The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,
but it is swept away through injustice.

via Passage: Proverbs 13:23 (ESV Bible Online).

We can find stuff in Proverbs and divide it up into “deserving” and “undeserving” poor.  But whose to say that the sluggard might not still be able to make a living for awhile except for injustice exploiting him? The proverbs are full of wisdom about how to deal with people, including tyrants. In fact, Solomon never says that his wisdom only works in a free market. He tells you to live wisely and expect blessing. In any case, Wisdom exhorts you to both work hard and trust in Yahweh; implying that both directives are not dependent on circumstances.

This seems to jive with Israel’s own history. They were sent into exile by God’s just judgment. Yet God did not think that the slave-drivers were therefore justified in enslaving them. Zechariah 2, for example:

Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them.”

The point here is that people who need to learn wisdom will often also be victimized by injustice. Sometimes wisdom will easily release them from tyranny (i.e. teaching people to hate and resist the state’s fraudulent and exploitative lottery system). Other times it will not be so simple. We have to deal with both issues and not let one keep us from facing the other.

An example:

A fool’s lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating (Proverbs 18.6).

Does this mean that everyone who beats a fool who runs his mouth is justified? Don’t think so. He may just be a more powerful fool who can’t control his temper. But we would be doing the beaten fool a disservice if we only treated what happened as a “justice issue” and didn’t ask him if he might not want to keep silent and appear even wiser than he yet is (Proverbs 17.28).