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.
21 Comments
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. POSTSCRIPT: Recently, individuals have quoted articles from this section and stated that we teach child abuse at Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. To this I feel the need to respond. First, biblically, we are told that if we have a problem with our brother to go to our brother - not the internet - and confront our brother. To date, these individuals have yet to contact me to discuss these things. That should say volumes in itself. Second, we do not teach child abuse at our fellowship. This blog is an endeavor to teach what is in the Bible for the edification and upbuilding of God's people. Anyone who has been to our fellowship knows that in our classrooms we administer NO physical discipline. We correct with words and with "time outs" and eventually with a report to parents. From our nursery throughout every age group our people are instructed NEVER to administer physical discipline. We believe this right alone belongs to a parent. Even then we teach the following about any application of physical discipline. Discipline is about the heart of a child. Physical or corporal punishment is ONLY to be administered in a spirit of love for the child. Teaching and loving verbal correction is key - as is prayer for the child's eventual salvation in Jesus Christ. Any physical punishment administered due to anger or rage is out of line and wrong. The parent is to discipline the child with appropriate discipline - not abuse. In the end the child should be taught - and in every circumstance hugged, loved, and prayed with after any physical punishment to assure them of our love. The idea of a "beating" is completely out of step with what the Scriptures are teaching. Instead the idea of loving discipline is intended. 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. 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. POSTSCRIPT: Recently, individuals have quoted articles from this section and stated that we teach child abuse at Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. To this I feel the need to respond. First, biblically, we are told that if we have a problem with our brother to go to our brother - not the internet - and confront our brother. To date, these individuals have yet to contact me to discuss these things. That should say volumes in itself. Second, we do not teach child abuse at our fellowship. This blog is an endeavor to teach what is in the Bible for the edification and upbuilding of God's people. Anyone who has been to our fellowship knows that in our classrooms we administer NO physical discipline. We correct with words and with "time outs" and eventually with a report to parents. From our nursery throughout every age group our people are instructed NEVER to administer physical discipline. We believe this right alone belongs to a parent. Even then we teach the following about any application of physical discipline. Discipline is about the heart of a child. Physical or corporal punishment is ONLY to be administered in a spirit of love for the child. Teaching and loving verbal correction is key - as is prayer for the child's eventual salvation in Jesus Christ. Any physical punishment administered due to anger or rage is out of line and wrong. The parent is to discipline the child with appropriate discipline - not abuse. In the end the child should be taught - and in every circumstance hugged, loved, and prayed with after any physical punishment to assure them of our love. The idea of a "beating" is completely out of step with what the Scriptures are teaching. Instead the idea of loving discipline is intended. 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? It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself If his conduct is pure and right. Proverbs 20:11
How do you judge someone's character - especially that of a child? There are those who say that we should never judge anyone - but that statement is fraught with problems. How do you train up a child to be an asset to society rather than a liability? There must be a way to do this - to make sure that your children grow up and take upon themselves the responsibilities of being a valuable adult. Once again God's wisdom takes center stage on this issue. A child is distinguished by his deeds - by what he does. The idea here is that you can investigate and come to a knowledge of just who a child is by looking at his deeds. There are those who would have us award all children the same - as if giving everyone an equal reward will someone make the world a place without competition. The problem with such a plan - of giving trophies to everyone - of handing out ribbons to all participants - of not choosing a validictorian because of how it will make the other children feel - is that this will bring all to the same low level. It is by his actions and deeds that a child distinguishes himself. Raising a child to be what they should be in God's eyes - means setting the bar at the level that God sets it. It means calling him to excellence. The excellence the world seeks in in skill and ability. It is true that even God's Word speaks of how a man who is excellent in his field will be rewarded. But what we are examining in this proverb is how to raise a man or woman of character. The lad distinguishes himself by his deeds is true - but what kind of deeds? Conduct that is pure and right. Too often we spend our time trying to train a child in a sport or field of endeavor without tending to his moral training. What a child needs is character. He needs to know what is pure and right. There is the first way in which God's wisdom will run into a road block set up by the world. The world says there is no way that we can definitively determine and establish right and wrong. Each man's wisdom is his own thinking. That is how we got to the ignoble ending of the book of Judges. A child needs is to be trained that God's Word is what determines what is pure and right. Then the child needs to be trained in how to walk in this world in a way that pleases and honors the Lord. Oh, what a blessing such a child is to the world around him when he or she is trained in this manner. Oh, what blessings will surround and flow forth from such a child. We would do well not to turn to Dr. Spock when training our children, or for that matter to anyone who contradicts what the wisdom of God says. Instead, we need to train our children in the ways of the Lord and watch as they distinguish themselves from the rest of the world - and become the conduit through which the world around them is blessed! |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
Archives
August 2018
Copyright 2024 Calvary Chapel Jonesboro | all rights reserved |