What the Bible says about Oppression of the Innocent

The innocent killed because of anger against another

So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;  but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth."

Genesis 4:3-12

The most severe injustice is the killing of an innocent

Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.

Exodus 23:7

Death of an innocent curses the land

"If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him,  then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. and they shall answer and say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O LORD, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.' And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them. So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 21:1-2, 7-9

God judges rulers who do not support the innocent poor

God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers. “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.”  They do not know nor do they understand, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.  I said, "You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless you will die like men and fall like any one of the princes."

Psalm 82:1-7

Jesus was killed as an innocent

And He began to speak to them in parables: "A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But those vine-growers said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!' They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES '?"

Mark 12:1-12

Jesus' followers are killed as innocents

Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Matthew 23:34-36

Jesus' followers are to love and be hated

For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

I John 3:11-16

Bring justice to the oppressed

Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter, O hold them back.  If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?

Proverbs 24:11-12

What Proverbs Says about Poverty

16:8
Better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice.

19:1
Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.

16:26
A worker's appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on.

13:18
Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored

19:15
Laziness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle man will suffer hunger.

13:25
The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the stomach of the wicked is in need.

21:17
He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

14:20
The poor is hated even by his neighbor, but those who love the rich are many.

19:4
Wealth adds many friends, but a poor man is separated from his friend.

19:7
All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

22:7
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave.

18:23
The poor man utters supplications, But the rich man answers roughly.

13:23
Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice.

22:16
He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

28:3
A poor man who oppresses the lowly Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

14:31
He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

21:13
He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.

22:22-23
Do not rob the poor because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate;
For the LORD will plead their case and take the life of those who rob them.

28:27
He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses

19:17
One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed

29:7
The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor, The wicked does not understand such concern.

24:10-12
Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, oh hold them back. If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?

15:15-17
All the days of the anawim are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and turmoil with it. Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred.

30:7-9
Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die:
Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.

22:2
The rich and the poor have a common bond, the LORD is the maker of them all.

What the Bible says About the Humble Raised

Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Matthew 23:12 

God raises the poor above the wealthy

The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles, and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He set the world on them. He keeps the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.  For not by might shall a man prevail.

1Samuel 2:7-9 

The hungry receive what is good from God

He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent away the rich empty-handed.

Luke 1:52-53 

The earth belongs to the humble

But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.  Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked.  For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But the LORD sustains the righteous.

Psalm 37:11, 16-17 

God gives the earth to the meek

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:5

The greatest are those who are low like a child

Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:4 

God's blessing is for the poor, the hungry, the mourning

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

Luke 6:20-23 

The greatest is the slave

But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

Mark 10:43-45

The humble before God is the righteous

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 18:10-14

Those who suffer receive God's inheritance

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Romans 8:16-17

The one who chooses the lowest place is raised

When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this man,' and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 14:8-11

God exalts the humble

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

James 4:10