Sovereignty of the Lord Over Human Prosperity and Progeny

A good man is to be chosen better than great witches, and favor is better than sober folk.

The rich and the poor meet together, and the Lord is the maker of them all.

The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.

The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is rich and the power of the might.

Thorns and snares are in the way of the Lord.

Whoever guards his children will come from them.

Train up a child in the way he should go.

Even when he is old, he will not depart from it.

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the robber of his fury will fail.

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, but he shares his bread with the poor.

Drive out a scopper, and strife will be left, and quarreling and abuse will cease.

And he who loves purity of heart, and who speech is gracious, will have a king as his friend.

The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the traitor.

The slugger says, there's a lion outside.

I shall be killed in the streets.

The mouth of forbidden woman, he will fall into the grave.

The tongue of the king will fall into the grave.

The tongue of the king will increase his own wealth, or gifts to which you will only come to power.

The tongue of the king will be blessed.

The tongue of the king will be blessed.

The tongue of the king will be blessed.

The tongue of the king will be blessed.

The tongue of the king will be blessed.

The tongue of the king will be blessed.

The tongue of the king will be blessed.

The tongue of the king will be blessed.

When you sit down to eat with the ruler, observe carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to an appetite.

Do not desire his delicacies, for they are receptive food.

Do not toil to acquire wealth.

Be discerning enough to desist.

When your eyes lie on it, it is gone, for suddenly its prop's wind is flying like an eagle to let him.

Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy.

Do not desire his delicacies, for he is like one who is inwardly captivating.

Eat and drink, he says to you, but his heart is not worthy.

You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.

Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, for the Redeemer is strong, and he will plead their cause against you.

Do not wear your heart to instruction, and your ear to words of knowledge, not with cold discipline from a child.

If you strike him with a lie, he will not die.

If you strike him with a lie, he will save his child from a sheep.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Take another look at chapter 22, verses 17 to 21, which begins the new section that I mentioned that's attributed generally to the wise.

And this prologue consists of two verses with four quaid lines bracketing the center line, verse 19, which is the central aim of these 30 saints.

And the central aim is this, that your trust may be in the Lord, I have made the truth known to you today, even to you.

As we've been seeing throughout the book of Proverbs, the central aim of God's wisdom given to us in this book is not just to pragmatically help us navigate a complex world,

or just to make us, give us some street savvy to live, but rather its goal is to bring us personally to trust in the Lord, the Yahweh, the Jehovah,

which is the personal name of Israel and our God.

The goal of Proverbs is to humble us, to fill us with faith in God,

so that every aspect of our lives is characterized by that fear of God, submission to Him, living in His presence and for His glory.

And this requires the meaning of God's word, and that's what the exhortations in verse 17 and 18 are about.

It mentions four different wise parts in escalating fashion.

First, it says, incline your ear, hear the word of wise.

And second, it says, apply your heart to my knowledge.

And third, it says, it will be pleasant if you keep them within you.

That's literally inside your belly.

And people in the ancient Near Eastern world often spoke metaphorically of the belly being the receptacle of the heart.

And then fourth, finally, it says, if all of them are already on your lips.

So the wisdom of God that we are listening to now is supposed to enter through the ear,

and it's supposed to be preserved in the heart and the belly,

and it's finally supposed to find its place on our lips as we share it with others.

This depicts the progress of God's word in our lives.

We must hear it with our ears, believe it in our hearts, and speak it with our lips.

And I want to ask you, where are you in this progression?

You have heard the words of God, but have you believed it with your heart?

And do you then live it and share it with your lips?

The progress of God's wisdom in our lives is not complete until all three steps have taken place.

And this is the message that verse 19 exhorts us to listen to today.

There's a sense of urgency.

Today, even to us, this word is given.

And the main point of this passage is this, that we should acknowledge God's worship

and practice discipline in our dealings with money and in our rearing of children.

Those are my two main points.

First, discipline with regard to money.

Second, discipline of children in love.

And please keep your Bibles open and follow along with me throughout the sermon

because I'm going to be jumping around quite a bit.

First, let's talk about discipline with regard to money.

Chapter 22, verse 1 begins,

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.

And favor is better than silver or gold.

The word rich occurs five times here in verses 1 to 16 of chapter 22.

It's indicating that it's one of the main themes.

And a good name refers to a good reputation.

Being viewed with favor from others.

And that's being in favor with God, before God and men.

Here it says,

Then great riches, silver or gold.

And according to Proverbs, a good name is not won simply by being good with people,

having good social skills, or through good branding.

But a good name is won through God-given wisdom, through prudence, through righteous living.

And this comparison teaches us that a good name and great riches are not necessarily conjoined.

Verses 3 to 4 qualify this by reminding us,

So the word suffer literally means to be fined, to be charged a monetary penalty.

And so it's continuing the same theme of money.

It's generally true, because it reflects God's creational order,

that the wise and the righteous before God are rewarded with sin.

It's generally true.

And the foolish and the wicked are punished.

However, it is not universally true.

Because we live in an upside-down world full of sinful, rebellious people.

So sometimes justice is deferred until God's final judgment day.

And for that reason, there is a such thing as the righteous poor and the wicked rich.

And this verse is telling us that when we're faced with the choice between righteousness and riches,

we should always choose righteousness.

Sometimes in our world, the rich are automatically given honor and favor by virtue of their wealth.

While the poor are treated with dishonor and disfavor.

But verse 2 gives us a better basis for relating to the rich and the poor.

It says,

The rich and the poor meet together.

The Lord is the maker.

The rich and poor are often sold due to circumstances outside of their control.

So being wealthy is not necessarily a sign of virtue, but it can be.

And being poor is not necessarily a sign of vice, but it can be.

So it is better to treat the rich and the poor justly on the basis of their common origin.

The Lord has made them both.

And that truth in and of itself supports sufficient dignity to every human being.

But in this teaching about choosing a good name and favor over great riches,

Proverbs does not fail to note the advantages that the rich have over the poor.

Verse 7 is very realistic.

The rich rules over the poor.

And the borrower is the slave of the lender.

To be in someone's debt is tantamount to being enslaved by that person.

You are no longer a free person.

You are bound to fulfill your obligations to the creditor.

This can be true quite literally.

For example, in 2 Kings 4, verse 1,

2 Kings 4:1

The creditor comes to take the widow's two children to be his slaves.

So there's a helpful warning here for those who,

through undisciplined spending, enter into debt.

The materialistic and consumeristic society that we live in trains us to live above our means.

This is why so many sellers offer financing for products that people can't buy outright.

The media pitch a vision for the good life with ever increasing standards of living that many people's incomes cannot keep up with.

Which creates debt pressure.

Christians are to resist this pressure.

Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6, verse 68,

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

We brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world.

And clothing with these we will be content.

We should be content.

We should be content and refuse to live beyond our means.

But though verse 7 warns against becoming poor debtors,

there's an even stronger warning here against the rich creditors.

It says in verses 8-9,

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,

and the rod of his fury will fail.

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,

for he shares his bread with the poor.

These two verses contrast the hard work of evil of the worst

with the hard work of the righteous.

Like a diligent farmer,

the righteous work hard in order to share the fruit of their labor,

their bread, with others.

But the wicked rich are busy sowing injustice.

This is likely a reference to usury mentioned in verse 7.

Exodus 22-25 says,

If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor,

you shall not be like a money lender to him,

and have interest from him.

The Israelites were prohibited from exploiting the poor among them.

And since those who seek to borrow money

are usually the neediest people,

charging interest on loans was viewed as an unjust exploitation of others' plight.

It was a way that the rich enriched themselves further at the expense of others,

at the expense of the poor.

They took advantage of the poor's plight,

and filled many loans with interests,

hoping to reap a huge profit with usually.

But verse 7 warns against that.

It says,

In the end,

they will reap calamity,

and the rod of his fury will fail.

The word rod can also mean scepter,

and it's likely a continuation of the ruling imagery in verse 7.

The rich lenders exploit the poor and seek to lord it over them,

ruling them with the rod of their fury,

driving them like a slave driver.

But ultimately,

the rod of fury will fail,

because God's virtual justice will see to them.

In contrast,

whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,

for he shares his bread with the poor.

This truth is echoed in chapter 22, verse 16.

Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth

or gives to the rich will only come to poverty.

Those who enrich themselves at the expense of others

will be ruined,

but those who share with the needy,

their own expense will be blessed.

Those who give to the rich,

presumably,

to come to poverty with them,

the poor who can do them no favor,

will only come to poverty.

Because the poor,

it says in Congress 1917,

lend to the Lord for the care.

The third sayings of the wise,

I'm skipping ahead a little bit here,

also begins with the teaching on being disciplined with money

and how to deal with the poor and rich in the world.

It says in chapter 22, verses 22 to 23,

Do not rob the poor because he is poor,

or crush the afflicted at the gate,

for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who robbed them.

The city gate was the center for legal, economic, and political proceedings in the ancient Near East.

It has in view,

those with power will take advantage of the poor and the afflicted,

simply because they can't.

Because they know that the poor are powerless and lack the resources to do anything about it.

But verse 23 warns,

The Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who robbed them.

When man pervert justice,

God will make it right.

And verses 24 to 25 continue,

Make no friendship with a man given to anger,

nor go with a wrathful man,

lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

This proverb seems unrelated to the theme of money at first,

but the comparison with Proverbs 19, 19 is illuminating.

It says,

A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,

for if you deliver him,

you will only have to do it again.

The word penalty, once again,

is the same word that means fine,

a financial penalty.

A wrathful person will get himself into financial trouble again and again

due to his control,

and you will have to bail him out again and again and again,

and so the wise person does not befriend such a person,

lest he entangle himself in a snare.

Moreover, sinful anger, this verse tells us, is infectious.

There is a risk that by befriending such a person,

you will learn his ways

and get entangled in the snare yourself.

Verses 26 to 27 continue the warning

about unwise entanglement in others' financial affairs.

Be not one of those who give pledges,

who put up security for debts.

If you have nothing with which to pay,

why should your bed be taken from underneath?

This is talking about the repeated warning that Proverbs has

about becoming a surety,

a guarantor of someone else's debt,

someone else's loan.

Even though at the time you cosign someone else's loan,

you may have enough money to account for everything.

Your financial situation might change in the near future.

We do not know that.

We do not know what the future holds for us.

And if your situation changes and the debtor defaults on his payments

and it falls on you to assume all of his debt,

at that moment you may not have the means to pay it,

and you may have the very bed that you sleep on.

And after this, starting in verse 28 of chapter 22

and going to chapter 23, verse 11,

these verses form a chiasm,

and they're structured symmetrically

so that each section of the first half

has a matching parallel element in the second half.

And then there's an element in the middle that stands alone,

which is the point that the author is trying to emphasize.

So let's go through this together.

The first matching element is verse 28.

Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.

And that's matched by chapter 23, verses 10 to 11.

Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fathers,

for their Redeemer is strong,

and He will plead their cause against you.

The ancient landmark refers to the boundaries

in the promised land of Israel

that they first received from Joshua

when they cast lots and the land was distributed

according to God's will for each tribe.

the 12 tribes of Israel.

And these were God-ordained boundaries

and therefore considered inviolable.

And they were marked by stone pillars

directly between properties.

And these land allotments were important

not only for financial reasons,

but also for theological, spiritual reasons.

Because a family's occupant tent

signified their inclusion among the people of God,

the chosen people,

the people, the redeemed people of God.

However, some people transgressed these boundaries

by moving the ancient landmarks.

And the most frequent victims of these crimes

were the widows and the fatherless,

who were the most vulnerable members of society,

due to the lack of male heads of families

who can represent them and defend them,

and due to the lack of financial resources

that men usually provided.

But these crown jewels who moved the landmarks

were wrong to conclude

that the fatherless have no redeemer.

The word redeemer is the same word

that is sometimes translated kinsman redeemer.

It literally means family protector.

A kinsman redeemer was the nearest relative

of a needy person

who was responsible for defending

the needy person's rights.

When his relative became poor

and was forced to sell his ancestral land

or forced to sell himself as a slave,

his kinsman redeemer was expected

to pay and redeem him and his land.

When his relative was murdered,

it was the kinsman redeemer

who was expected to avenge him.

But the fatherless often did not have anyone

come to plead their cause.

So wicked men took advantage of him.

They moved their ancient landmarks,

daring them to do something about it,

thinking that no kinsman redeemer

will come to their end.

Such a stirring and moving verse

where it says,

the Lord himself comes to the aid

of the most vulnerable members of society.

Their redeemer is not non-existent.

Their redeemer is strong.

He will plead their cause.

Those who exploit the poor and the powerless

will have to answer to God the redeemer,

the Lord of lords and king of kings,

and this should send a chill

down the spine of anyone

who plots to exploit the poor.

And this should lift up the head

of anyone who feels downtrodden

and oppressed

and feeling like no one advocates for them.

And this is why

the way the New Testament describes Jesus

as our redeemer,

the kinsman redeemer,

is so deeply moving.

Hebrews 9.15 says that he

redeems us from our transgressions

through his death.

We were the ones who could not

repay our debt.

We were weighed down,

forced into slavery.

No one could come to our rescue.

We were the fatherless,

the orphans,

but our redeemer was strong.

Jesus, our kinsman redeemer,

comes to our rescue.

He frees us from the grips of the enemy,

the oppressors,

the spiritual forces of evil.

He redeems us by paying for it

with his own life on the cross.

And because of him,

we have freedom.

Because of him,

we have eternal life.

That's what this points to.

And then,

chapter 22, verse 29,

which is matched by chapter 23,

verse 9,

both speak of

sitting before

a specific audience.

22.29 says,

Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will stand before kings.

He will not stand before a steward man.

The implicit admonition is that

we should seek to grow

in our competence,

in our skillfulness,

in whatever line of work that we're in,

so that we might stand before kings,

rather than before obscure men,

so that our skills might be put to better use.

But there's also an audience

we should avoid,

and that's what chapter 23, verse 9 says,

the matching verse.

Do not speak,

for he will despise

the good sense of your words.

There are foals who are incapable

of appreciating God's wisdom,

and it's a futile exercise

to speak sense into him.

And so the wise person

should always assess his audience

with spiritual eyes,

and speak where his words

can have impact.

And then,

23.1-3 is matched by

23.6-8,

both address the context of dining.

Verses 1-3 speak of eating

with the ruler,

verses 68 speak of eating

the bread of man with stingy.

And both verse 3 and verse 6

exhort us,

do not desire his delicacies.

It says in verses 1-3,

when you sit down to eat

with the ruler of his before you,

and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite,

do not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

This is a warning against gluttony,

being given to appetite.

Genesis 27 repeatedly mentions

that Isaac loved delicious food.

It's mentioned at least six times.

And this is noted as a character flaw.

Because like Esau,

his favorite son,

who sold his birthright

for a bowl of lentil stew,

is a good thing.

It's mentioned that

the lack of self-control

in the consumption of food and drink

is a vice,

as scripture condemns.

It doesn't mean you can't enjoy

the food you eat

and the stuff you drink,

but gluttony is sinful.

And we should be watchful of this,

especially in the context

of eating with the ruler.

The opportunity to dine with the ruler

can significantly alter one's career

for good or ill.

And in such context,

one must be careful

not to indulge too much

in the delicacies.

It says,

for they are deceptive food.

Though the ruler sets out

an impressive array

of the kinds of food

you could never dream of eating

on your own,

he is not really inviting you

to stuff your face.

If you do,

he will take note

of your lack of self-restraint

and treat you with contempt.

It's better to put a knife

to your throat

if you are given to epithet.

That's a hyperbolic expression,

much like Jesus' command

in Matthew 5,

if your right eye causes you to sin,

gouge it out and throw away.

Jesus isn't commanding

self-mutilation,

rather he's commanding us

to remove the source of lust,

to deal with sin

in a drastic and decisive way.

Likewise,

the command to put your knife

to your throat

means to put a decisive end

to your gluttonous appetite.

It's like the English idiom,

bite your tongue.

It doesn't mean you should

literally bite your tongue,

but it means you should

make a desperate effort

to keep yourself

from saying something

you shouldn't say.

This is wise counsel

whenever we're dining

with our superiors,

maybe with our bosses at work.

The fact that the boss

is picking up the check

doesn't mean you should

order the most expensive meal

with bottles of wine

to do it.

When you're being wined

and dined,

that's an occasion

for self-restraint

rather than self-indulgence.

Verses 1 to 3

are matched by

verses 6 to 8,

which address another

similar context.

Do not eat the bread

of a man who is stingy.

Do not desire his delicacies,

for he is like one

who is inwardly calculating.

Eat and drink,

he says to you.

But his heart is not with you.

You will vomit up

the morsels that you have eaten.

Waste your pleasant work.

What's in view here

is a stingy man

who is doing you

a reluctant favor.

You have somehow

extracted a meal invitation

from this stingy man.

And as Proverbs says,

a stingy man hastens

after wealth.

This man is trying

to get rich,

doesn't like to share,

and he's probably

already somewhat

well-to-do

because he's able

to serve you delicacies.

However,

once again,

this is not the time

to indulge yourself

but to restrain yourself.

Because the stingy man

is inwardly calculating.

He encourages you

to eat and drink

to your heart's content

of how much you're eating,

of how much you're drinking,

how much it's costing him.

It is foolish

to indulge in his delicacies

because you will end up

vomiting up

what you've not eaten.

You'll end up

wasting your pleasantries

and compliments.

This is applicable

to a number of contexts.

When someone is reluctantly

helping you,

when someone is reluctantly

doing you a favor,

don't think of it

as an opportunity

to exploit.

You're better off

refusing such reluctant favors

because it will backfire

in the end

and you'll have to pay.

At the center of this

chiasm

is verses 45,

which stand alone

and do not have

a matching parallel verse.

And this is the point

that the author

is trying to emphasize.

He says,

Do not toil

to acquire wealth.

Be discerning enough

to exist.

When your eyes

lie on it,

it is gone.

For suddenly

it sprouts wings

flying like an eagle

toward him.

This is a general

expectation

of mourning

against greed.

Loving wealth.

There's a wordplay

in verse 5,

the Hebrew word

that is translated

light,

light on,

is the same word

that's translated

as fly

in that same verse.

So when your eyes

fly toward wealth,

it is gone

for suddenly

it sprouts wings

flying like an eagle

toward heaven.

Don't let your eyes

wander to wealth.

Glance at wealth

because like a bird,

it's there one moment

but gone in the next.

It's elusive.

It's ephemeral.

It is foolish

to toil

to acquire wealth.

And those who are

discerning enough

desist from wealth.

When wealth

is the incidental

byproduct

of a faithful life

before God,

when it's a reward

of honest hard work

and selfless generosity,

Proverbs views

wealth as a blessing.

However,

when wealth becomes

an end

in and of itself,

when the gift

is prioritized

above the giver,

wealth becomes

an idol

that tyrannizes

our lives.

And we fall

into all kinds

of temptations

that they are

not so smart

because they are

all included

on the gift

of wealth.

The gift

has Till Tune

and Hero

have every

God

taught us

to transform

in they're

the two

africa's

purposes.

Cultivating virtue

is an uphill

find.

It's an arduous

road.

It requires

instruction

and discipline.

And this is why

chapters 22

and 23

are both

interspersed

with several

child-bearing

saints.

The responsibility falls on the parents to impart these truths and instill these values

So that they grow up, their children grow up to be men and women

Who choose a good name and favor before God and men over great riches

Look with me, 5-6

It says, thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked

Whoever guards his soul will keep far from them

Train up a child in the way he should go

Even when he is old, he will not depart from it

Verse 6 translated more literally

Is this

Dedicate a child according to the mouth of his way

Even when he is old, he will not depart from it

That's what it literally says

The phrase, the way he should go, is actually not in the Bible

That's a translator's attempt to make sense of an obscure phrase

The mouth of his way

Which occurs only here in the entire Bible

The word train up, which is translated most frequently as dedicated scripture

Refers to that initial stage of consequent and setting apart something

At the beginning of its example, dedicating the temple of God in Ezra chapter 6

Ezra 6 · chapter mention

And since that word dedicate has a positive meaning

And it's an imperative to dedicate this

The translators assumed that the mouth of his way is a good way that the child should be trained to go in

But I think the translators missed the irony of this verse

There's sarcasm here in the same way there was in Proverbs chapter 19 verse 27

Proverbs 19:27

Cease to hear instruction, my son

That's a command

Cease to hear instruction, my son

And you will stray from the words of knowledge

It's irony, Solomon doesn't actually want you to stop listening to instruction

He wants you to do the exact opposite

And I think that's why

Even when he is old, he will not depart from it

The word mouth also means opening

And it's sometimes used to refer to the mouth or opening of a well

Mouth or opening of a gorge in Jeremiah 48, 28

The mouth of a river in Isaiah 19, 7

It's the initial opening of something toward a wider world

And so then the phrase mouth of his way

Likely refers to a child's inherent tendencies

The way they tend to behave and grow if left to their own devices

In the end, the meaning doesn't end up being that different

But we know from chapter 22 verse 15

That the child, because he is a sinner

Naturally tends toward folly

It says in verse 15

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child

But the rod of discipline drives it far from him

So then the command in verse 6 is ironic

Dedicate a child according to the foolish inclinations

The folly of his own way

Even when he is old, he will not depart from it

This verse is emphasizing the importance of parental discipline

Like a vine that grows in every which direction

Apart from the training hands of the vine dresser

The child gets more and more established foolish ways

Apart from the course correction offered by his parents

And I think this interpretation is confirmed

By the parallel use of the word way in verse 5

Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked

Whoever guards his soul will keep far from them

It is the parent's duty to guard the soul of their children

From the way of the wicked

By not affirming or condoning them

In their natural sinful tendencies

Of course the parents are not solely responsible

For the way a child turns out

Children and human beings are moral agents

And they have responsibilities

And there are many other factors that influence them

But parents play a significant role

In the development of their children

And therefore they bear a sizable responsibility

And verses 10 to 14 tell us about the various ways

That our children might turn off

Verses 10 to 11 speak of a scoffer who is quarrelsome and abusive

Who should be expelled from the kingdom

In contrast to those who are pure of heart and gracious of speech

Who have a king for his friend

Verse 12 speaks of the traitor

Verse 13 of the sluggard

Who says

It's a really humorous description of the sluggard

The sluggard hates to work so much

That he comes up with all kinds of fantastical excuses

To refuse to go out to the street to work

Lions

Lions were common in the wild

In the ancient Near East

They were never found in the streets of a fortified city

But sluggard says

There is no possible way that I could do that work

It would be the death of me

Don't force me out to the streets

There's a lion I cannot do that work

Another way they could turn out wrong

Their children is that

They will walk headlong into the mouth of a forbidden woman

Which is a deep pit

And after these examples of foolish sinners

Verse 15 exhorts us

Folly is bound within the heart of a child

But the rod of discipline drives it far from him

I've seen a really cute baby onesie lately

That says on the front

I'm no angel

And then in fine print under it says

My mommy just thinks I am

That's a great reminder

The notion that children are born innocent and pure

Is a myth

That is

According to the word of God

Folly is what is bound up in the heart of a child

It's part of his very constitution

And so he needs the rod of discipline

To drive folly far from him

Some parents are filled with horror

At the prospect of messing up their children

When in reality

They're born messed up

With an inborn need for the mercies of God

The word rod was in chapter 22 verse 8

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity

And the rod of his fury will fail

If you don't want your child to grow up to be an adult

That sows injustice

And reaps calamity

If you don't want your child to become

An adult that oppresses other people

With the rod of his fury

You must discipline him

With the rod

The scripture is very consistent in this regard

Proverbs 13 24 also says

Whoever spares the rod hates his son

But he who loves him is diligent to discipline him

This truth is reiterated again in chapter 23 verses 12 to 14

Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge

Do not withhold discipline from a child

If you strike him with the rod

He will not die

If you strike him with the rod

He will save his soul from shield

Now contrast that

With Proverbs 19 18

Which says

Discipline your son for there is hope

Do not set your heart on putting him to death

If you don't discipline your children

He says you're extinguishing their hope

You are in fact setting your heart

To put them to death

Discipline does not lead to ruin and death

It's the lack of discipline

That leads to ruin and death

And since the phrase

He will not die

Is parallel to

You will save his soul from shield

The primary meaning of verse 13

Is not that the child will survive the spanking

He's not saying

Oh he will not die if he's spanking

That's not what he's saying

On account of the discipline

You shouldn't be getting anywhere close

To that level of severity

When you're spanking a child

That's not what that means

Rather it means that

If you discipline him

He will not die on account of his sins

He will save his soul from shield

17th century New England

Pastor Cotton Mather

Imagined that undisciplined children

Would accuse their parents

This way on judgment day

Quote

All this that we here suffer

Is through you

You should have taught us

The things of God

And did not

You should have taught us

And you did not

You were the means of our original corruption

And guiltiness

And yet you never showed us

Any competent care

That might be delivered from it

Woe unto us

That we had such carnal

And careless parents

There is some room

For interpretation here

Regarding what exactly

The law should look like

But as we saw in

Colbert's chapter 20 verse 30

There does seem to be a connection

Between outward

Formal punishment

And inward cleansing

And it always seems to have

Some kind of instrument

Of discipline in view

Or rod

As opposed to the parents

On hand

Perhaps so that there is

A degree of separation

Between the instrument of pain

And the parent

This is an unpopular teaching

Nowadays

Because most recent research

Published by child psychologists

Suggests that there is a correlation

Between spanking by parents

And various negative

Behavioral, emotional, cognitive

And physical outcomes

The problem

With most of this research

Is that they lump

Measured

Loving

And

Punishment

Including blatant abuse

And problematic methods

Like pinching and biting

Are even taken into account

And another major drawback

Of most of these publications

Is that they are cross-sectional

Rather than longitudinal

Meaning that they try to

Determine the effects

Of spanking

By using data

From a single point in time

Which makes the determination

Of cause and effect

Very difficult

If not impossible

Are they getting spanked

Because of their

Negative behavioral issues

Or is spanking

Causing

The negative

Determine that

If you are looking at

One point in time

There have been few attempts

To correct for these

Methodological drawbacks

And one of them

Is an article entitled

The Case Against

Corporal Punishment of Children

By Elizabeth Gershoff

And Susan Bitensky

Published in the journal

Psychology, Public Policy

And Law

This is a meta-analysis

Of all the various studies

Published about this topic

And it's the most

Frequently cited paper

On this topic

But even

This case

Which supposedly

Corrects for the

Methodological flaws

Of the other researchers

Fails to make

Crucial distinctions

One

The frequency

Of the spankings

Does it happen

Three times a day

Or once a year

Doesn't take it into account

Two

The reasons

Why the parents

Spanked

Are they getting spanked

For hitting another child

Or for benign childishness

Does not take that

Into account

Three

The age of the children

At the time of spanking

Are they being spanked

As an infant

Too late

As a teenager

Too late

Does not take that

Into account

Number four

Where exactly

Are they spanking the children

Are they slapping them

On their well-padded bum

Or slapping them

In the face

In a humiliating fashion

Does not take it

Into account

Number five

The general abusiveness

Of the parents

Are the parents

Verbally abusive

As they are spanking

Do they spank

In an uncontrolled rage

Or is it measured

Is it loving

The research

Does not take

Any of these things

Into account

These common

Sensible factors

And yet

It has the audacity

To challenge

The wisdom

Of God's word

Born out by millennia

Of parenting experience

There is a difference

Between child abuse

And spanking

There is a reason

Why we have

A special term

For it

It is called

Spanking

And the bible's

Teaching about

Disciplining children

Offers no defense

For parents

Who abuse

Their children

There is something

That every single

One of these verses

About parental discipline

Has in common

The motivation

For spanking

Is not emotional

To release

Pense

Nor is it

To show your child

Who is boss

Or merely

To restrain

Behaviors

That you personally

Don't like

The consistent

Motivation given

In every single

One of these verses

Is always

Love for the child

Whoever spares

The rod

Hates his son

But he who loves

Him

Is diligent

To discipline him

If you strike him

With the rod

You will save

His soul

From shield

The goal of spanking

Is to save

The child's soul

And if that's

What motivates you

You're not going

To do it

If you're motivated

By love

You're not going

To spank your child

In sinful anger

It's when parents

Spank their children

In anger

That they learn

Aggressive

Violent

Violent behavior

As a way of

Expressing their

Frustrations

They don't become

Aggressive

When you administer

Discipline

In a loving

Measured way

I still vividly

Remember the time

When I was spanked

By my father

When I was in

Grade school

I had done

Something that was

Utilily defiant

And disrespectful

Toward my mom

And as my father

Was spanking me

He was not doing

So in red

Faced rage

With his veins

Bulging from his neck

No he was

Suppressing tears

There was a loving

Reluctance

And I understood

In a moment

That my father

Was disciplining me

Because he loved me

Because he cared

For my well being

Because he was so

Committed

To my future

In short

We are to

Discipline our children

The manner

That our heavenly father

Disciplines us

He says in Hebrews

Hebrews 12:5

Chapter 12

Verse 5

Have you forgotten

The exhortation

That addresses you

As sons

My son

Do not regard

Lightly the discipline

Of the Lord

Nor be weary

When reproved by him

For the Lord

Disciplines the one

He loves

And chastises

Every son

Whom he receives

We have had

Earthly fathers

Who disciplined us

And we respected them

Shall we not

Much more

Be subject

To the father

Of spirits

And live

For they disciplined us

For a short time

As it seemed best

To them

But he disciplines us

For our good

That we may share

His holiness

For the moment

All discipline

Seems painful

Rather than pleasant

But later

It yields

The peaceful

Fruit of righteousness

To those who have

Been trained by it

Our heavenly father

Disciplines us

Out of love

For our good

And the book

Of lamentations

In its entirety

The five chapters

Is about

God disciplining

His children

And lamenting that

Mourning that

It's lamenting

The capture of Jerusalem

The destruction of Jerusalem

In 587 B.C.

By the Babylonians

And the destruction

And death that followed

And the whole book

Is structured

Chastically

As I mentioned before

Chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5

All each have 22 verses

But the middle chapter

Chapter 3

Has 66 verses

Three times the number

And the very center

Of that chapter

Is the theological

High point

Of that book

And it says this

About God

For he does not

Afflict from his heart

Or grieve the children

Of men

All the afflictions

That Israel went through

All the sufferings

That you endure

All the painful

Discipline

You receive

From God

Our father

Yes

It does come from

His sovereign hand

But it does not

Come from

His heart

Appropriate to say

That there is a certain

Reluctance

On God's part

To discipline us

He takes no pleasure

In inflicting

Pain

But he does it

For our good

He does it

Because he loves

Us

And that's the way

We have to discipline

Our own children

He should pain us

To discipline our children

But we nevertheless

Must do it

Out of love

For their good

Take a moment

To reflect on this

In silence

Consider what the Lord

Is bringing to your attention

In your life

What he is revealing

More about himself

And about ourself

In the reading

In Christian

God's name

Not the world

In response

Isaiah

El