Adding Insult to Injury

Whoever scorns the poor reviles his Maker Proverbs 17:5

Reviles – God has a special place in His heart for the poor. Perhaps He knows that the poor are our best example of our true spiritual condition. Perhaps His compassionate heart is best appreciated by those who are desperate. Whatever the reason, God loves the poor. He treats them with the honor they deserve as created in His image. So, God warns us that mistreatment and dishonor of those who are made in His image is tantamount to insulting the Creator.

But there is a bit more in this word (haraph) than merely insult. The idea behind this Hebrew verb is to cast blame on someone. It is used to describe the action of defaming and disgracing in order to harm the character and reputation of another. Now we see just how seriously God evaluates our mistreatment of the poor. When we act in ways that do not honor the poor as the reflection of God’s image, we throw blame on God for their sad state, as if He were responsible. In doing so, we slander God’s name. We disgrace Him by pushing culpability onto Him. We stand on the side of the courtroom and shout, “God, if you’re really God, why don’t you do something about this situation? What’s the matter with You? Fix it!”

The Bible relates an incident that captures the full venom of this word. It’s not an incident that we often consider because we do not see the principle character as one of the poor. But perhaps we should.

Jesus hung on the cross, scourged and afflicted for our sins. Rejected, ridiculed, tortured and disgraced, He bore our transgressions by becoming what we refused to be – beggarly before God. On one side was a thief; a man guilty as charged. But this man was full of hatred and out of his mouth came the words of haraph.

Luke 23:39 tells us that this man “hurled abuse” at Jesus saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”. In other words, “What’s your problem? You claim to be the Christ. So, do something. Fix this! And if you can’t, then why should I pay any attention to you. You’re nothing but a liar.”

Jesus was poor. Humble. Submissive. Dependent. Our leader. Our model.

How much of God’s reputation have we insulted when we do not see Jesus in the faces of the poor today?