What does the Bible say about oppression?
If you’re feeling oppressed in life for whatever reason the best thing to do is cast your burdens on God. He cares for the people who feel crushed and are treated unfairly every day. Don’t dwell on the bad, but focus on God instead. Remember He is always with you to help, comfort, and encourage you. If God is for you who can ever be against you?
Christian quotes about oppression
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“A Christian knows that death shall be the funeral of all his sins, his sorrows, his afflictions, his temptations, his vexations, his oppressions, his persecutions. He knows that death shall be the resurrection of all his hopes, his joys, his delights, his comforts, his contentments. The Transcendent Excellency of a Believer’s Portion above All Earthly Portions.” Thomas Brooks Thomas Brooks
“He who allows oppression shares the crime.” Desiderius Erasmus
“Let thy great joy and comfort evermore be, to have His pleasure done in thee, though in pains, sickness, persecutions, oppressions, or inward griefs and pressures of heart, coldness or barrenness of mind, darkening of thy will and senses, or any temptations spiritual or bodily. Rules and Instructions for a Holy Life.” Robert Leighton
“I will tell you what to hate. Hate hypocrisy; hate cant; hate intolerance, oppression, injustice, Pharisaism; hate them as Christ hated them – with a deep, abiding, God-like hatred.” Frederick W. Robertson
“Why should I ever resist any delay or disappointment ointment, any affliction or oppression or humiliation – when I know God will use it in my life to make me like Jesus and to prepare me for heaven?” Kay Arthur
God has a lot to say about oppression
1. Zechariah 7:9-10 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.
2. Proverbs 14:31 Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.
3. Proverbs 22:16-17 A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty. Listen to the words of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction.
God cares for the oppressed
4. Psalm 9:7-10 But the LORD reigns forever, executing judgment from his throne. He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness. The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.
5. Psalm 103:5-6 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
6. Psalm 146:5-7 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.
7. Psalm 14:6 The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed, but the LORD will protect his people.
Tell Him God about how you feel oppressed
8. Psalm 74:21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.
9. 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
10. Psalm 55:22 Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
God is near the oppressed
11. Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
12. Psalm 145:18 The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
13. Psalm 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Bible verses about deliverance from oppression
God will help
14. Psalm 46:1 For the choir director: A song of the descendants of Korah, to be sung by soprano voices. God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
15. Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.
16. Hebrews 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
17. Psalm 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Never take matters into your own hands.
18. Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
19. Luke 6:27-28 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Examples of oppression in the Bible
20. Isaiah 38:12-14 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom; from day to night you bring me to an end; I calmed myself until morning; like a lion he breaks all my bones; from day to night you bring me to an end. Like a swallow or a crane I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!
21. Judges 10:6-8 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the LORD and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.
22. Psalm 119:121-122 I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors. Ensure your servant’s well-being; do not let the arrogant oppress me.
23. Psalm 119:134 Redeem me from human oppression, that I may obey your precepts.
24. Judges 4:1-3 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, now that Ehud was dead. So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.
25. 2 Kings 13:22-23 Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.
Bonus
Proverbs 31:9 Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.
