Pro 22:9 | KingComments | STEP | It is a common fact that “the rich rules over the poor” ( ). A rich person has power through his money. Poor people depend on the goodness of a rich person. Ruling does not have to be ruling with harshness. It is about the fact that he who has money has power and he who does not have money is powerless. It is not a command for the rich to rule over the poor, but an observation. Poverty makes people dependent on others. In practice, this is expressed when a poor person has to borrow money. By borrowing money from a rich person, “the lender”, he becomes his slave. The rich person now has actual power over the poor person, because the poor person owes him a debt and is obliged to pay it back. If he defaults, the lender can start using him as a slave in order to recover the lent money that way. connects to . It may be that the rich person of is misusing the blessing God has given him in his wealth to make the poor dependent on him and subject to him. By behaving in this way, he “sows iniquity”. According to the law of reaping what you sow ( ; cf. ; ), he will “reap vanity”. Any abuse, whether of power, money or anything else God has given, will be punished by God. God will cause “the rod of his fury” to perish, that is, he will destroy the power of the wrongdoers. The rod, the symbol of the oppressive method he used, will perish with him. This is an encouragement to the oppressed. is the flip side of both the previous verses. There is a reward for “he who is generous”, that is he who is generous and gives to the poor. That reward involves being blessed by God. This is not about a rich person who gives of his wealth, but one who shares with others what he has. He does not lend, as the rich person does ( ), but gives away of his own bread to the poor. He shares it with them without any demand for a return. This is giving in imitation of God, Who also gave without any demand for a return, with His Son as the supreme Gift. One who gives in this way is therefore blessed by Him. The expression “he who is generous” is literally “he who has a good (or “abundant” or “generous”) eye”. It indicates that a person sees need in others and unasked helps in that need by giving of his own property to the needy or distressed person. This person has a benevolent mind and a concern for the poor. He is a giver after the heart of God in whom He rejoices (cf. ; ).

‏ Proverbs 22:9

To Borrow, to Sow Iniquity and to Be Generous

It is a common fact that “the rich rules over the poor” (Pro 22:7). A rich person has power through his money. Poor people depend on the goodness of a rich person. Ruling does not have to be ruling with harshness. It is about the fact that he who has money has power and he who does not have money is powerless. It is not a command for the rich to rule over the poor, but an observation. Poverty makes people dependent on others.

In practice, this is expressed when a poor person has to borrow money. By borrowing money from a rich person, “the lender”, he becomes his slave. The rich person now has actual power over the poor person, because the poor person owes him a debt and is obliged to pay it back. If he defaults, the lender can start using him as a slave in order to recover the lent money that way.

Pro 22:8 connects to Pro 22:7. It may be that the rich person of Pro 22:7 is misusing the blessing God has given him in his wealth to make the poor dependent on him and subject to him. By behaving in this way, he “sows iniquity”. According to the law of reaping what you sow (Gal 6:7; cf. Job 4:8; Hos 10:13), he will “reap vanity”. Any abuse, whether of power, money or anything else God has given, will be punished by God.

God will cause “the rod of his fury” to perish, that is, he will destroy the power of the wrongdoers. The rod, the symbol of the oppressive method he used, will perish with him. This is an encouragement to the oppressed.

Pro 22:9 is the flip side of both the previous verses. There is a reward for “he who is generous”, that is he who is generous and gives to the poor. That reward involves being blessed by God. This is not about a rich person who gives of his wealth, but one who shares with others what he has. He does not lend, as the rich person does (Pro 22:7), but gives away of his own bread to the poor. He shares it with them without any demand for a return.

This is giving in imitation of God, Who also gave without any demand for a return, with His Son as the supreme Gift. One who gives in this way is therefore blessed by Him.

The expression “he who is generous” is literally “he who has a good (or “abundant” or “generous”) eye”. It indicates that a person sees need in others and unasked helps in that need by giving of his own property to the needy or distressed person. This person has a benevolent mind and a concern for the poor. He is a giver after the heart of God in whom He rejoices (cf. 2Cor 9:7; Lk 14:12-14).