Who Abuses the Poor?

The Bible has a lot to say about abuse and oppression of the poor.  My question here is, Who are the oppressors?

Scripture’s answer is non-discriminatory.  All classes and categories of people, as well as institutions and nations, oppress the poor, the helpless, the powerless and defenseless.

Isaiah, for instance, castigates the rulers of Judah as “rulers of Sodom” who have failed to seek justice, defend the orphan, plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:10, 17).  They “love bribes” and “chase after rewards” as their love of riches turns them from right rule.  The first oppression spoken of in the Bible is the Egyptian oppression of Israel (Genesis 15:13; Exodus 3:9), the oppression of one relatively poor and powerless nation (Israel) by a wealthy and powerful people (Egypt).  Throughout the book of Judges, Israel is again and again oppressed by invading and conquering armies (Judges 2:18; 4:3; 6:9; 10:12).  Again and again, Yahweh gives Israel into the hands of other nations, and then stretches out His own hand to deliver them when they cry to Him (cf. 2 Kings 13:4, 22; Nehemiah 9:27; Isaiah 14:1-4).  Ecclesiastes 5:8 appears to be talking about official oppression that takes the form of denying justice and rights to the weak.  Though Scripture acknowledges that rulers can themselves be oppressors, some passages describe an ideal ruler who delivers the poor and oppressed from the hands of the oppressor (Psalm 72:4, 14; Isaiah 9:4).

The Bible also frequently prohibits and condemns “private” oppression by employers, neighbors,  the rich and powerful.

Exodus 22:21 warns Israelites not to oppress strangers, reminding them that they were strangers in Egypt (cf. Exodus 23:9).  Leviticus 19:13 reiterates the general warning about oppressing neighbors, and adds specifically that employers should not abuse their hired men: “The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until the morning” (cf. Deuteronomy 24:14).  Proverbs 14:31 warns that the oppressor of the poor is attacking the Creator; the proverb envisions private oppression, since it goes on to commend, by contrast, the one who is generous toward the needy.  So too Proverbs 22:16 warns that one who enriches himself by abusing the poor will eventually come to poverty himself.   Jeremiah’s temple sermon may specifically address the abuses of the religious leaders, the fact that (as Jesus later says) they devour widows’ houses, but the sermon has wider application: All of Judah has turned the temple into a “den of brigands” because they oppress the poor and then retreat to the temple for safety (Jeremiah 7:6; cf. 22:3, 17).  Similarly, in one breath, Ezekiel attacks rulers who “take bribes to shed blood” and those who “take interest and profits” and “injure your neighbors for gain by oppression” (22:12).

The Bible warns the rich who oppress the poor.  James is perhaps the most explicit: “Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court” (James 2:6).  But the Bible also recognizes that the poor sometimes oppress the poorer.  Proverbs 28:3 compares the “poor man who oppresses the lowly” to “a driving rain which leaves no food.”

Who abuses the poor?  As Scripture sees things, it could be anyone, and Christians are called to oppose oppression whether it is carried out by civil rulers, by religious leaders, by large corporations or small businesses, by neighbors, by family members, by the weak on the weaker.