Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro
 
"Bad, bad," says the buyer, But when he goes his way, then he boasts. Proverbs 20:14

There are proverbs which present the heart of man to us - so that we can know how to deal with men in a fallen world.  This is one of those proverbs.  The truth of this proverb needs to be grasped especially by those who are in the business world - and those who go forth to buy and sell in the marketplace.  If we know this truth, we will be better armed to know the hearts of men - and to know how to bargain with them, as well as why they can be so stubborn and insistent on getting a price as low as possible.

We have here what seems to be a contradiction in the one who is the buyer.  At one point he is saying, "Bad, bad," about the merchandise that he is seeking to buy.  Yet in the next moment, after making the purchase, he boasts about what he has received.  This is deceit on the part of the buyer - yet he is engaging in the deceit to make sure that he can get the lowest price possible.  Not that this is ethical at all - but it is far too often how men think they need to negotiate.

A story is told by St. Augustine of a certain banker in his time who told an entire theater of men that he would show every man what was in his heart the next time they met.  When the time came, the theater was full and all awaited with a breathless silence for his words.  He stood up, and in a single sentence said, "You all wich to buy cheap, and sell dear."  The crowd waited for an instant - then broke into applause for his statement, but everyone one of themt agreed that the same was in every one of their hearts.  This reveals to us the very same thing that this proverb says today.  We all wish to buy as cheap as possible, and then sell the same at the highest price we can get. 

Some might say that this is why the captialist system needs to be destroyed and replaced with another system that is based on equality.  Yet there is a fundamental problem with any other system - especially socialism or communism.  Who is going to guarantee this so-called equality?  Is there one among us who is NOT tainted by sin?  Is there anyone who can say that selfishness does not enter the equation?  And can anyone deny that when systems are put into place where the government is supposed to provide true equity, that the very government that promises this fairness, eventually turns to be the greatest oppressor of the people in the end? 

Though this proverb may cause some to chafe at the thought of its inherent selfishness, we need to see that in a fallen world, no one is able to truly do business without an inherent self-interest.  But when a system is put into place that allows the greatest freedom of choice by the people, then this inherent self-interest actually acts as a guard against any one person taking control of everything and acting in their own self-interest to the detriment of all. 

The wise man knows the heart of God - and in this case, he also knows the heart of men.  John 3 says that Jesus knew what was in the heart of a man.  That is why He did not gauge His success or failure on the momentary accolades of the crowds that surrounded Him.  They cheered Him when He multiplied bread and fish, but then left Him in John 6 when He spoke hard truth to them.  A wise man knows the hearts of men - and that is why in the arena of men governing men, he sets up safeguards.  Our forefathers were wise in setting up a system of government where all three branches had checks and balances to ensure that none would become dominant over all.  In the same way, it is wise for man to function under an economic system where his own selfishness is a check and balance on him in the marketplace.

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I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; And if you run, you will not stumble. Proverbs 4:11-12

Fathers, how well have you led and directed your sons?  Would you be able to say what we have read here in Proverbs today?  Would you be able to tell your sons that if they walk in your ways, they would live a godly life - one that would not hinder them from growing spiritually and one free from the stumbling blocks that often trip us up in life? 

The father here who is instructing his son tells him very plainly that he has directed him in a lifestyle that values wisdom.  The word for "directed" is a very visual word - describing an arrow that has been shot straight.  The way that fathers are to shoot their sons into this world is on a path that highly values wisdom and God's ways.  I love that he uses the phrase, "the way of wisdom."  Way is the Hebrew word "derek" which refers to a lifestyle - a long journey - a manner of living.  The father taught in such a way that wisdom became a lifestyle, not just a series of choices every now and then.  This is how we are to educate our children.  I believe in education - but not as an end in itself.  Education or the acquiring of information and learning - is just a stepping stone to a greater goal.  We should educate our children (and everyone for that matter) so that they take the information they receive and use it to walk in wisdom and understanding in their lives.  That is how this father taught his son - and what his goal was in the end.

The second thing he says to his son is that he also led him in upright paths.  Again we see a word here, paths, that tells us that this father led with a view toward having his son learn a pathway.  This word refers to a track or a course.  The father, by his example - led his son to know the track that leads to wisdom and godliness.  He refers to it as an "upright" path.  In Proverbs 2:13 the father speaks to his son about staying on the straight path - and not taking the crooked one.  This upright path is one that is straight, godly, and filled with what is right.  The dad took the time to teach his son godly, holy ways.  He did so with such consistency in his life that his son learned these ways - not just from instruction alone.  He "led" his son in these paths - meaning that he walked in front of his son - leading the way all throughout his life.  The son knew godliness not just by precept, but by example.

Here is the beauty of teaching and leading our sons in this manner.  The father, in verse 12, now tells his son that there are wonderul rewards or walking in this way. 

The first benefit is that when he walks, this son will not be impeded.  The word here is "yatsar" and it means to be in distress or frustrated.  The word indicates a frustrated anxiety in situations.  The idea therefore is  that the son will not face impediments that will make him filled with anxiety and frustration.  This seems like a wonderful promise.  But can we truly walk throughout our lives without being frustrated?  That seems a little more than we can swallow, being those who have frequently experienced varying levels of frustration and anxiety in life. 

God's promise here is not a lack of frustrating situations, but rather that when we walk, our steps will not be walked out in frustration.  This God provides by teaching us wisdom - seeing life as He sees it.  When we do this, we will begin to see all things as beneficial to us - even if they seem bad at the outset.  We will find even the most difficult of moments being used by God for our good.  We learn to have the same patience that our Father God has as we deal with people.  Seeing life as He does makes us so much less frustrate-able.  Knowing that all things work together for our good - as we are being conformed to the image and character of Jesus - makes life so very livable.

The second benefit the father tells his son that wisdom will bring is that when it comes time to run, he will not stumble.  The word for "run" used here had pretty specific contexts.  Men ran in battle.  Men ran to the defense.  Men ran to bring important messages to others.  Fathers, we need to teach our sons that there are times they need to run.  But we also need to train them so that when it is time to run - to battle the enemy - to defend their family, their friends, the church, their freedom - to bring the message of the gospel and of godliness - that they will not trip and fall because they are not ready.  The idea here of stumbling always carried with it that one stumbled either because he was weak or because he had a stumbling block before him.  This is where an education of wisdom - to help a young man establish a lifestyle is so vital.  Without it he will develop habits and choices that will put stumbling blocks before him.  Without it he will be weak when he needs to be strong.  Without it he will fall inevitably into the two traps of manhood.  He will either become a man who is domineering who lacks a servant's heart toward his wie and children - or - he will fall into passivity and not have the strength o character to lead his family and lead in situations where the world around him desperately needs a man to step up and be a man. 

Fathers, an awesome task has been set before us.  We are to train the next generation of men.  That may seem like a daunting task - but it is one that God promises to help us and give us great grace to accomplish.  There is no one, dad, who can take your place in this effort.  You will be THE most effective teacher for your sons in this endeavor.  Do it with all your hearts - because the  blessing it will bring to your grandchildren and the world in which your son will live will be immeasurable.  And beyond all this, the glory that will be brought to God for the ways that His wisdom will be displayed in your son's life and family - will adorn the gospel and the Word of God in a way that is desperately needed in our generation.   

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She is now in the streets, now in the squares, And lurks by every corner. Proverbs 7:12

In chapter 7 of Proverbs we are examining the adulterous woman.  As we do this we are learning to contrast her actions and lifestyle with what the Scriptures call a godly woman to be.  This particular verse may wind up being controversial in what it teaches us.  But that is only because we don't teach what the Scriptures say to the women in the church any longer due to the effect of the doctrines of the women's liberation movement.  Now that I've opened the proverbial can of worms - let's take a look at today's verse in Proverbs.

One of the descriptions of the adulteress is that she is not at home, but instead is all over town.  She's in the streets, the squares - and then we read that she "lurks" by every corner.  First let's deal with the fact that she is all over town.  The Scriptures teach us that a godly woman is a "worker at home."  In Titus 2 we read that the older women should be teaching the younger women to love their hustands, love their children, to be sensible, pure, kind, and workers at home.  The church has moved away from such teaching because the women's lib movement has made enough noise to make such teaching uncomfortable in today's society.  We are considered "out of touch" if we teach such things.  We are told that we should realize that a woman can do anything a man can do - and that she should be liberated from her enslavement to the dungeon of the home. 

What I find fascinating is that Paul begins this section of his letter to Titus by saying that he is to "speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine."  This is not a matter of cultural preference - but a matter of sound doctrine.  When we do not teach these things in the church - in the way specificed by Paul (i.e. the older woman teaching the younger women) the end will be that the Word of God will be dishonored.  The other thing I find fascinating is that for all the so-called liberating that has been done for women - they are still finding that they desire husbands and children.  They still find the greatest satisfaction (as well as the greatest challenge) in loving a husband and loving their children.  Where this is happening we are also finding that there is the greatest stability provided for children and society to flourish. 

The adulteress is not for this lifestyle of staying at home - or at least seeing her life's work there with her husband and her children.  The Hebrew here is so descriptive.  With short phrases we read that she is now in the streets - then now in the squares - and as she lives this jet-setting life all over town - she tends to lurk by the corners.  What is being said is that she is not content being in the home.  She wants her own life and her own way.  Hopefully we are learning from Scripture that the worst thing for us is to constantly "get our way."  This woman does not want the home-based life - the family-based life.  She wants to be out and about - doing and being everywhere.  She's in the streets and in the squares - and we should note that it seems that nothing of any real use is being accomplished.  She's just hanging out - out of the home.  This is NOT good for a woman - or - for a man for that matter.

Now before someone begins to protest that I'm suggesting that a woman be a slave to her house - I want to offer a few comments here on the godly woman.  Proverbs 31 presents to us the godly woman.  When you read that passage you come away with anything BUT a woman enslaved to her home.  She is out and about at times - but not without a purpose.  She is out and about doing things for her family.  She is out and about serving her home.  You would probably see her in the streets and squares as well - but not just "lurking" about by every corner.  She is accomplishing things - buying and selling - getting things for her husband and her children.  She is overseeing servants who work with her to make her house into a home.  The problem is not being out of the house - it is being out of the house for no real apparent reason. 

We've got far too much "hanging out" going on in our society.  Too often our men, women, and children are living their lives to "hang out" rather than to accomplish something.  Ever notice that those who are "hanging out" tend to get into far more trouble than those who have a purpose and are "getting out" to accomplish that purpose? 

This is the fundamental problem with the adulteress.  She is "lurking out" rather than "living out."  Let me explain.  When we "lurk out," we are wasting our time with no real purpose in view.  Actually those who "hang out" and "lurk out" are saying that they are either looking for something to do - or - they don't have anything to do.  Because this is their situation, they are going somewhere to "hang out."  Believe me that when this is your normal mode of life - you will eventually get into trouble.  An idle life is the devil's/flesh's playground.  Spend enough time with no purpose and no place to go - and the flesh or the devil will begin making suggestions.  Live like this and the world system (which is under the devil's control) will offer a direction - and it is a bad one.  For the adulteress woman (as well as the fool she seduces) her time spent "lurking out" looking for something to do - it ends in the sin of adultery.

We need to "live out" our days.  What I mean by this is that we learn to live in God's will - fulfilling His purposes for our lives.  This is a life spent seeking to know God - and follow what He desires for our lives.  When we live like this, we will go out like everyone else.  But the time we go out will be spent accomplishing the things God desires for us to do.  There will be a purpose to our going out.  We will be "living out" the will of God.  We will be living to bring glory to God as we take the time He's given us and put it to good use.  In the end His purposes will not just keep us out of trouble - they will be lived out to where we have a life filled with purpose and meaning.  This is a far better way to live than just "hanging out" or "lurking out" to see what the world, the devil, and our flesh bring us to do. 

Wisdom is living a life.  Wisdom is a life lived on purpose.  Just hanging out will turn to just lurking out - and just lurking out will be a life lived for the wrong purposes.  Be wise and live life on purpose - God's purpose.
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Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course. Proverbs 2:9

How do you know when you are doing the right thing or going in the right direction in life?  Here is a question that everyone would love to be able to answer.  The fact is that God says that we can know this.  The way that we know it though is definitely outside of the mainstream of ideas that exist today.  Let's take a look today at how we can know whether we are on course or not.

Solomon tells us here that there is a time when we will be able to discern some very important things.  The first in his fourfold list is righteousness.  Before we jump into those four things, we should see that discernment is involved.  The word discern means that we are able to look at things and distinguish between them.  We see differences between two or more things - and use that knowledge to understand them from God's vantage point.  Here is our first very important lesson - things differ - and you can tell the difference.  Most would agree with you on this truth - until you begin stating what you can distinguish between.  The last thing we should address before we go into our list is that Solomon is stating what he does in verse 9 as a conclusion to all he has said before.  What is it that allows us to have this discernment?  It is the Word of God.  All through this chapter he is calling for us to receive the Word, store up the Word in our hearts, cry out for God's work in teaching it to us, and to seek for the Word as one would buried treasure.  The discernment of which we speak here is a discernment that comes only because of the way the Word works in our hearts.

As I said earlier, the first in his fourold list if righteousness.  We will be able to discern when something is right or not.  Now is the moment when the postmodern among us throw up their red flags.  They assert someone might know right and wrong for themselves - but consider it the height of arrogance to think or state that anyone might be able to discern right and wrong for everyone.  But that is exactly what Proverbs asserts here - and more by the time we finish with the four things Solomon says can be discerned.

The second in our list of four is justice.  Our society cries out for justice - but unfortunately the justice they want ignores the Word of God.  It ignores what God calls just in many cases - and completely ignores the problem of how we can be just before Him.  Whereas the world cries for social justice - God offers absolute justice.  These are not always opposed to one another - but - God ultimately wants us to be able to stand before Him just and righteous - and that requires the person and the work of Jesus Christ to happen.

The third thing we will be able to discern is equity.  Here, my friends is a loaded word.  "Meysar" is the word the Hebrews used to describe equity.  It means rightness, correctness, and fairness.  The word meant something smooth and level.  Communism is man's way of trying to make everything equitable.  Pure communism takes from everyone and then redistributes it so everyone gets an equal share.  It does not take into account work ethic or whether someone has truly earned their share with hard work.  And since pure communism would require pure hearts to work - we see that in practical communism - the ruling class takes and redistributes so everyone is equally as poor - while they live in the lap of luxury and take care of those who most honor and support their rule.  When God speaks of equity He is speaking of how a state should judge fairly and honorably.  He is speaking of how His promises are available to all.  To "discern" equity we need to see things as God does - for fairness and correctness begins with what is fair and right in God's eyes.  When we bring God into this equation - we have serious trouble for mankind.  Man is sinful and rebellious - and what is fair for him is God's wrath and judgment.  What we should find amazing about God's equity is that He chose to pay the price of equity for us - and instead of giving us what is fair, He gave us grace instead.

Finally, through the Word, we can discern every good course.  We will know the right ways to walk - and God will indicate to us wrongs ones as well.  This right and wrong will correspond to what He says in His Word.  Thus we have the ultimate aggravation to the modernist.  We assert that through God's Word we have an "absolute standard" upon which all things in life is to be measured.  If actions and choices and lifestyles do not measure up to what God calls good, right, just, and equitable - they are wrong.  And thus begins the clash of worldviews.  True Judaism and Christianity will always find themselves at odds with the rest of the worldviews that come from men.  They end up at odds because they have the audacity of claiming that God's Word is a revelation of THE truth.  For those who reject this claim - the world is a mish-mash of conflicting morals and ideas.  We all get along by ultimately stating that both everything is right, as well as everything is wrong.  It might be right for us while at the same time being wrong for others.  The resulting public moral quicksand creates a world in which all things are to be tolerated except the arrogance of Judaism and Christianity who assert that their worldview is absolute.  That view - that view that states that there is absolute truth and it is found in God's Word - is the one that absolutely cannot be tolerated.  Too bad though - because it is the only worldview that creates the stability of actually knowing whether the path you are taking will ultimately lead to blessing or destruction. 
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Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house, Proverbs 5:8

For many, the reason that they fail and fail again in conquering sexual sin is because they are trying to walk as close as they can to the line rather than walking miles from seeing it.  Let me explain as we look at today's "little bit of wisdom." 

Solomon is giving his son great advice here concerning the immoral woman.  He is told to keep his way FAR from her!  He tells his son not to go near to the door of her house!  What great wisdom he offers here - and yet it is as simple as a child learning their first letters.  The problem is that too many ignore this advice - and do so to their own demise. 

FAR - there is the definitive word that we need to remember when it comes to avoiding sexual sin.  What usually happens is that a young man wants to go as close as he can to sin - without actually stepping into it.  He walks the line between sin and righteousness like someone walks a tight rope.  The result of this choice on his part is that he sins - and does so fairly regularly. 

Here is a truth and wisdom you need to remember when it comes to sexual sin - and hanging around the wrong kind of women or men.  If you want to walk as close as you can to sin - you will sin.  You are destined to fall if your goal is to stay close to the edge of sin.  David knew this when he instructed Solomon in this very same information.  David understood this all too well. 

David should have never been in Jerusalem when he committed adultery with Bathsheba.  The Scriptures tell us that when kings went to war . . . David chose to stay home.  This presents a very dangerous situation for David.  First of all, David is not where he should be - fighting for Israel and engaging the Lord's enemies.  So our first lesson is this - if sin is our enemy, why would we want to get as close to it as we can?  If David would have been where God wanted him to be - he would have never faced temptation in the first place. 

David's actions had consequences.  Now he was a man in a city filled with women whose husbands were away at war.  Where there would have been a natural protection afforded to David by the presence of Bathsheba's husband - that was not the case. 

When David was walking on the roof of his house and saw Bathsheba bathing - he could have walked away and gone back into his palace.  Instead he chose to look - and to note that she was a beautiful woman.  Each time David decided to walk on the edge of where God wanted him to be - and what God wanted him to do - David was ensuring that he was going to eventually fall off that edge headlong into sin.  Eventually, David succumbed to the desires that were raging in his heard.  Even though he had a palace filled with wives - and probably by this time concubines - he had to have this woman.  The rest is a sad and sordid history.

But enough about David - how about us?  Where are we walking in these matters?  Are we steering clear of sin - especially sexual sin.  I know of men who have stumbled again and again into pornography and other sexual sin - who grieve over their failures.  But they are unwilling to get a filter - unwilling to submit to accountability - and many think they can continue to get as close to sin as possible rather than run from it. 

If you want to know the answer to all this - it is to follow Solomon's counsel here - and keep away from the immoral woman - or wherever you are seeing her image or pictures.  If anything our heart's desire needs to be a desire to get as close to JESUS as we can!  That is what needs to drive us in our hearts.  We need to have a heart that says - not only do I want to keep away from her and steer clear of the door of her house.  I want to do just the opposite - to keep as close as I can to Christ - and to often go near Him. 

If you want to avoid sexual sin - then AVOID IT!  But in avoiding it, don't think inches or millimeters.  Think miles and miles!  By staying away from the source of temptation - we will find our hearts wonderfully protected as we instead draw near to our Lord Jesus Christ!
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Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter. 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty And remember his trouble no more. Proverbs 31:6-7

Is the Bible encouraging drunkenness here?  When I read this - at first glance I come away with the thought that the Bible is encouraging us, if we know someone who is struggling with poverty and bitterness, to encourage them to knock back a few - and they will forget all their troubles.  Is that what the Bible is saying here?  If it is - then this contradicts badly the passages that warn us against the harm that over indulgence in alcohol can do in our lives.  

To understand this Proverb we once again need to understand it based upon what it says in context.  God just moved on Bathsheba to instruct her son NOT to drink wine or strong drink.  Her reasoning is that such an action would lead her son to forget the Law.  With his thinking and reasoning impaired - he might pervert the rights of those who are afflicted.  So, two things we know here are that drunkenness is out of the question in what is being said - and - that Bathsheba is interested in how her son, as king, deals with the afflicted within his kingdom.

Her admonition to her son, next, is to give wine and strong drink to the one who is perishing.  This word means to perish, to be lost, or destroyed.  It was understood by the Jewish rabbis as dealing with two primary situations.  The first is when someone is suffering greatly with sickness - especially when that sickness is terminal.  It was a custom due to this admonition to medicate the dying with strong drink so that they would drink and forget the pain of their dying.  We do this today with terminal patients through morphine.  It is not evil to do so - it is merciful.  It is giving them something to help with the throes of dying.  The second instance where this was used was with those given to a death sentence - especially crucifixion.  We know this because Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall when He was on the cross.  This was a pain killing mixture that was given by godly women to those who faced the death penalty.  Jesus refused this because He needed to embrace all that the cross meant for sin.  But to offer some merciful pain killing substance to someone in the midst of horrific pain is something God counsels us to do. 

These admonitions are given for those "perishing" and also for those who are "bitter of soul."  Here is where things get a little bit more dicey.  For the one who is perishing - it is easy to see that we are easing their suffering as they draw near to death.  But what about the bitter of soul?  What is going on here?  Again, context is so important to remember.  We are in a section of Scripture where a mother has just warned her son against alcohol abuse - and how it clouds judgment and could lead to her son disregarding the Law in a moment of drunkenness.  Therefore, we can be assured that when it comes to those who are "bitter of soul" she is not advocating drunkenness to alleviate their problems.  This passage cannot be used therefore to justify men or women drowning their sorrows in whiskey or beer. 

What we do see though is that there is a benefit for the bitter of soul in having a drink.  The Bible itself says that "wine makes man's heart glad," in Psalm 104:15.  That verse is in the midst of a list of things that God Himself provides, including oil for the skin and the food that sustains a man with strength.  Wine was used in the feasts of Israel as well - and even offered up to God as a sacrifice.  Our problems with alcohol come from living in a society where drinking is too often done for the sake of partying - and with a view to getting drunk.  But God knows that drinking in moderation (let me stress here that this means NEVER getting drunk - and it also means drinking apart from the party scene, which in itself has more sins than just the drinking) can lift someone's spirits.  Wine does make a man's heart glad - and can lift someone's spirits.  Thus, Solomon was advised to give it to those who are bitter in soul to help them be lifted temporarily and cheered. 

I'm going to venture into an area where there is much disagreement and where I can be heavily criticized.  But in light of this passage, I feel the need to go there regardless of the dangers.  There are believers who struggle with periods of depression.  You could call these periods of time being bitter in soul.  Often a psychologist, psychiatrist, or a doctor encourages them to take something for a while to help them with their depression.  When this happens there is a cry from some that this is wicked, sinful - and it is only because the person does not trust God.  Yet here we have counsel given to the king that he should give wine or strong drink to someone who is too struggling with being bitter in soul.  Verse 7 in this section speaks of having him forget his poverty and trouble no more.  Poverty speaks of a lack - something is missing here - and it is further described as a man's "trouble."  This second word means a troublesome time - a time of labor and toil - and was used of the difficulties and hardships of life that lead to sorrow in a man's heart.  These times can be very difficult to handle - and I've actually watched brothers and sisters helped for a period of time by a medicine - something that lifts their spirits as they walk through a very difficult time.  Needless to say - or maybe it is better to say, Needful to say - God is not advocating drunkenness and the proverbial drowning of our sorrows in beer or hard liquor - but I do think what is advocated is something that would temporarily lift ones spirit and soul through a very difficult time.

Here is where I offer what I hope to be the other side of wisdom on this issue.  Although I do see a situation and a period of time where this might be profitable - I do not see it as "the answer" for depression and for times when we are bitter of soul.  Psalm 4:7 tells me that God puts, "gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound."  A period of time may require this verse to be applied (if it does not refer solely to the perishing - and the bitter of soul is just another way of saying someone who is perishing) but we need to see God ultimately as our source of joy and as the ultimate One who can lift us out of any funk in which we find ourselves in life.  The one who turns to wine, strong drink, or even modern medicines as a permanent solution to their difficulties - and who does not turn to the Lord with them - is placing themselves in danger of looking to something rather than looking to Somone - as the answer to their problems.

Remember this - as we close today's look at Proverbs.  There is a mountain of Scripture dealing with the abuse of alcohol - of wine, new wine, and strong drink.  The Bible is overflowing with examples of how people lost their reason and their discernment with these things and wound up in grevious sin.  So as we see the wisdom of using wine and strong drink in the ways specified here - we need to do so with extreme caution and with God's wisdom guiding our every move in this area.  Too many, thinking they were just needing a little lift - have turned to alcohol and found it to be worse than their original problem in the end.  Wisdom, dear saints, should always color our use of such things.  May God give us grace and wisdom to do just as His counsel suggests here - and not find ourselves falling into sin by abusing something meant for a temporary benefit.  In the end, He is and always will be our source of comfort and of encouragment in difficult times - even in death. 
 
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Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol. Proverbs 23:13-14

Just a warning as I begin today's Proverb of the day . . . those who hold that any type of physical punishment on a child is child abuse will be greatly offended at the wisdom God gives us today.  With that said - I will go on record as supporting the spanking of a disobedient and rebellious child.  We've done it with all six of ours and they seem to have adjusted well - none of them are ax murderers or any other kind of violent offenders. 

All this being said - mostly tongue in cheek - there are proverbs about child rearing that I find humorous.  This is one of them.  This proverb begins by saying that we do not need to hold back discipliine from a child.  This is actually one of the most "unloving" things you can do to your child.  You are ensuring that the child will be used to getting his or her own way - and that they will indeed be a spoiled brat as they grow older.  At the very least, you are making sure they will be selfish - and that the lessons they should have learned early in life will be learned with much harder lessons later in life. 

All children are born selfish and self-centered.  This is due to the fall of man into sin.  I realize that this particular view runs counter to most educational models of this present world.  They believe that man is basically good and that if we just get out of man's way with our oppressive rules and regulations - man would find his own way to the next level of evolution.  The Bible teaches that man is fallen - and that given his own way that man will ruin himself eventually.  We watch this in our world in general from year to year - decade to decade - and millenium to millenium.  But we can watch the same thing with a child.  Every child needs discipline.  Some will seem to more naturally be given to disicpline - while others are terrors from birth.  You can be assured of a different ride based on the basic temperment of the child - but all need discipline. 

What I find funny about this passage is the next statement.  "Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die."  Some will try to argue that the rod refers to the mouth or some other ridiculous translation stretch.  The rod refers to a stick or switch or some other instrument which you use to strike the child.  The word "strike" here is the Hebrew "nakah" and it means to strike or to smite.  It speaks of a physical strike.  Now the intent here is not to damage the child - but to sting the child with the spanking so as to administer a physical response to disobedience.  As the child grows older the striking or smiting should be eventually replaced with reason and understanding.  But when they are little the physical pain is to direct them away from the wrong - and eventually into the right as their reasoning skills grow.  They learn obedience from what they suffer in this part of being disciplined.  What I find funny - is that the Bible tells us that the child won't die when you strike him or her.  First, that should tell us that the intent is not to damage the child - but it also reminds me of the way a couple of my kids reacted to being spanked.  Some would do all they could to not register any kind of response.  Others though could have won an academy award with theirs.  You would think they were about to die with the way they carried on about the spanking.  We would talk and remind them why they were being disciplined - and afterward would hug them and remind them that we loved them.  But during - oh, during the discipliine one would have thought that they were about to die.  I think this statement here is for parents - to remind them that some of us do have the more dramatic children who will pitch a fit over their discipline.

The second verse - verse 14 then reminds us of the reason for the discipline in the first place.  We will strike our child with the rod - and rescue them from Sheol.  Sheol is the place of the dead - it is the place where punishment is given until the final day of judgment.  If left to themselves, children will run the way of their sin nature.  They will not come to Christ on their own - neither will they often see the value of godly discipline and godly character.  Character is not a given in a child (or an adult for that matter).  Character is built from times of discipline and molding.  Those moments honestly, are usually more painful that many of us would like to admit. 

To withhold discipline and spankings from a child is actually a cruel thing to do.  Life is eventually going to administer discipline to us.  We face it every day.  Waking up in time to get to work is discipline.  There are days when I do not find it pleasurable - but I discipline myself to do it for the good.  Eating properly and exercising for my health can be a discipline that is not enjoyable.  I would prefer eating 25 chocolate chip cookies - but discipline myself not to for the good in the end.  I learn to exercise because the 30-40 minutes of discipline results in an entire day feeling good and being able to live a longer, healthier life.  Rearing a child to think that discipline is not a part of life is cruel.  They grow up wrongly thinking that everything is going to be easy and fun.  I am not one of those who think we should make all learning fun.  To be honest - some learning is just - well learning.  It is hard to memorize - but it bears such wonderful fruit.  It is hard to discipline myself to read 4 chapters of the Word every day - but it has yielded a strategic grasp of the Bible I could not have gotten any other way.  Discipline is part of life.  Proverbs itself tells me that reproofs for discipline is the way of life.  If we lived in a pefect world where selfishness and self-centeredness were not affecting us - we could live in a world without discipline.  But we do not.  We live in a world where people are selfish - where we ourselves our selfish.  That is why we need discipline.  And those who receive it early in life from loving parents are far better off than those who think they are blessing their children by withholding it. 
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Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards himself will be far from them. Proverbs 22:5

Perversity . . . why is it wise to avoid being someone who is perverse?  That is the subject of today's proverb of the day.  The perverse man is the crooked man.  This word is used to describe someone who is morally, religiously, and socially given to perversion.  We read elsewhere in Proverbs 11:20 that God hates the perverse.  So this kind of lifestyle is one that we want to avoid at all costs. 

God says that thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse.  It is interesting that the perverse man thinks that everything is fine with him and with his lifestyle.  He may even feel that he will get ahead if he twists a few things here and there.  But the truth is that he is navigating a way that is full of thorns and snares.  We see this best when a banker or businessman is finally caught after being morally bankrupt.  The day comes when he is eventually caught in one of the snares.  The day comes when he faces the cost of walking through thorns.  The scrapes begin to add up and the scars make his skin ugly over time.  The snare that catches him trips him up all at once - and usually comes with a humiliating set of consequences. 

What are we to do about these things?  Scripture tells us that we need to "guard" ourselves from them.  The word "guard" here is our old friend "shamar" and means to be watchful and careful.  It means to set up a watch like a bodyguard over our lives.  We should have signs set up in our lives that say, "beware, perversity is near" and then avoid those paths and choices like we would the plague itself!  This is the wise and circumspect choice.  This is the way to avoid thorns and snares.  This is the way to walk a life that will be blessed with protection here and now - and great reward in the end.
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A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the back of fools. Proverbs 26:3

Here is a marvelous proverb - and one that in many ways necessitates the entire penal system in any country.  The interesting thing about this proverb though is that you see that a horse and a donkey can be trained.  They may require a whip and a bridle to accomplish the task - but they can be trained.  You may have to break them in the process - but with these instruments one can train these animals to be useful.  But, the fool cannot be trained.  The only situation adequate for the fool is a rod for his back.  It is only through very specific consequences that the fool can be dissuaded from his foolishness. 

Here, also, is where many people rise up and begin barking about a person's rights.  How could the Bible speak about a rod for a man's back?  That is against his fundamental civil rights!  Yet, those who state such things fail to see the incredible failure our penal system has in this world.  We no longer punish criminals.  We offer them college educations, libraries, televisions in their rooms - and a whole list of rights they have learned to demand from us.  It is easy some times to see why recidivism is so rampant in our prisons.  The exit to these prisons becomes a revolving door.  Give a fool rights - and that fool will use them to continue in his foolishness unabated.  Offer him punishment worthy of the crime - including beatings and capital punishment - and many fools will turn from their ways when they think of the ultimate consequences attached to such actions.  Take the much maligned issue of the caning of the American citizen in the far east.  We heard howls and screams about this issue.  Maybe though, we should look at the recidivism in those nations.  It is almost at zero.  Another thing running zero in their societies is the people who even want to commit such crimes.  They know the high price of such actions, to they refrain from doing them. 

Fools do not learn from those trying to educate them.  That is why they are fools.  They are committed to their way of living and thinking (or non-thinking as the case may be).  To try to rebuke or train them brings their scorn and laughter.  They are set in their ways and need a much stronger deterent to their way.  That is the reason why the rod needs to be applied to their backs.  Some will continue to cringe because they are part of our overly permissive society.  Our society - at least the liberal parts of it - tend to blame themselves for everything someone does bad.  We need to consider what we've done to cause them to act in such a way.  Thus we have the fruits of the Freudian tendency to blame parents and anyone else we can find for our actions before ever considering our own choices as paramount to the situation.  Perish the thought that maybe the fool is that way because he chooses foolishness.  The sad thing is that we will continue to watch foolishness rise with our permissive attitudes and actions.  The fool would learn just like the horse and the donkey - if the proper motivation were applied.
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Do not move the ancient boundary Or go into the fields of the fatherless, 11 For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.   Proverbs 23:10-11

There is something about the orphan, the fatherless in this world that moves God's heart.  Those who seek to bless the widow and the orphan God pronounces as blessed - while here we receive a warning - a dire warning against doing things that harm them.

The first thing we read is not move the ancient boundary.  What is this about?  In biblical times these were markings that helped people know where their fields ended and where others began.  People would move boundary stones when plowing their fields - so that they could steal land from their neighbors by doing so.  Here this is equated with going into the fields of the orphan - stealing from orphans for your own greed.  God reserved some of His strongest language for those who would do such things.  The heaviest curses were reserved for this kind of sin.  We are warned that the One who is the Redeemer for these orphans is strong - in this case strong enough to be considered omnipotent.  Only a fool would take on Someone with omnipotence.  This Strong One, Jehovah Himself, will take up the case of the orphan and will plead their case against your greed and godlessness.  The best wisdom from the Word of God is not to mess with orphans - unless you either are going to bless them - or face a fate that is sure and deadly.

But back to this boundary stone - how can we move boundary stones in our day?  With current technology involving GPS systems - that kind of sin is just about obsolete in our day.  But there are many kinds of boundary stones in life.  There are those related to land and agriculture.  But there are also boundary markers when it comes to morals and to theological matters.  Pity the man or men who decide they want to move things morally or theologically away from where God Himself has set those markers.  This is not really a new sin - because men have been doing it for years.  They also have been paying a horrible price for it as well.  Back in 1973 we, as a nation, decided to move an ancient boundary marker and declare open season on the unborn.  In 1967 we decided to move the boundary marker concerning prayer and bible reading in our schools.  The results have been disastrous.  In our current day our government is decided to remove the marker altogether concerning immorality, sexuality, and marriage.  It is truly unwise to move that boundary - as unwise as messing with orphans.  Yet men continue to do so - to their own destruction and the destruction of entire nations.  Just as a fool is the only one who would take on an omnipotent God in messing with orphans - so also it is only a fool who decides to stand against God Himself by moving the moral boundaries that God Himself has set.  We've done it . . . but then again we continue to pay for it every day.  The God of those boundaries is truly strong - and for every boundary we seek to push backward - there will be a price.  Are we willing to continue to pay it?
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