Proverbs 27:7 - Meaning and Application

Solomon here, as he often does in this book, shows that the poor have some advantages over the rich. First, they often enjoy what they have more deeply than the rich do. Hunger is the best sauce. Plain food, when a person is truly hungry, tastes good in a way that rich people may never know, because their hearts are weighed down by overindulgence. People who feast every day can even lose their taste for fine food, as Israel did with the quails. But those who have only what they need may find food that a full person would call bitter to be sweet. They eat it with pleasure, digest it well, and are strengthened by it.

Second, they are often more thankful for what they receive. Hungry people will bless God for bread and water, while those who are full may think even the best food and variety hardly deserve thanks. Mary, the mother of Jesus, seems to refer to this when she says, “He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:53). Those who know how to value God’s gifts are filled, but those who despise them are justly sent away empty.