1. In this proverb, Solomon is speaking about one who increases his substance.

a. He stands in contrast to the poor in the second part of the proverb, which would indicate that he has substantially increased his substance.

b. The contrast is between a rich man and a poor man.

c. Throughout history, there has always been tension or friction between the rich and the poor—the haves and the have-nots.

d. We see this played out in our city streets with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

e. Their complaint is that the rich oppress the poor and the playing field is not fair… it is unduly tilted towards the rich.

f. This is a modern day reenactment of the peasants and the serfs charging after the wealthy landowners and the nobility.

g. James 5:1-6 – The book of James speaks about this tension between the rich and the poor as well.

2. But in our proverb (as well as in James), the conflict is not between the rich and the poor, but between the UNJUST rich and the poor.

a. James speaks of the rich men who failed to pay the poor and kept back their money by fraud. (vs. 4)

b. The rich man in James condemned and killed the poor (vs. 6).

c. In James 2:6, James speaks about the rich man despising and oppressing the poor and taking them to court.

d. The Bible does not condemn the rich. It is not wrong to have wealth.

e. But the Bible clearly condemns fraud, oppression, and deceit.

f. And in the real world, the wealthy are usually in a better position to oppress, deceive, and defraud than the poor are.

3. Our proverb is about a man who increases his substance: he becomes very rich.

a. And the proverb condemns his actions.

b. However, it is not the FACT of increasing his substance, but the MEANS of increasing his substance that is exposed and condemned here.

c. This particular rich man became rich by (1) usury, and (2) unjust gain.

4. Two corrupt policies:

a. Usury
• Defined: Literally it means to strike or bite off (used of a snake bite); it came to mean requiring interest payments on a debt or loan; charging money for a loan—above and beyond what the amount of the loan was.
• This practice was forbidden between Jews in Israel under the Mosaic Law.
» Deut. 23:19-20 – They could loan with usury to a foreigner, but not a fellow Jew. God would withhold His blessing from those who disobeyed this law.
» Lev. 25:36-38 – Again, the law is repeated. This included more than money. It also included “victuals” or food supplies – sheep; grain; milk; etc. Note the reason given: I am the Lord… the One who GAVE YOU the land and all the material goods that is in the land.
• Deut. 15:7-8 – Not only were the Jews not to loan money with usury, they were to generously HELP the poor.
» It was acceptable to loan to the poor, but it was not acceptable to loan with usury.
» That was considered oppression and taking unfair advantage of others.
• It was forbidden for Jews to increase their substance by means of usury against their brother.
• A clarification and application to today:
» We interpret the Bible according to the grammatical and historical setting of the day in which it was written.
» When the Bible was written, they lived under a completely different economic system.
» They didn’t have to deal with inflation and other modern monetary issues.
→ If you loaned your neighbor a camel and two sheep, 15 years later, he could pay you back a camel and two sheep – and it would be exactly even.
→ But if you loaned someone $100.00 fifteen years ago, and 15 years later he pays you back $100.00, you have actually lost money. That $100.00 isn’t worth what it was back then. (What was a gallon of gas in 1997? ($1.30-$1.40)
→ Interest today is needed just to keep even.
→ In addition to that, if you had put your $100.00 in a bank or CD for that time period, you would have MADE interest. Thus, loaning without interest today puts you WAY behind.
→ Not only has his $100.00 lost value due to inflation, but it also lost the interest that it would have had in the bank or in a cd.
→ It is like comparing apples and oranges if we try to implement the principle of usury to today’s economy. It doesn’t work.
→ It is certainly not wrong to loan money to a brother today with interest.
→ The application to today would be to not be excessive in interest. Don’t try to take unfair advantage over others in your use of money.

b. Unjust gain –
• Defined: Most common meaning is “multiply,” but a variety of other translations are also given: “Ask much” (Gen/ 34:12); “gather much” (Ex/ 16:18); “yield much” (Neh. 9:37); “to heap” (Ezk. 24:10).
• It is sometimes translated as “usury,” and it has also been translated “extortion.”
• It could include over charging for products; using unjust weights; etc.
• The KJV’s “unjust gain” captures the meaning, and is broad enough to include usury and other forms of unjust means of taking advantage of the poor.
• The application from this term broadens the net to include excessive interest rates, but also any other form of financial or material oppression of the poor.
• In the modern world, there are countless examples of extortion, deceptive sales methods, and a multitude of scams that are used to take advantage of others.
• It is unfair, dishonest, and sinful behavior.