Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death. Proverbs 19:18
At first glance this particular proverb seems kind of intense. But when you consider what happens when a child is not taught to bring his selfish tendencies under some kind of discipline and control - you are leaving them in a very precarious position in life. We are to discipline our children early. That is what is being said by saying to discipline a child while there is hope. The hope is that by helping a child to recognize selfishness - and to fight its destructive ways - you are giving that child hope for better things. Consider if you will the start of life on this planet. We are taught that Adam and Eve had two sons. Jealousy led one son to kill his brother. The early chapters of Genesis inform us of a remarkable downward spiral that took place in the human race. By the time God decided to destroy all but Noah's family, the imagination of man was set continuously on evil. It did not take long for the Fall of mankind to manifest itself in every kind of sin and rebellion imaginable. This is why we MUST discipline our sons. Because of the Fall mankind is basically and terminally selfish and self-centered. Left to himself man would destroy himself with this selfish bent. Discipline at an early age helps to combat this natural selfish tendency. We bring this discipline to our children in hope that they will have their basic, natural selfish tendencies held in check until a time when they are convicted of sin by the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not that we think we can overcome the flesh by child-training, but we do see a need to put limitations and boundaries in their lives so that the flesh is not completely unchecked. To withhold discipline from a child is to "desire his death." There are some who translate this as meaning that a father is not to discipline so severely that he winds up killing a child, but the evidence behind this translation is very weak. The King James version translates it as a call to discipline a child and not be swayed by their crying. When you discipline a child properly, most will cry. Some will cry because they were spanked - others will cry because they are responding to the guilt of being caught - while still others will cry to try to get you to stop the discipline process. Whatever the case, this passage, if translated this way is trying to steel the heart of a parent who may decide against discipline because their heart just can't handle having their child cry or be in any kind of pain. This is actually selfishness on the parent's part because they should be looking at the long term effects of the punishment and discipline, not the short-term reaction of the child. The other main way this is translated is to warn the parents of the long term effects of not disciplining a child. The natural selfishness of a child will lead them to reject the Lord and embrace their full sinfulness. This, if left to fester and grow to its fullness will bring a child to a point where they will embrace a lifestyle without God. In the end, their willfulness will kill them - if not with actions that are harmful to their lives - then with a rejection of God and His discipline. Hebrews 12:5-9 reminds us that God disciplines us as a godly parent would. If a child is only used to getting their own way, they will reject such a God - and will ultimately reject Christ. Disciplining a child is serious business. We are to do so with a godly set of standards and choices. These guide a father as he disciplines with a view to godliness - and also as he reigns in his own anger and refrains from having discpline turn into abuse. But the real end in disciplining a child is to turn them away from their own selfish, fleshly tendencies. The process of making a child face correction and conviction for doing wrong is preparation for God's future rebuke of their conduct. This one will come by God's grace as they are convicted of their sin - and brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as the answer for their sinfulness and need of salvation. In light of THAT day, discipline your child and make them face their selfishness and sinfulness - for your preparatory work will TRULY prevent them from death - ultimate death due to sin.
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Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. Proverbs 22:15
Ah, we come to the NOT-Dr. Spock proverb. If you do not know who Dr. Spock is the first thing I should tell you is that he is not the pointy-eared science officer from the Star Trek series. He is a child psychologist from the 1960's who announced to the world through his writings that spanking a child was wrong. Unfortunately an entire generation decided that he was right (after all he is a psychologist!) and that God was wrong. If you are wondering the results of that choice, take a look at our society today. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. This is a view that is also rejected by the vast majority of psychologists and educators today. We are told that we need to let children "express themselves." When we try to impose our views upon them - we are only warping them in our image. I can only tell you that when we add a biblical worldview to the practice of guiding and disciplining a child - people in the academic world tend to go ballistic. But the biblical fact is, well . . . fact. The Bible reprents mankind as fallen and ruined due to sin. That includes little ones fresh out of the womb. I know that it is very easy to look at little ones and think, "Oh, they are so cute - they're just little angels." The problem is that they are NOT little angels. The Biblical view is that they are little fools - and will remain that way unless we apply the rod of discipline in their lives. Children will basically be selfish and self-centered. The will have a tendency toward sin - and if left to themselves without discipline will become little tyrants. Some will howl with disapproval for this statement saying that not all children are this way. I've helped rear six children and would be the first to say that different children have different ways that they express their sinful nature - but every one of them needed discipline to keep from being fools. Some of my children were active in their rebellion - others were passive in how they disobeyed - but without a doubt they all disobeyed naturally. God's Word says that what we are after is their hearts. Note that we read that foolishness is bound up in a child's heart. We are not aiming for their bottoms - although that is where the discipline usually is administered. We are aiming for their hearts. We want them to see that they are fallen and that they need God. We want them to see that they are foolish and need the wisdom of God. We want them to see that they are sinful and need the forgiveness of God. We also want them to see that they are bound in sin and desperately need the deliverance of God. Finally, we need for them to see that they are fatally flawed and need the regeneration of God that comes with salvation. They need their "heart of stone" to be replaced at salvation with the heart of flesh that God promises in the new covenant. One reason we do this is because they must learn that discipline is the way of life. God will continue to discipline them as Hebrews 12:5-9 says. If we are His children - we WILL be disciplined. Thus we are to be trained by our parents early to learn to receive discipline and to learn from it. The rod of discipline is applied to help remove the foolishness from our hearts. As it does its work, we will grow in wisdom and understanding - and will learn to put away foolish things from our lives. There are some who will argue that the "rod" mentioned here is just words. But the word itself means a rod or stick - a club or the stick in a spear. I will not argue with those who say that at times God refers to the rod of His mouth. But when it comes to child training there are other passages in Proverbs that make it clear that we are to spank our children in disciplining them. This being said, I will also state clearly that over-spanking a child is abuse - and that God's Word refers to "LOVING" discipline that should be administered. Simply grabbing a child and swatting them is very ineffective. There should be instruction, clear boundaries, discipline, as well as reassuring love that is given after any kind of spanking that is given to a child. Our children need to know that we are not disciplining them because they are annoying us. We are discplining them so that they will become pliable in the hands of God - and so that they will learn not to embrace foolishness when it presents itself in their minds or through their friends and aquaintences. This is the kind of discipline that will train up that child. It is also the kind that will help them love their parents - and later the Lord for what He is doing. They will see that this is a very positive thing done out of love and always done with their ultimate best interests in mind. 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. Staying Positive is Not Always Staying Wise, Part 5 - When God Rejects and Why - Proverbs 1:28-304/5/2011 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof."
Proverbs 1:28-30 There is a time when prayer will not reach God - not will it do a person any good at all. That may sound like a strange thing to say - but it is true biblically. God warns those who reject His counsel and who turn away from His reproof that there will be a time when they pray and find that no one is listening. Proverbs tells us that when our lifestyle is one that rejects God's Word and wisdom that there will be a time when due to the lack of it we will call on God and even seek Him diligently. The problem is that the reason they do this is because they want to be rescued from their bad decisions and from the consequences of their actions. Their call to God is not made out of any desire to repent and change how they are living. This kind of prayer will not receive God's answer - although it will receive His rejection. The reason God rejects these kinds of prayers is because of the state of their hearts. These are the one who hated knowledge. They are not ignorant in human terms. In fact often those who hate knowledge are brilliant in the world's eyes. They just hate the knowledge that God has to offer to them. They hate the Word of God - and they hate the things that God has to say about the true state of humanity and the true state of this world. What I refer to is the worldview that sees mankind as fallen and sinful. There are scholars who absolutely reject that worldview. They see man as basically good. In their estimation what mankind needs is not salvation from sin - but to be resuced from those who make us feel bad about ourselves and tell us that we are sinful. They believe that if mankind was just educated properly and kept from the negativity of the Biblical view of mankind. If mankind were not told that anything was sin - but that man could claim their basic god-ness once again - then mankind would prosper and climb to a whole new level of evolution. This was the view at the turn of the century as mankind pretty much rejected the biblical view of sin. The world thought it would rise to a whole new existance without war and without anything to hinder it. What we received from this new enlightened man was a century like no other in its ability to kill one another, make war, commit genocide, and perpetrate horrors upon one another in ways that seemed previously impossible. When men reject God's knowledge - they also choose against the fear of God. They do not honor or respect Him - and they also do not tremble at His Word. When men do not believe God's Word - they are destined in every negative way to fulfill it. They truly will show the work of the fall of man in ways that will astound future generations. Actually future generations, just as blind as their fathers, will say that these things happened because they didn't quite do it right - or because they need an even more God-rejecting philosophy. In so doing they fulfill what verse 30 says. They would not accept God's counsel and they spurn all His reproof. Even as they watch the truth of God come to pass and His worldview upheld again and again, they reject it. Blind guides of the blind, they reject the existance of the very pit into which they lead one another as they continue in their rebellion. Please understand that I know that such writing as this is very depressing. But it is only depressing if we continue to reject God's Word and the counsel, knowledge, understanding, and truth that comes from it. For those who accept God's counsel there is an answer to the futility of mankind and the stupidity of his ways. There is the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a savlation that God grants us and offers to us through His Son. There is a hope that when we embrace God's ultimate worldview - we not only see our sinfulness - but we are also allowed to see our Savior as well. God graces us with forgiveness, regeneration, and His ongoing work of sanctification. We are redeemed, literally bought from the slave market of sin and given the glorious hope of heaven and fellowship with God for all eternity. There have been and will continue to be those who scorn the negative message that MUST come to mankind for there to be hope. They will say that it is the negative message itself that is the problem - and that if we would just rid ourselves of it - all would be well. But they do not understand that the so-called negative-ness of that message is absolutely necessary in order for us to get the most glorious message of the ages - God's salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! You cannot have one without the other. If you reject the message that we are sinners - and choose instead to spurn God's truth and counsel - all that awaits you is deception, destruction, and ultimately death. And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof; Proverbs 1:25
When God's Word comes to us offering us wisdom, God comes to us offering a judgment or decision on a matter. He also comes to us through the Word offering reproof. The problem is that in our current religious climate these two things are frowned upon and seen as being negative. God's Word, and the offer of enlightenment by the Holy Spirit, comes to us as counsel. This is the Hebrew word, "esah" and it means counsel that offers to us God's judgment on a matter. It speaks of a decision that God has made in His Word that let us know absolute truth on a matter. This is soundly rejected by the spirit of our age - seeing that we wince at the thought that anyone, including God, would assert that His decisions on any matter are final. The post-modern mindset leaves all absolute truth with the individual - thus making anyone else's pronouncements upon us invalid unless we accept them that way. But the problem here is that God Himself is truth - and whenever He speaks on a matter - that is the absolute truth of the matter that will stand regardless of the latest poll or public outcry. Here is where we find some very serious problems develop with the worldview of Scripture - and honestly - ANY other worldview that there is. God states that He speaks the truth - not that we can get truth from what He says - but what He says is absolute truth. Anything that disagrees with what He says on a matter . . . is wrong. When the world hears this - they cut loose from God's Word and His judgments on matters. Their worldview is wholly incompatible with a God Who claims to speak and have absolute truth. The god of this world is the individual mindset - and the personal views that we hold. Anyone who thinks that they can speak absolute truth to anyone - is seen as a extremist. If that is the case - then God is the ultimate extremist - but - He is also right all the time. The world cuts loose from God. They listen to the counsel of His judgments and decisions and consider such things bondage. In Psalm 2 they refer to life under God's authority as being in bondage. The kings and rulers of this world take counsel against God - and against Jesus Christ saying, "Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us." (Psalm 2:2-3) They hate a God who is sovereign and omniscient. They consider His judgments as chains and fetters upon their freedom (while actually only being enslaved to their own lusts). They do not want God's reproof. They consider His arguments specious - wrong - and very narrow minded. They do not want His correction - or any kind of argument that their choices or lifestyles are errant. The reason we do not want negative messages - like ones that correct us and counsel us according to absolute truth - is because the only absolute authority we want in our lives is our own. We want to call the shots in our lives. It is the fact of our fallen condition. We are full of pride - and have the arrogance to say to God that He has no right to tell us what to do. When He speaks His wisdom - calling us to it - calling us to turn to the reproof that it offers to us - mankind short-circuits. They want no authority but their own - and will continue to reject Him - His counsel - His judgments - and His reproof. But as we will see in future posts - this will only take us in a parth of destruction and misery. The wise man first turns from his own pride and arrogance - and listens closely to God's judgments, decisions, and wise counsel because of them. He knows that reproofs for discipline are not bad - they are the way of life. "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Proverbs 1:23
Can a person truly walk in wisdom if all they ever want in life are positive, uplifting messages from God? There are those today who say that the church should not be negative - should not issue rebukes, corrections, and most of all should not dwell on the whole issue of sin. "Let's be positive," is their cry - and when we are, people will come back to the church! There is a fundamental problem with this view of things. It completely ignores that whole, "fall of mankind" thing. The reason Christianity cannot be "all positive, all the time" is because man is a fallen creature given to rebellion and walking in ways that are destructive and damning. At some point the honest among us are going to have to address the fundamental flaw in human nature. If men were naturally disposed to honoring and glorifying God, this would not be necessary. But the facts are that the heart is deceitful and desperately sick - that there is none who have done good, not even one - and that unless we repent we will all likewise perish. Man is not a naturally wise creature - unless you count being wise in his own eyes. Wisdom is personified in Proverbs quite often. Wisdom shouts in the streets, calls out in the square seeking to get our attention. What does she say? Her first words are not exactly positive. She calls mankind "naive ones" as well as "simple-minded." She refers to the inhabitants of this globe as "scoffers" and "fools." The reason this does not sound positive is because it isn't. The Bible is not into any kind of a positive confession type of tripe - instead it is honest about the condition of man. As a result, her first command is issued here in verse 23. Turn to my repoof. That is her first command to mankind. If we are going to be wise, it will require us to turn from our present selfish and self-centered ways and turn to the reproof of true wisdom. Wisdom will require reproof - correction - rebuke. We need to grasp that our current fleshly thinking is foolish and stupid. Wisdom will not enter our hearts unless we first unseat the poser who sits there presently. That is us. We need to lay aside human wisdom and that which parades as understanding - and choose to conform our thinking to God's ways and paths. Here is a truth that will help you gain wisdom every day. Say it to yourself several times before you leave your home for the day. "If I disagree with God's Word, I am wrong!" Wisdom calls to us and tells us that something wonderful awaits those who accept reproof. But the person who in pride refuses to admit that he is wrong - that person will remain mired in the foolishness of his own ways. What happens when we turn to God's reproof? Here is something wonderful! He pours out His Spirit upon us. Did you know that the Holy Spirit is the personification of wisdom! He wants us to turn from foolishness - so He can be poured out upon us - and so that He can teach us. Each time we turn from self and the wisdom of this world, the Holy Spirit is waiting to make known God's words to us. Here is a shocker - wisdom is found when the God's Spirit is poured out on us and we come to know the Word of God. In that moment we know wisdom. The way of wisdom is the way of correction and reproof. We cannot become wise until we embrace humility. We cannot become wise until we respect and honor God's Word above all other sources of truth. We cannot become wise unless God in His mercy pours out His Spirit and opens our minds to the truth of His words. When this happens, we'll know the truth - and see that truth corrects us and turns us to the right thinking and the right path. The path to wisdom may not start positive - but when the Spirit of God begins to reveal truth and wisdom to us - it surely ends positive. Be open to God's reproof - to His correction - knowing that when we turn to Him - an abundance of truth and righteousness will be our reward. A scoffer does not love one who reproves him, He will not go to the wise. Proverbs 15:12
Why is it that even when there is wise and godly counsel available, people do not take advantage of it? A southern saying that I heard a while back may help us on this situation. The reason a scoffer does not go to a wise man is the same reason a criminal does not hang out with the police. The proverb here tells us that a scoffer does not love someone who corrects or reproves him. The scoffer is the one who mocks the things of God. He makes fun of God's commandments and laws - and derides God Himself. He does this because he does not believe and because in his infinite arrogance he prefers his limited little pea-brain's ability to think - rather than the mind of the infinite God as it is revealed in the pages of Scripture. But he is not content to just reject the things of God - he scoffs at them - and seeks to get others to reject them as well. He is the "anti-evangelist" if you will - or at least an evangelist for his own foolish thinking. What is fascinating about the scoffer is that we read that he doesn't love anyone who reproves him. He is filled with pride and arrogance and therefore always thinks that he is right. In his own mind he is irreproveable - beyond correction. In this way it is only fitting that the one who thinks there is no God would consider his own wisdom and counsel very god-like. He is a god unto himself - and resents it when someone would deign to question his omniscience. There is a consequence to this arrogant man's rejection of reproof. As a result of it, he will not go to the wise. He rejects them - and their much needed counsel. This is a sad state of affairs because they could greatly use wise counsel. Thus this arrogant scoffer will remain a law unto himself - an island of self-sought, self-taught, self-exalting wisdom - that is nothing more than foolishness and arrogance disguising itself as sage counsel. This is why the wise man needs to embrace and welcome correction and reproof. Please do not misunderstand me - these things are seldom pleasant when they come. In fact they can be very difficult to hear as they are spoken to us. That is why I am grateful that Scripture tells me that discipline is not pleasant, but painful when it arrives. But I am also counselled in James and in Hebrews that when received it will bear fruit - creating a harvest of righteousness, truth, wisdom, and understanding when I welcome it and learn from it. Remember that the next time God in His love allows correction and rebuke to come into your life. Don't be like the scoffing fool who does not love the ones who reprove him. Be like the godly man who turns his ear to wise and godly rebuke. It will help open our ear to wisdom itself, and will bless us by turning us from unwise, arrogant, and unprofitable ways. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life. Proverbs 6:23
Today we are going to cover an amazing proverb that applies to every area and every aspect of life itself. Here, like in the gospel, we are told of "the way of life." Unlike in the gospel, this "way of life" is not one that can redeem us from sin - but it can be used by the Holy Spirit to make us a lifetime learner - a disciple who knows how God works through His Word and through the way that it is taught to us by the Spirit. If there was ever a day to listen closely - today would be that day. We are told of two things at the beginning of this proverb. We are told of the commandent and the teaching. These two things are compared to a lamp and to light. First we have the commandment. This is the same word that is used for God's 10 commandments. It refers to God's Law - and I believe beyond the Old Testament it can be applied to the inspired Word of God anywhere in the Old or New Testaments. We are told here that the commandment is a lamp. A lamp is something that can emit light if used properly. The lamp will always have the potential for light to come from it. It is something that holds light - and if lit it will radiate light. Interesting for us who understand the figures and types that are used for God's Holy Spirit, a lamp is filled with oil which is a type throughout the Old Testament for the Spirit and His work. When that oil is lit - the lamp produces light. In much the same way, the Word of God always has within it the teaching of the Holy Spirit - His leading and His instruction, warning, and rebuke. When we come to God's Word, the lamp, we have the wonderful working of the Spirit of God as He illumines the Scriptures for us. But before we think that simply reading or hearing the Word will always produce light, we need to remember that the commandment is a lamp. It can produce light - but it can also remain unlit and just be a lamp. There are those who misuse God's Word and no light comes forth. The devil himself quoted the Scriptures to Jesus - to try and get Him to sin. In that instance the lamp did not produce light - but it was abused to promote darkness. There are also professors even at semniaries who do not believe the Bible is the Word of God. The teaching they do promotes darkness. This means that we cannot make a blanket statement that when the Bible is taught or read that it always results in light. The second statement made here is that the teaching is light. First off we need to note here that we are not reading that the teaching is the light. "THE" light is reserved for references to Jesus Christ Himself - God - and amazingly enough, us when we are manifesting God's character to others. Here we read that the teaching is light. The word for teaching here is the Hebrew word "torah." Here torah means instruction or direction. In the Old Testament the word mean instruction in a general manner from God Himself. The idea here is that the command is the lamp - and when the Spirit or a Spirit-inspired teacher is instructing from it - the lamp becomes light - or begins to illumine with light. This is so important for us to grasp because it is the very way that God will instruct and teach us. We come to the Word, but we covet that when we do the Holy Spirit instructs us as we read and as we meditate upon what the Word says. Do not misunderstand me to say that the Bible becomes the Word as it is taught. That is false doctrine. The Bible is always the inspired Word of God that gives us the revelation of God. It is just that we are blind to it without the instruction of the Holy Spirit who opens our hearts and spirits so that we can receive what God says. That is why I think it is important to consciously ask the Spirit of God to teach us when we come to the Word of God. There is one other thing this passage teaches us about the functioning of the Word in our lives. Today there are many who teach that the major reason for God's Word is that we can "confess who we are" in a positive way. There is a potential problem with this doctrinal view. We can get to the point where we only receive "positive" messages about ourselves from God's Word - and not conviction of sin. When we read this passage though, it seems that we are learning something contrary to the positive confession doctrine. "And reproofs for discipline are the way of life." When we read this we have to come to the conclusion that a large part of what the Word of God is going to do is reprove us. It is probably at least one fourth of what it does because we read in 2 Timothy 3:16 that the Word of God is profitable for reproof. Actually the 2 Timothy passage says not just reproof, but also correction as well. The Word of God comes to us often to reprove and correct us. One of God's complaints against the false prophets is that they would whitewash Israel's sin. They would constantly talk about blessing without helping Israel and Judah to see that they had sinned against the Lord. It does not matter how many "positive" confessions you make to yourself, God, and others - if you have unconfessed sin in your life - God will not bless you. And since we are fallen creatures who live in a fallen world - we need for God to reveal to us that when we are acting "fallen!" If you read Romans 7 - you do not come away with the thought that Paul just needed to be more positive. He was wrestling with very real sin - and a very real fleshly, sinful nature that could not be defeated except through Jesus Christ. That is why we need desperately to see that we need to be reproved and disciplined by God to become all that God desires for us to be in Christ. Without that reproof and correction, we will not know from what we need to turn. The way of life is through being disciplined by God - and that involves the Lord reproving us for our sin. When we come to His Word - His commandments - He is going to reveal to us how we have sinned against Him. He does not do this because He hates us. Contrary to that thought, He does it because He loves us! He desires for us to share in His holiness (Hebrews 12) - and that means He wants us to share in His life. Wisdom is coming to God's Word in the right way each day. It means that we approach the Lord each day being open to what He wants to teach us. As we do this we also open ourselves to His Spirit to reveal to us that we may have sinned - or we may be lacking godly character - or a good attitude toward an authority. There are any number of ways that God might speak to our hearts and help us to abandon sin - and embrace His holiness. Regardless of what specifics are involved, God desires to bring blessing into our lives through this process. Remember - the reproofs and discipline are the way of life! He is bringing you life when He does these things. Be wise therefore and receive what He is saying each day - whether it is encouragement, exhortation, teaching, or reproof. They are all in his arsenal of blessing to conform you to the image of His Son and change you to be a better vessel for the blessing of not just yourself - but everyone around you. Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. Proverbs 4:13
If we want the life of God, we will have to embrace the ways in which God grants us life. The way He does this initially is by grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ. After God grants us His life this way - there are ways that we can experience and enjoy the life He provides in Jesus. One of the ways that God continues to bless us with life is by us embracing His instruction in our lives. The word for instruction here is the Hebrew word "musar" which means instruction and discipline. Throughout proverbs this instruction and discipline comes primarily through the father and the mother in the family. They come as a teacher to their children offering them this instruction via teaching and at times the rod. Some might squirm a little when we speak of discipline, but the Scriptures are clear that God disciplines us because He loves us. Hebrews 12:5-11 is an excellent passage that might help us here in seeing how we receive life through God's instrutive discipline. Hebrews 12:5-11 says, "You have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. " God's instructive discipline does many things. First it reminds us that God loves us as His sons. Second, we know that God disciplines us for our good - not because He is angry and disgusted with us. Third we learn that God's discipline is done for good, that we mighy share His holiness. Without discipline we would rebel against Him - but the discipline reminds us that we are being conformed to His image - and that involves being conformed to His holiness. Lastly, His instructive discipline will yield peace in our lives. As we are conformed to His image - as we are made righteous as He is righteous - there will be great blessing - as well as great peace added to our lives. God's instruction is not solely disciplinary - much of it is instructive as God is showing us the way to God - the things to say - the people to whom we need to minister. But for us to get the full blessings of it we will have to follow what Solomon is telling us to do here. We need to "take hold" of this instruction and "guard" it. Taking hold of instruction means that with great strength we grab it. The idea behind this word is to grab something with a powerful grip and not let go. Elsewhere in Proverbs we are told to listen intently with a view toward obedience. This is what we are being told in another way here. We have such a tendency to partially hear someting - or to hear it with no intent to obey or make what we hear an integral part of our lives. We need to latch on to whatever we are taught by the Holy Spirit - and to put a death griip on it - so it does not slip away from us. The proverb tells us to "guard" the instruction - the teaching - the discipline that we receive from God. This is the word "natsar" that we have encountered so often in this book. It means to watch, the guard, and to keep something. It has the idea of setting a guard - a watchman - a sentry over our instruction from God. We cannot come away from this admonition without seeing clearly God is warning us NOT to forget something - NOT to let it go - NOT to let it slip away from us as we think of other things later. Our Lord knows how prone we are to be distracted and forget things. If we want life, we will have to counteract this by forcefully taking hold of the things God teaches us. Wisdom is taking what God teaches us very seriously - and taking His discipline the same way. If we do this we will be fully embracing the life that He desires to pour into our lives. Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger; And for an adulterous woman hold him in pledge. Proverbs 27:13
There are just plain dumb decisions that are made in life. At times when we make these stupid decisions, God in His mercy will deliver us from the consequences. If this happens, do not think God approves your actions - He is just showing amazing mercy to you in the midst of them. But there are some decisions God decides to allow us to face - with the full measure of the consequences being given to us. This proverb tells us about two of them. The first has to do with a man acting foolish financially. When someone becomes surety for a stranger, that is a very foolish thing to do. This proverb tells us to even take a man's garment when this happens. Just as a reminder, surety is when we co-sign a loan - or guarantee another person's debt. If they default on the loan - we are on the hook for what they owe. The reason this is so foolish here is because someone is doing this for a stranger. He doesn't know the man - and is not related to him. He is just guaranteeing a loan for someone he does not know. He does not have a clue as to his character or his integrity - he just lays down his money to guarantee this man's borrowing. Surety is discouraged for anyone - but this should be a no-brainer when it comes to a stranger. With a family member of friend, we at least have a sense of their character and whether they will be likely to repay the loan. But a stranger - we know nothing about him. Thus, Solomon tells us to take this man's clothes when the loan defaults. This is something that hopefully will teach him a lesson about guaranteeing the loans of others - especially those he does not even know. The second scenario is when a man hires a prostitute for sex - and offers her a pledge as payment. Adultery is a very foolish sin - but to offer someone our name as pledge is really foolish to another level. Amazing as it may seem, this is what Judah did when he hired his daughter-in-law Tamar as a prostitute. Tamar was not being a harlot. She was simply desiring that Judah's family line fulfill their duty in raising up sons for the deceased. When Judah did not have the money in hand to pay her - she asked for his seal and his cords. These were things by which a man could be known if they were seen. This was not wise for him - but it gave her the proof she needed when her adulterous father-in-law wanted to have her stoned for playing the harlot. When Judah saw his own seal and cords, he was humiliated and withdrew his call for her death. No one wants to be humiliated by their sin. But there are times when it is a far better thing to be humiliated and learn than to escape humiliation and continue in sin. God is amazing how He delivers us from sin and from the world around us. May God give us grace to embrace that deliverance - and truly be wise. Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way; He who hates reproof will die. Proverbs 15:10
What happens when we depart from God's ways? According to this passage in Proverbs there is a very serious consequence for us when we do this. Even worse is what awaits us if we go even further than this and reject God's reproof after we've left his ways. What is at stake here? Well, what drives this particular proverb is the idea of "forsaking the way." "The way," refers to God's way - the way of his commandments. Several times the phrase, "the way of the Lord" is used to refer to this. If you want to understand it better you can turn to the 119th Psalm which calls it by various names like, "the way of righteousness," "the way of Your testimonies," "the way of Your precepts," "the way of Your statutes," as well as what we've already said as the way of God's commandments. This way is the commands and the things God calls us to be and to do in His Word. When we "forsake" this way, we are doing the following. We no longer listen carefully to God's Word - we don't pay heed to it or obey it. But the core idea here is no longer listening or paying attention to someone. That Someone here is God. In case you do not know what this means - it means as you listen - you do so in order to respond and obey God. What happens when we forsake God's way? The Word here says that we face "grevious punishment." The word translated for this is the Hebrew word "ra" - and it simply means, bad things! When you no longer walk with God, listen to Him, or obey Him - bad things are going to eventually happen in your life. This is the case no matter whether you are His or not. If you take a close look at the progress (or regress) of the world around you, you can see that ignoring and forsaking God's ways has never led to a world of peace and blessing. By its very nature this world works best when God's ways and paths are followed. When they are ignored - or worse - shunned, things go bad. This is a fait accompli - an established fact! Now a second warning is also issued at this point - and I think it is a reminder that God's rebuke and reproof are proofs of His love - not hate. When we forsake God's way, we will face bad things, but when we go further and ignore His loving reproof of those ways and continue in rebellion - we are headed toward death. It is God's great mercy and love that arrests us in our rebellion with disciplinary action. He allows difficulties and problems to come to us to turn us from the insanity of abandoning His ways. But when we are too stubborn to listen - we are moving toward death itself. What is terrifying is the warning in 1 John that there is a sin leading unto death - a point at which a disciplinary measure from God involves having a person die. Wisdom tells us to respond to His discipline and His reproof quickly - so that we will not have to go that far. One last comment on this passage. These two truths are just that - truth. But they had their most astounding fulfillment in the cross of Jesus Christ. It was there that we saw the most grievous punishment imaginable. It had nothing to do with the Roman scourage or the nails in the hands of our Savior. It had little or nothing to do with the agony of the cross physically as Jesus gapsed for air as His torn and bruised body slowly died on the cross. But it had everything to do with why Jesus sweat blood the night before in the garden. It had everything to do with the agony of the wrath and judgment of God upon sin. Calling it a grevious punishment seems too small in light of what it truly cost Christ to pay for our sin before His holy Father. That is why we should never take sin in our lives lightly. Yes, our sin was paid in full by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - but we should always view that truth with both trembling and a sense of honor to God for what He did for us. Otherwise we will take sin too lightly - and risk thinking that forsaking His way really is not that bad - and it really won't cost us much. There is foolish talk that reaches to the heavens themselves - and the kind of talk that will give rise to actions that will in the end yield that grevious punishment and stinging rebuke. |
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!
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