Jacob’s denunciation of the rich presages Jesus’s similar statements. For both, it is not the wealth (just as it is not the learning) that is the problem but rather what it can do to the rich person’s soul and relationships to others. Both learning and wealth are perilous because each offers ways in which men seek to exalt themselves over their fellows. The rich might claim power and position on the basis of their wealth, and the learned on the basis of their knowledge. Both attitudes are “foolishness.” Both the rich and the learned must remain humble before Yahweh. (See commentary accompanying Alma 7:23–24 for more information on becoming humble.)
More than just the moral rightness of being humble before Yahweh, Jacob is emphasizing the need to uphold the egalitarian ideal of Nephite society. Most episodes of apostasy in the Book of Mormon begin with social differentiation, be it because of learning, wealth, or the desire for a king and the trappings that accompanied that type of government. Jacob teaches a social principle as much as a moral one.