Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Saying 11
Do not move an ancient boundary stone
    or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
for their Defender is strong;
    he will take up their case against you,
Saying 12
Apply your heart to instruction
    and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
Do not withhold discipline from a child;
    if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
Punish them with the rod
    and save them from death.
Saying 14
My son, if your heart is wise,
    then my heart will be glad indeed;
my inmost being will rejoice
    when your lips speak what is right.
Saying 15
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
    but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
There is surely a future hope for you,
    and your hope will not be cut off.

• Proverbs 23:10-18

Proverbs 23:11Redeemer: ”In a normal situation the near kinsman would rescue the one who had fallen upon hard times (cf. Lev. 25:25; Ruth 2:20; 3:12, 13; 4:1–12) or avenge in the case of a murder (Num. 35:19). ‘Redeemer’ is applied to God as the Savior of His people (e.g., Gen. 48:16; Ex. 6:6; Job 19:25; Ps. 19:14; Is. 41:14; 43:14; 44:24) since the helpless had no voice.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

The Message

I have written about this two weeks ago, discussing the last few verses of Proverbs 22.  These days in the USA they drive a rebar deep into the ground to mark the property line.  At the house where I live, the neighbor placed a stone atop the rebar.  The stone is moved to mow the grass around it and then put back.  But tampering such markers is against the law.  Even moving the marker by a few inches, it constitutes theft of real estate.

The second of these verses speaks of a Defender (NIV) or Redeemer, in most English translations.  One translation (Douay-Rheims 1899) uses kinsman.  It was this tradition in Genesis 38 that the second son slept with Tamar to produce an heir for her dead husband Er, son of Judah.  It was that Levitical Law that was invoked by Naomi and Ruth, which led to Ruth marrying Boaz and producing a son, Obed, who claimed the property of his Grandmother Naomi’s late husband.  Obed was the father of Jesse, the father of David.  And it is this Levitical Law that the Sadducees used to test Jesus, asking who would the woman be married to when they all go to Heaven.  The Sadducees did not believe in life after death, and their testing question had an element of mockery.  But in this proverb, our Defender or kinsman redeemer is strong.

Saying 12 speaks of applying our ear and our heart to instruction.  I was a smart kid growing up, a bit of a nerd.  I had one problem though.  I never learned how to study.  I was confused by the others in the class who crammed for the test.  When I taught a nuclear physics course many, many years ago, a mechanic came to me and said, “I’ve been studying all night.  It is all crammed in my brain.  So, give me the test quick before it leaks out.”  I think he only missed one question.  I suspect that a day later, he would have been unable to spell nuclear physics.  But as for me, I would skim over my notes, not really reading them.  I would close my notebook and go to bed early.  For me, a good night’s sleep meant my brain would be at its peak.  In other words, I valued learning the material, placing it in my ear and my heart, instead of cramming it in the leaky part of the brain where it will be gone quite soon.

Saying 13 speaks of punishing the child using a rod.  It does not say to gently nudge them and direct them with the rod.  It says to punish them with it.  They will not die, but you are saving them from death.  I have written how each child is different.  Of our two children, one was more social than the other.  One avoided physical pain as much as possible, but he loved dishing out emotional pain.  So, one child would consider time out as a reward, not a punishment.  The other could be physically punished until you hurt yourself administering the punishment, and then he turns and smiles at you.  The point of punishment is that you get the child’s attention so that you can direct them toward worthwhile things and away from things that might harm them.  Thus, punishment is meant to “save” the child from death – physical death and the eventual second death for those who do not repent and turn to God.  And there are a lot of proverbs that speak of resenting punishment leading to death.  Regardless of the method of punishment or the efficacy of redirection toward wholesome things, the ultimate decision is made by the child.

In Saying 14, Solomon is saying that his heart would be filled with joy, maybe the greatest joy other than coming to Christ oneself.  This other joy is when your offspring understand and accept God themselves.  In a St. Jude commercial, a father says that people say that the most devastating news is a doctor telling you that you have cancer.  The father says that is wrong.  The worst news is to be told that your child has cancer.  Flip that to joy, and you can see where Solomon is going in this saying.

Saying 15 speaks of the future hope and the hope now is how Romans 8 ends, that all things work for the good for those that love the Lord.  It may not feel good at the time, so when we see the wicked person next door thriving while we are eating a meatless meal three days a week – not to be vegan, just that we cannot afford the meat…  I have written before about one of the worst sins is the sin of comparison.  We each have our own path.  Do not be worried about others and their paths, especially when the wicked prosper.  Their path may lead to destruction.  The correct path leads to an eternity with God.  And God takes His promises seriously.

And now let us sing.

The following song is God of Every Grace.  This is sung by Keith and Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, and Matt Papa.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Help us to value wisdom.  Thank You, Lord for these reminders.  You would think them to be no-brainers, but we need the reminders.  We shouldn’t cheat one another.  We should accept punishment, rebuke, and correction with love and administer the same with love, intended upon correction and education.  And help us Lord, to always be in a state of learning and growing.  We should never be satisfied in our walk of faith.  And let us be a shining light to those around us.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.