Sunday, October
28, 2018 – Proverbs 22:6
Training up a Child in the Precepts of God
Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Proverbs 22
1. The wise
discipline themselves to follow God in everything, vs. 1-16.
2. Wisdom tells us when to speak and when to be silent, vs. 17-21.
3. The wise ones care for and protect the poor, vs. 22-29.
Prov 22:6, “Train up
a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from
it.”
This is one of the more popular verses in the entire book of
Proverbs. It is related to parents teaching their children to have humility, be
prudent, and be wise as they teach them God’s Word and its magnificent
principles and precepts. This teaching
is necessary so that the child can avoid the painful pitfall of falling into
the thorns and snares of sin and Satan’s cosmic system.
In vs. 1, we are
exhorted to have a good reputation; in vs.
2, to have good community relationships; in vs. 3, to have good avoidance of evil; in vs. 4, to have a good relationship with the Lord; in vs. 5, to have good in our soul by
guarding it from sin through humility; and now in vs. 6, to have good training in the precepts of God.
This first thing we should note, is that this verse is not a
guarantee that if you train your children in the Word and way of God that they
will respond positively to it their entire lives. It is not a promise that
every parent’s efforts to teach and guide children will be successful. But, it
is a great encouragement that the probability of the child later relying upon
God and His Word is greatly enhanced because of the parent’s efforts. At the
same time, it is a warning that those who neglect this teaching have a better
chance of having much trouble in their lives, i.e., self-induced misery.
This verse begins with “train
up,” which is the Qal, (Active Voice), Imperative, (command or
exhortation), Verb CHANAKH, חָנַךְ which typically means and is used for “to
dedicate, inaugurate, initiate, or train.” It is used in the OT 5 times, in
four verses, with three contexts:
1. Twice in Deut 20:5,
for the dedication of a house.
2. Once each in 1
Kings 8:63, and 2 Chron 7:5, regarding
the dedication of the Temple to God.
3. For training a child, Prov 22:6.
Therefore, in the other four usages outside of our verse it
means, “dedicate a house or the Tabernacle, (which is the Lord’s house), to the
Lord.”
Regarding the dedication of the Temple, the Noun is used
similarly in Ezra 6:16f.; Neh 12:27-43, at the rebuilding of the
Temple and the Walls of Jerusalem, with its many sacrifices and pomp. In this
dedication, the purification process was intended to avert any evil influences from
past events, and the processional circuit was to assure permanence for the
future. The concluding sacrifices and feasting in the Temple expressed joy and
thanksgiving that the work has come to fruition. As such, this exhorts parents
or teachers to celebrate the occasion of a young man’s initiation into his
adulthood status; his full station in life. By spending time, effort, and
energy to celebrate such a step implies its importance and worth, and would
encourage the young to maintain themselves in their new status of life. This is
where the Bat and Bar Mitzvah originates from, as well as other cultural
celebrations of the young becoming an adult. But the CHANAKH is much more than
a simple celebration.
Principle:
Therefore, we see in “training
up a child,” that we are dedicating him or her to the Lord, providing for
future avoidance of evil, “thorns and snares,” in their lives, and providing
for the child’s and parent’s thanksgiving with joy to the Lord.
We also see in Deut
20:5, the first usage of this word in the Bible, that the home of an
individual was ritually dedicated to the Lord. In this, we see that a man was
exempt from military service and warfare until after he had dedicated his
house. This act represented the establishment of a new generation in the
society as full members of adult society, which was a significant change of
their status. A cognate noun HANIK is used in Gen 14:14, for Abraham’s men or servants who were trained for
warfare.
Principle:
Therefore, we see that in, “training up a child,” we are educating them and preparing them for
adulthood life, so that they can be productive members of adult society, as
they enter into and are engaged in the spiritual warfare of the Angelic
Conflict. This will help them to put on the full armor of God and be
victorious. This may also be why our Lord spoke of the “guardian angels” of
children in Mat 18:10. Although
believers have a guardian angel their entire lives, Psa 91:11; Acts 12:15; Heb 1:14, their angel may guard them until
they reach the age of accountability where they now are adults who can fend for
themselves with the Full Armor of God, i.e., the Word of God.
This application is also seen in the usage of this word in
ancient Arabic where it was used for, “to initiate, make accustom, or make
experienced.” One such usage regarded the rubbing the gums of a newborn child
with the juice of dates or with oil, to get them prepared for nursing, hence it
represented “initiation.” Therefore, this proverb implies that the religious
and moral initiation of the young be oriented from the beginning to counteract
his inherent foolish ways stemming from his Old Sin Nature, (OSN). During the
Church Age, this especially speaks of training the young in the “mystery
doctrines for the Church Age,” so that they are capable of standing firm
against the “flaming missiles of the evil one.”
CHANAKH is also the root for the Hanukkah celebration, which
is the celebration of the rededication of the Temple in the times of the
Maccabees, 1 Macc 4:36-59; 2 Macc 10:1-8;
cf. John 10:22, that continues
today, that was based on Solomon’s ceremony of dedication (CHANUKKAH) that
extended over seven, (the number of spiritual perfection), days, 2 Chron 7:9; Cf. 1 Kings 8:63; Ezra 6:17. Therefore, we get the sense of “inauguration,”
from these ceremonies.
Principle:
Therefore, we see that in, “training up a child,” we are inaugurating the child to walk in
spiritual adulthood to perform Divine Good Production in spiritual perfection.
“Child” is the
Hebrew Noun NA’AR, נַעַר that can mean, “child, young man, or servant.” It is
used extensively throughout the OT in all three applications. In most English
versions of the Bible, it generally refers to social status rather than to age.
This goes well with the context we noted above regrading “training,” and the
dedication factor of entering into adult society.
Principle:
Therefore, we see that in, “training up a child,” we are taking a young or immature person, a
new believer, and training them to be good servants of the Lord in spiritual
adulthood.
Stopped here continued on Tuesday, 10/30/18.
Next, we have, “in
the way he should go.” The Hebrew is AL PEH DEREK. PEH can mean, “mouth,
opening or edge.” DEREK means, “way, manner, or custom.”
Principle:
Therefore, we see that in, “training up a
child,” it is emphasizing his speech and the manner in which he uses it. It
is emphasizing the avoidance of the sins of the tongue through wisdom and
prudence, based on having humility of the soul through Bible Doctrine resident
within the soul.
As we will see in the upcoming verses, speech that mocks in
pride or arrogance is not the gracious speech that wins the king, vs. 10-11. Likewise, faithless words
and lazy excuses will not please Yahweh,
vs. 12-13. Those who turn from God’s way will be vulnerable to what is most
dangerous of all, words of seduction, that are also symbolized by the mouth of
the adulteress, a pit, a trap that destroys.
The way we speak says a great deal about the way we think,
including what we think about the rich and the poor. Therefore, if we are to
watch our words, we must do more than look to see how our words affect the
people we like to be with, people of similar social and economic status, we
must see how they affect everyone, even the less fortunate.
Vs. 5, implicitly
admonished the young to stay clear from the sinister road, the perverse travel,
and its pair here in vs. 6,
implicitly admonishes the educator, especially the parent, to start him on the
right way to steer him clear of danger. In addition, as this chapter exhorts
us, we must also recognize the power of words to educate others about decisions
that affect the poor and to speak out for justice when necessary. In practical
terms, this means not only speaking out for the needs of the least privileged
members of society, but also teaching the coming generation to care about the
concerns of others. If we can encourage a new generation to love generosity and
justice, we have done our job well.
Rom 13:8-10, “Owe
nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has
fulfilled the law. 9For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery, you
shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,’ and if there is
any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.’ 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore
love is the fulfillment of the law.”
All of this emphasizes that more often than other categories
of sin, the sins of the tongue lead us into the “thorns and snares” of sin
inside of Satan’s cosmic system. Therefore, through proper education and
training in the principles and precepts of God’s Word, these sins, with their
subsequent problems, can and will be avoided by the spiritually mature
individual. That is, the problems of self-induced misery can be avoided.
That is found in the second half of this passage that reads,
“Even when he is old he will not depart
from it.”
The Hebrew word for “depart”
is the Qal, (Active Voice), Imperfect, (continuous action), of the Verb SUR,
סוּר, that means, “to leave, deviate, turn aside, or go away.” With the Hebrew
negative particle LO, it means he “will
not” leave, deviate, turn aside, or go away from the teaching he received
regarding the Word of God. In other words, the child who grows to spiritual
adulthood will continually apply to his life the principles and precepts of
God’s Word that he was taught in his spiritual youth-hood.
Principle:
Therefore, we see that in, “training up a child,” he will continually apply the Bible Doctrine
he learned during his spiritual journey to adulthood.
Now, keep in mind, that all of this is also dependent on the
child’s positive volition that continues to be positive throughout his
adulthood years. This is not a guarantee, but a general precept of probability
that the child will continue applying Bible Doctrine to his life later on. It
is also an exhortation for parents, or those who have already obtained
spiritual adulthood, to diligently train, educated, initiate, and inaugurate
the child, or spiritually immature believers, in the ways of God by means of
His Word.
So, we see that at the end of this present collection of
Proverbs, Collection II, it places the spotlight on the youth’s learning once
again, stressing the need for teaching. And, in the upcoming verse, vs. 15, we will also see the necessary
correction of “discipline” that is needed for growth to spiritual adulthood.
Likewise, in the next collection, Collection III, and then again in Collection
V, we will see references to this training and correction that also speaks of
the rod that drives folly away, for a beating is better than death, Prov 23:13; 29:15.
Prov 23:13, “Do not
hold back discipline from the child, although you beat him with the rod, he
will not die.”
Prov 29:15, “The rod
and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his
mother.”
As Ironside notes, “If
they are taught to love the world, to crave its fashions and follies in
childhood, they are almost certain to live for the world when they come to
mature years. On the other hand, if they are properly instructed from the
beginning as to the futility of living for the pleasures of this world, they
are in little danger of reversing that judgment as they grow older. Parents
need to remember it is not enough to tell their little ones of Jesus and His
rejection or to warn them of the ways of the world; they must see to it that in
their own lives they exemplify their instruction. This will count above all
else in the training of the young. Little ones will observe our pretense and
hypocrisy if we speak piously of separation from the world while demonstrating
the spirit of the world in our dress, relationships in the home, and the
friends we seek. We need not wonder then if they grow up to ignore our words of
instruction while imitating what our lifestyle proclaimed to be the real object
of our hearts. But where a holy, cheerful atmosphere pervades the home and
godly admonition is coupled with godly living, parents can count on the Lord to
keep their households following in the right way. See Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5).”
(H.A. Ironside Expository Commentary – Proverbs).
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