2 Samuel 12:1-4 “The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, ‘There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb … but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal … Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man …”‘
This analogy is not a true story, but the truth of the story was a fact of life even in the comparatively godly atmosphere of Israel and the lives of David and Bathsheba.
Principle: The abuse of power and wealth are deplorable to God and will be judged by Him.
The injustice of taking from the poor to feed the rich brings indignation and a cry for restitution and penalties. For business this means fair employment practices, good vendor relations, no gouging or deceptive practices in sales, plus ethical considerations of business practices – especially where power and size can be used to take advantage of the powerless.
Discussion:
1. What are some areas of the rich taking advantage of the poor nowadays?
2. How much attention is given to it and why not more?
3. If it is offensive to us, what can we do about it other than ask for legislation?
