Wisdom Of The Teacher For College Students, Ch. 5.Sample

The plight of the oppressed is a hot topic on many campuses in our nation. And rightly so, for the Bible contains many references to the way the oppressed should be cared for by believers. The Teacher addresses that issue in these verses.

As you read them, you might be surprised at the position of the Teacher. We are instructed not to be amazed that the poor are oppressed or that justice and right are taken away violently. Even in ancient Israel these conditions seemed to be common, so there is no reason that we should be surprised that they still exist.

Then as now, the root cause is the corruption and greed of government officials. Well the root cause is sin, but it’s expressed in the systemic issues of greed within governments. The Teacher points out that at every level there is a higher official wanting to take his or her cut. This is more obviously in some places around the world and less obvious but still present in others. While the Teacher isn’t trying to solve the problem here or say it’s even inevitable, he’s just pointing out that we shouldn’t be amazed at it either. 

However, even with the problems associated with greed in the system, he points out that for an agrarian society the best solution is an earthly king. Since these verses were probably collected shortly after Solomon was king, we can see where that made since. I’m not sure those who lived through the evil days of the later kings of Israel would have agreed!