God especially cares for all those that the world frequently disregards. For instance, the Bible points out that the Lord is “the helper of the fatherless,” and the poor commit themselves unto His care (Psalm 10:14). Why is it important for the poor to look up for their help? Because the Lord regards “the oppression of the poor” (Ecclesiastes 5:8) and delivers the poor “from him that is strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him” (Psalm 35:10). Jeremiah confirmed this truth when he said, “the LORD . . . hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers” (Jeremiah 20:13). The world may regard the poor as a burden, but the Lord sees them as one of His highest priorities.
Rebellion is a willing conscious decision to refuse the instruction of another. The Lord describes this in Zechariah 7:11 when He said, “they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.” This is a powerful illustration and picture! It almost seems like the Lord has a hand on the shoulder of the rebel but when faced with the Lord’s instruction, a rebel pulls away from the Lord’s gentle grasp. As he pulls away, the rebel turns his back and closes his ears to the Lord’s instruction. The Lord affirms this in Jeremiah 32:33 when He said, “they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.”
