Do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet
if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it cost him all the wealth of
his house. ~Proverbs 6:30-31
This is what the Lord almighty says: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts, do not think evil of each other.” ~Zechariah 7:9-10
Question: What do you think the Lord thinks of the fact that we live in a land of abundance yet are surrounded by so much physical need? Did He provide abundance so that some can become well off or so that none would have need?
In his novel “Les Misérables” Victor Hugo depicts the verses from Proverbs for today. A poor man steals a loaf of bread, is caught and in the process of his paying seven-fold, he becomes what he was not before, a true criminal. It is only through the offer of grace by a priest that the man recognizes the choice he has to continue the life in which he had been trained to see himself or be renewed and transformed into a new creation. Of course, the point of this novel is to demonstrate how cruel man can be when those in power are governed too heavily by rules without compassion. It was written in a day in which these types of circumstances were actually experienced and thus believable.
That’s not our story today. With the abundance of food and pantries and a much more lenient justice system, we may find this story implausible. For Solomon to make this a Proverb, however, makes one wonder if this type of injustice was known in his day. And, if God made sure that out of Solomon’s more than 3,000 proverbs, this one made it into the final cut of scripture, He must know that there is something for us to still be able to learn to add to wisdom today.
First of all, let’s consider the context. Is this proverb really about a loaf of bread? If so, why would it be in the middle of a teaching about the woes of adultery? I don’t know about your Bible, but in my NIV Bible, the heading before Proverbs 6:20 says: “Warning against Adultery.” So, why, in the middle of a discourse on adultery is Solomon, all of a sudden talking about bread? If you read the actual text from Proverbs 6:20-35, you will notice that in verse 26, Solomon warns his listeners : “The prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your life.”
We could be tempted to take these verses 6:30-31, out of context and rail against the injustice of the powerful to overly punish a poor man for stealing a loaf of bread such as Victor Hugo did. Consider, a whole novel was written on these two verses and it was an acceptable subject. However, I believe that what Solomon is angling for here is another way of talking about the danger of small steps, whether it has to do with the temptation of food, or an inappropriate relationship. You may get away with either one, but if you are caught, you will receive punishment because that is justice. The end does not justify the means.
By the way, just so you know, while we may think that the punishment of paying seven times for a loaf of bread may be overblown, God Himself directs Moses in Exodus 22:3:B, “A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.” Solomon wasn’t coming up with this on his own, he was re-enforcing what God Himself had already said when He laid down His law at the exodus.
In our western thinking, this all sounds harsh. We are so used to giving a pass, it’s only a loaf of bread after all. It’s only a cup of coffee with a co-worker. It’s only a little white lie. It’s only, it’s only, it’s only…isn’t that what grace is all about?
No!! A very high price was paid to show grace, for the stolen loaves of bread to the lives that are stolen every day through other forms of sin that are more obvious. There is no pass, there is a price which was paid at the cross. That loaf of bread, that stolen opportunity wasn’t cheap, just because you didn’t pay it fully doesn’t mean it was written off like a tax benefit. Being holy is costly. Little foxes are deadly.
When Solomon uses the loaf of bread to talk about sin and its consequences, it is parallel to Nathan’s story about the Lamb when he confronted David with his sin in 2 Samuel 12. By the way, that was another incident involving adultery. It is another attempt to cause us to think about the consequences of our actions beyond the immediate gratification that we experience in the moment. It’s again calling the listener to use obedience to God’s Word, wisdom and prudence to choose the path of light before starting down the wrong road.
The challenge for us today is, how to teach the same to our listeners. We should all be a Solomon to someone. How do we help our listeners do the same? What word picture can we paint that will help our listeners consider the consequences of their actions beyond the moment? We’d better find an answer if we want to guide them away from the wrong path.
Prayer: Oh Lord, when we have a chance to be a positive influence, and to share your wisdom, please give us good words that relate to the people we get to talk to. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: “I Cherish the Treasure of You” Steve Green
This is what the Lord almighty says: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts, do not think evil of each other.” ~Zechariah 7:9-10
Question: What do you think the Lord thinks of the fact that we live in a land of abundance yet are surrounded by so much physical need? Did He provide abundance so that some can become well off or so that none would have need?
In his novel “Les Misérables” Victor Hugo depicts the verses from Proverbs for today. A poor man steals a loaf of bread, is caught and in the process of his paying seven-fold, he becomes what he was not before, a true criminal. It is only through the offer of grace by a priest that the man recognizes the choice he has to continue the life in which he had been trained to see himself or be renewed and transformed into a new creation. Of course, the point of this novel is to demonstrate how cruel man can be when those in power are governed too heavily by rules without compassion. It was written in a day in which these types of circumstances were actually experienced and thus believable.
That’s not our story today. With the abundance of food and pantries and a much more lenient justice system, we may find this story implausible. For Solomon to make this a Proverb, however, makes one wonder if this type of injustice was known in his day. And, if God made sure that out of Solomon’s more than 3,000 proverbs, this one made it into the final cut of scripture, He must know that there is something for us to still be able to learn to add to wisdom today.
First of all, let’s consider the context. Is this proverb really about a loaf of bread? If so, why would it be in the middle of a teaching about the woes of adultery? I don’t know about your Bible, but in my NIV Bible, the heading before Proverbs 6:20 says: “Warning against Adultery.” So, why, in the middle of a discourse on adultery is Solomon, all of a sudden talking about bread? If you read the actual text from Proverbs 6:20-35, you will notice that in verse 26, Solomon warns his listeners : “The prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your life.”
We could be tempted to take these verses 6:30-31, out of context and rail against the injustice of the powerful to overly punish a poor man for stealing a loaf of bread such as Victor Hugo did. Consider, a whole novel was written on these two verses and it was an acceptable subject. However, I believe that what Solomon is angling for here is another way of talking about the danger of small steps, whether it has to do with the temptation of food, or an inappropriate relationship. You may get away with either one, but if you are caught, you will receive punishment because that is justice. The end does not justify the means.
By the way, just so you know, while we may think that the punishment of paying seven times for a loaf of bread may be overblown, God Himself directs Moses in Exodus 22:3:B, “A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.” Solomon wasn’t coming up with this on his own, he was re-enforcing what God Himself had already said when He laid down His law at the exodus.
In our western thinking, this all sounds harsh. We are so used to giving a pass, it’s only a loaf of bread after all. It’s only a cup of coffee with a co-worker. It’s only a little white lie. It’s only, it’s only, it’s only…isn’t that what grace is all about?
No!! A very high price was paid to show grace, for the stolen loaves of bread to the lives that are stolen every day through other forms of sin that are more obvious. There is no pass, there is a price which was paid at the cross. That loaf of bread, that stolen opportunity wasn’t cheap, just because you didn’t pay it fully doesn’t mean it was written off like a tax benefit. Being holy is costly. Little foxes are deadly.
When Solomon uses the loaf of bread to talk about sin and its consequences, it is parallel to Nathan’s story about the Lamb when he confronted David with his sin in 2 Samuel 12. By the way, that was another incident involving adultery. It is another attempt to cause us to think about the consequences of our actions beyond the immediate gratification that we experience in the moment. It’s again calling the listener to use obedience to God’s Word, wisdom and prudence to choose the path of light before starting down the wrong road.
The challenge for us today is, how to teach the same to our listeners. We should all be a Solomon to someone. How do we help our listeners do the same? What word picture can we paint that will help our listeners consider the consequences of their actions beyond the moment? We’d better find an answer if we want to guide them away from the wrong path.
Prayer: Oh Lord, when we have a chance to be a positive influence, and to share your wisdom, please give us good words that relate to the people we get to talk to. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: “I Cherish the Treasure of You” Steve Green
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