Proverbs 28:15-21

Proverbs 28:15-21
​English Standard Version
​15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
    is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor,
    but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
17 If one is burdened with the blood of another,
    he will be a fugitive until death;
    let no one help him.
18 Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered,
    but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.
19 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
    but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
    but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not good,
    but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.

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A wicked ruler devours and rips apart poor people like a hungry lion or bear tears apart and devours its prey.  Such rulers who lack understanding are cruel oppressors.  Such a man is contrasted with the kind of ruler who hates unjust gain, for the righteous ruler does not use this power to steal what others have worked for.  The LORD promises to bless such a righteous ruler with prolonged days (probably as king and by extending his life in general, for most of the kings reigned until their death--natural or otherwise).

No one is to take innocent life.  Though the prohibition against killing also includes manslaughter, I think Solomon is specifically talking about a man who commits murder.  I say that because Solomon says the man will bear the guilt of this and be a fugitive for the rest of his life and that no one should help him.  That doesn't sound like the system of Cities of Refuge that were in place for those who committed manslaughter (accidently took the life of another) where they would be protected until the high priest died, and after that, such a man would be free to go, for the high priest died in the place of the manslaughterer.  There was no such help for a murderer.  He was to be put to death, but if he ran away to avoid punishment, he could never come back.

Instead, we are to talk in integrity and then we will be delivered (ultimately from sin and death, but God will also be our deliverer in the here and now).  The crooked man who lacks integrity will fall, and great will be his fall--it will come upon him suddenly though maybe not immediately.  The LORD is longsuffering giving people time to repent, but then He acts suddenly and swiftly to bring about His judgment when He deems the time is right.

A man should work to provide for himself and his family instead of following worthless pursuits and hobbies and then complaining when he does not have enough to eat.  "He who will not work should not eat."  A faithful man will be blessed by the LORD in abundance.  Not so with the man whose heart is motivated by covetousness and greed--who seeks to get rich quick.  That man will be punished by the LORD for all of the sin he commits due to his love of money and material possessions.

A good leader should not show favoritism (partiality).  There is also a temptation for leaders to make the ends justify the means.  Solomon says it here as "for a piece of bread, a man will do wrong."  It is hard to tell a person to continue to be moral and to not have food for himself or his family when the easy answer for him would be to steal what he needs (the storyline of Les Misérables where we see the thief as the protagonist and the police officer trying to arrest him as the villain).   It is always right to do right, and it is always wrong to do wrong.  Trust the LORD and obey Him.  He can provide for you (and your family) or He can choose to take you to be in heaven with Him where you will have the full abundance of His provision, and you will receive the rewards He has in store for you.