All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
How much more do his friends abandon him!
He pursues them with words, but they are gone.
God has a special place in His heart for the poor. He expects the same of us. The word poor appears over 100 times in the Bible and in most Old and New Testament books. God gave instructions to Moses on how Israel is to treat the poor and to James, Paul and Peter on how the church is to treat the poor. God sees the poor as the perfect example of how we are all treated by God. The poor can't help themselves. So, they need mercy and grace from others. When we see the poor, many people might tend to see them as lazy and wasting their life. But, God created the poor and He places them in our path for us to show grace and mercy.
Proverbs 22:2 (ESV)
2 The rich and the poor meet together;
the LORD is the maker of them all.
That is what is so remarkable about this proverb. This proverb tells us what many do to those who are poor. The poor are abandoned by their friends. Their family hates them. When they see the poor coming, the friends and family of the poor desert him. They run from him even though he calls out them. The friend of the poor and the family of the poor have no heart for him. This is contrary to God's instruction. We are not to run, ignore or abandon them. We are to feed and care for the poor. That is what God wants and expects. Note what Solomon will say later in this very chapter:
Proverbs 19:17 (ESV)
17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD,
and he will repay him for his deed.
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