylonians (Isaiah 39:4-6).
So the Psalmist warns us: put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men in whom there is no help (Psalm 146:3). They are, after all, men like any other. They too, like Adam, will return to the earth from which they were drawn (Genesis 3:19); and their thoughts will perish with them (Psalm 146:4).
Our help and our hope is in the LORD our God (Psalm 146:5; cf. Psalm 121:2). The contrast brings us back to the beatitude of Psalm 1. If we are like ‘this’ and not like ‘that’, then “happy are we”.
Yet who is this LORD, that we should worship Him? First, He is the God of Creation (cf. Psalm 8:3; Psalm 19:1). Second, and not far behind it, He is the God of Covenant “who keeps His promises for ever” (Psalm 146:6).
“The God of Jacob” (Psalm 146:5) “executes judgment for the oppressed” and “gives food to the hungry” (Psalm 146:7). This covenant God heard the voice of the cry of the children of Israel in bondage in Egypt (Exodus 3:9), and fed them in the wilderness (Exodus 16:32). The LORD loosed the captives (Psalm 146:7).
The name of “the LORD” resounds throughout the rest of the Psalm - yet we could just as easily read the name of Jesus. After all, it was He who set us free from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 1:5), and who goes on releasing those who have been held in bondage to sin and to death (Romans 6:6; Hebrews 2:15). It is He who opens the eyes of the blind (Psalm 146:8; cf. Acts 26:18), and who raises up the bowed down (Luke 13:11-13).
We are also able to see what we should be doing. The LORD cares for the strangers, the refugees, the outsiders (Psalm 146:9): so should we. The LORD relieves the orphans and widows – and often that is through the obedience His own people.
Again there is the echo of Psalm 1. The LORD loves the righteous (Psalm 146:8), but the way of the wicked He turns upside down (Psalm 146:9). It is no wonder that, from a worldly perspective, the early Christians were accused of ‘turning the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6).
Why should we trust and praise this God? Unlike the princes (Psalm 146:3), He shall reign for ever and ever, and to all generations (Psalm 146:10). This is your God (the Psalmist addresses God’s people) - so be sure you all “Praise the LORD” (Psalm 146:10).
E). RICH AND POOR IN THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST.
James 2:1-17.
James 2:1. The Greek of this section of the letter of James begins somewhat abruptly: “My brethren, not with partialities!” The impact of the whole sentence is: “Do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect of persons.” This is an allusion to Leviticus 19:15, which is echoed in James 2:9 and sets the tone for the whole argument.
James 2:2. James furnishes us with an “if” clause which will be met with a “then” clause in James 2:4. The illustration the writer uses is that of two men coming into the Christian assembly (literally, “synagogue”): a man sporting a gold ring and wearing a bright toga - perhaps a newly married senatorial candidate; and a raggedly tramp in smelly clothes. We are not told whether either of these visitors, both or none, are professing to be Christian believers - because that is not the point here.
James 2:3. It is as if we were suddenly confronted with the real-life characters out of Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The usher in the meeting place led the well-dressed man into a good seat. The “vilely dressed” poor man was reduced to a ‘standing room only’ place near the door - or perhaps into a grovelling position under the usher’s own feet like a dog!
James 2:4. The “then” clause suggests that such behaviour reflects “a wavering inconsistency in your hearts.” It is a hypocritical ‘facing both ways’: professing faith towards Jesus, but outwardly fawning to worldly wealth. It is an “exercising of judgement with wrong reasoning,” which leads to partiality.
James 2:5. James continues his rebuke by addressing his readers as “beloved” brethren. The writer mentions God’s choice of “the poor of this world.” It is the “rich in faith” who enter the kingdom.
God sometimes chooses ‘untouchables’ like the tramp in James’ illustration. The children of Israel were slaves when the LORD laid His love upon them (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). He is no “respecter of persons” (Deuteronomy 10:17-19): God is not partial.
Our experience teaches us that it is the poor who are most likely to be open to the gospel. James speaks of “the poor of this world” as “heirs of the kingdom” - people like the tramp in his own illustration, or Lazarus in Jesus’ parable (Luke 16:25). Of course, that is a generalisation, as there are several rich believers mentioned by name in the Bible - and at least some ‘noble’ are called and chosen by God, rather than none at all.
Yet our God is a God of surprises, as He takes that which is nought and elevates it into a lofty position (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). His agape love enables people who are scorned as the off-scouring of the world to “love” Him right back (1 John 4:19). It is those who love Him who own the “promise” of His kingdom.
James 2:6. Partiality “dishonours” the poor man. Despising the poor man dishonours God. How can anyone know that the rich man is not a member of the secret police?
James 2:7. James reminds his readers that it was usually (although not exclusively) the rich who persecuted and blasphemed the “lovely Name.” This Name was named over us when God received us into His family (cf. Genesis 48:16). To show partiality is to deny that Name!
James 2:8. There is a “however” here, lost in some translations: “However, if indeed you fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture…” The quotation is from Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” It is evident that our neighbours are the poor as well as the rich - and if indeed we do keep this, we “do well.”
James 2:9. To show partiality is to sin (Leviticus 19:15), and the law convicts us as transgressors.
James 2:10-11. The law can be viewed as a chain of several links. If one link in the chain is broken, the whole chain is broken. Or a string of lights in a Christmas tree (should we ever have such a thing): if one light blows, the whole string of lights goes out. If we break the law in any one point, we have broken the whole law. James aptly suggests "murder" since an uncaring attitude to our poorer brother is effectively murderous.
James 2:12. James exhorts us to speak and act as those who shall be judged by the law of liberty.
James 2:13. Those who show no mercy will receive no mercy, but mercy triumphs over judgement (cf. Matthew 5:7).
A FAILURE TO FEED THE HUNGRY (James 2:14-17).
A person is making what seems to be a credible claim to “faith” - but (as yet) there is no evidence in their lives of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. They seem to have all the right words, but (so far) “works” are lacking.
James 2:14. What is the profit in the faith of such a person, asks James, if it is not backed up by works? Surely such a faith cannot save them? The second question expects the answer “no”!
As both Paul and James would agree, good deeds do not make us Christians: but Christians will do good deeds (Titus 3:8). James, Peter and John encouraged Paul and Barnabas to remember the poor - which, says Paul, was the very thing that they were forward to do (Galatians 2:10). James indicates that our attitude to the poor is a benchmark for the truth of our “religion” (James 1:27), and the impartiality of our “faith” (James 2:1-4).
James 2:15. Yet here we have someone in obvious dire need: a brother or sister, no less, who lacks food and clothing.
James 2:16. It perpetuates inequality when we send such a person away with platitudes, whilst we have the means to help them (2 Corinthians 8:12-14). What does it profit? The Lord Jesus will condemn those who lack practical works of mercy in such situations (Matthew 25:42-43).
James 2:17. Faith alone, without the evidence of works, is dead, as James will go on to elucidate in the rest of the chapter.
F). WHAT HAPPENS WHEN FAITH COMES FROM WITHIN.
Mark 7:24-37.
In the earlier part of this chapter Jesus had disputed with some Scribes and Pharisees about ritual and tradition; and had taught those who would hear that defilement does not come from without, but from within (Mark 7:1-23).
It is also true to say that FAITH flows from within, as the next two incidents demonstrate. We have the faith of a non-Jewish woman on the one hand (Mark 7:24-30); and (if we will receive it) the faith of Jesus Himself on the other (Mark 7:31-37). In both instances Faith arises in the heart and comes forth out of the mouth (cf. Romans 10:8-10).
Mark 7:24-30
Our Lord withdrew for a while into the region of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus sought privacy but could not find it (Mark 7:24). Sometimes when God’s workers would rest, the work pursues them.
We meet first a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit (Mark 7:25). This alerts us to the fact, straight away, that the girl has a spiritual battle going on within her. Our battle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). Sometimes, often, that battle is going on within us.
It is good when parents bring the needs of their children to Jesus. We should pray for them constantly and, like this woman, persistently. She cast herself down at His feet (Mark 7:25); “kept on asking” Him to cast the demon out of her daughter (Mark 7:26); and she would not take no for an answer (Mark 7:28).
Now this woman was a Gentile, born in that region (Mark 7:26), and strictly speaking had no claim upon Jesus. His initial answer sounds harsh but let us not be deflected by that. The key word is “First”: “Let the children be filled first” (Mark 7:27). This is a theological priority of which Jesus was very much aware.
In the parallel account Jesus explains to the woman, ‘I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 15:24). When Jesus first sent out the twelve Apostles, He warned them not to go into the way of the Gentiles, nor to enter a city of the Samaritans (Matthew 10:5). This was His priority for the time being: ‘to the Jew First’; and then, thankfully, ‘also to the Gentiles’ (Romans 1:16). So, the key word is “First”, not “dog”.
However, such was the faith of the woman that she simply accepted the insult and turned it to her advantage. The faith in her heart knew that even a crumb would suffice: such was the power of Jesus (Mark 7:28). In the context of the previous conversations about what comes out of the mouth arising from what is within, Jesus tells her: “For this Saying go your way, the demon has gone out of your daughter” (Mark 7:29). In the parallel account Jesus says, ‘O woman, great is your faith’ (Matthew 15:28). She went home, and it was as she had asked: a miracle conducted at a distance (Mark 7:30).
Mark 7:31-37
Jesus next headed towards the Sea of Galilee (Mark 7:31). The next people we meet are the friends of a deaf man who had such an impediment in his speech that it sounded like his tongue was tied up in knots. They brought him to Jesus, begging that Jesus would put His hand on him (Mark 7:32). Just as it is good to pray for our children even when they are not with us in the place of prayer, so it is good to bring the needy to Jesus for prayer.
Jesus took him aside and put His fingers in the ears of the man, spat and touched his tongue (Mark 7:33). Again, a spiritual battle was going on, perhaps inside the man himself. Jesus sighed (cf. Romans 8:26); and spoke forth in His own tongue what was in His heart: “Be opened” (Mark 7:34).
That Jesus thus spoke from the Faith within His own heart is demonstrated in the book of Hebrews, where the author places an Old Testament saying in the mouth of Jesus: ‘I will put My trust in Him’ (Hebrews 2:13). Jesus trusted in His Father, even when the whip was to His back (read Isaiah 50:6-9). So yes, when Jesus sighed and spoke that word, it was an act of faith: and thus, He is the forerunner of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
The effect was immediate. The man’s ears were opened, and his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly (Mark 7:35). Notice the order: when a person’s ears are opened to hear the word of God, then their tongue is loosed to give Him praise.
By now, Jesus could not keep who He is and what He was doing secret, try as He might. The more He commanded silence, the more widely the news was spread (Mark 7:36). No wonder the people were astonished. It was the fulfilment of prophecy: ‘The ears of the deaf’ are unstopped, and ‘the tongue of the dumb’ sings (Isaiah 35:5-6). “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak” (Mark 7:37).
