Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Three

Whoa, do I have some catching up to do. Christmas will do that to you.

Proverbs Chapter 23:

Don't steal the land of defenseless orphans by moving the ancient boundary markers, for their Redeemer is strong. He himself will bring their charges against you. (vs. 10-11)

These verses remind me of a story I heard when I went to a luncheon in Colorado to help raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. One of the speakers of the luncheon was Scott Lewis, an executive vice president and COO of International Justice Mission. He told a little bit of his own story, which is heart-wrenching in and of itself - but he also talked about different stories of injustice, and how those injustices were fought against and won. One of the stories involved a widow who was bullied by a local land owner, who basically took over her land and house and subjected her to slavery in order to pay him back for "taking care" of her property. Thankfully, IJM workers built a case against him, and he was jailed and the land given back to the woman. She then opened up her own business in order to support her family, and is doing well.

I know the above verses talk about orphans, and not widows, but the idea remains the same - don't deprive the needy, the weak, and the defenseless justice, and don't take advantage of their situation for your gain. In fact, the best definition of injustice I've heard is "the abuse of power."

I looked up how many times the word "redeemer" is used before these verses, and there aren't many. Obviously there are a few references to redeemer in the book of Ruth, because that's what Ruth calls Boaz - but as for God being a redeemer, it's only mentioned three times before here: once in Job (the famous "My Redeemer lives" verse) and twice in Psalms (which interestingly also calls God a Rock in both verses). I like the idea of God being this redeemer for those who are disadvantaged, abused, and weak.

Don't envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. For surely you have a future ahead of you; your hope will not be disappointed. (vs. 17-18)

These are some good verses to pay attention to. Especially the last part. I have a hope that soon I will be employed again, and I have a hope that I can find some way to make a difference beyond myself and my family's needs. I just need to "fear" and respect God and know he has a plan.