Proverbs 17:5 (ESV)
Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
What do you think of someone who is poor, destitute, out of a job and, it is all their own fault? We have seen them on the corner of the street, holding a sign, asking for money. We see them on the sidewalk of a large city, trying to stay warm. We don't want to give them money because we "know" they will simply spend it on booze, drugs, or on gambling. We may not openly "mock" them, as the above proverb states and we may not "rejoice" at their "calamity," but we do not look at them in mercy and grace. Solomon, no doubt, had many "beggars" on the streets of Jerusalem. It would be easy to dismiss all the poor as deserving their station in life. There are certainly many poor who are poor due their own foolishness. It is hard to have compassion on them ... even though we were once poor in spirit and God had compassion on us and showered us with blessings. Solomon is warning us about our attitude toward the poor. Their calamity has caused them to lose everything. Yet, we are not to mock them or rejoice in such calamity. Imagine if you saw a man on the street, full of disease, who had lost everything. You might think he is an unholy man, deserving the pain and suffering he is experiencing. What if someone told you his name was, Job?! Would that change how you felt? Job was a man who lost everything and was sitting on the side of the road. Yet, he was there because God allowed him to be put there. Everything Job had was taken away. Imagine walking by him on the street ... would you be the one who gave him something, or would you be the one who walked by and laughed? That is what this proverb is about.
It is so important when reading Hebrew poetry and the aspect of parallelism (see notes of the blog). The first line is quite clear as to meaning but even more pregnant with meaning when you read the second line to bring out that meaning. To make fun of the poor is the same as making fun of God who allows the poor to be poor. God creates wealth. He creates non-wealth. But, the second line adds more meaning. Our mocking of the poor is in parallel with "rejoicing at calamity" and the "taunts his Maker" is in parallel with "not go unpunished." So, the seriousness of the first line and mocking the poor is the same as rejoicing in someone's calamity and taunting your maker is the same as the second line of receiving punishment. God takes seriously the stations of life. He designs where we are. Yes, He uses our own foolishness, or the wisdom He gives us, to allow our stations to develop, but God is in charge. Make no mistake about it. He doesn't expect us to mock those He has put there. When we do we are not seeing rejoicing in His sovereign rule. Don't taunt the poor.
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