Tuesday, October 30, 2018 – Proverbs 22:6-7
Training up a Child in the Precepts of God, Pt. 2 &
Good Management of Your Finances.
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, (continued).
“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.
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).
Vs. 7
Prov 22:7, “The rich
rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave.”
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; in vs.
6, to have good training in the precepts of God; and now in vs. 7, we are to have good management
of our finances.
In strong contrast to the picture of equality in vs. 2, this proverb depicts life as it
usually is. The rich rule over poor, with implication that only the rich have
access to the power that money brings.
The word for “rules”
is the Qal Imperfect for active future action of the Verb MASHAL, מָשַׁל that
has two root meanings. The second root meaning is used here for, “to rule,
govern, have dominion, etc.” The inherent power and authority one has. The
first root meaning is “to speak a proverb.” In that context, we see that a
proverb is typically a contrasting statement about two opposites in comparison.
So, we see the comparison in this proverb between the rich and the poor, the
lender and the borrower.
The only uniqueness to the English translation from the
Hebrew in this verse is the word for “lender,”
which in the Hebrew is simply ISH, אִישׁ that means, “a man.” The Hebrew uses the generic, whereas the English
translation changes it for context purposes, to contrast with “borrower,” LAWAH, לָָוה in the Hiphil
stem for causative action. Interestingly, LAWAH can also be translated “to
join,” which complements the context of the borrower becoming a “slave or servant,” EBED, עֶבֶד to the lender.
Therefore, this proverb is giving us a warning about getting
into too much debt. It goes along with the injunction in Rom 13:8 that we are to “Owe
nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has
fulfilled the law.” If we heed this principle, we will escape the bondage
of being a debtor.
We see that almost invariably, the rich lord their position
of lender over the poor, except where grace intervenes to check the potential
pride of the human heart. In Satan’s cosmic system, it is natural that the
lender would consider himself superior to the borrower.
Even though we may view this passage as instruction for the
poor borrower, it may in fact be a warning to the rich lender of the
responsibility of power he may find himself with, cf. vs. 9, 16, Prov 18:23. Those in a position to lend money must also
understand their relationship to their borrowers and God in light of the
covenantal stipulations regarding lending and borrowing, cf. Prov 19:17.
Prov 19:17, “One who
is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good
deed.”
This also tells us that borrowing can destroy one’s freedom
by his neglect of this Divine principle, as it is far better to be in meager
circumstances and dependent on God, than to have plenty but to know that it
belongs to someone else.
Nothing can crush the spirit of a man like overwhelming
debt, if he has any conscience about it at all. The Christian should have a
great concern about getting into debt and flee from it at all costs, realizing
that it is the effort of the enemy to undermine his peace and destroy his sense
of dependence on the Lord.
In the ancient days, if someone could not pay off their
debt, they, or their children, would be brought into slavery or servanthood to
the lender, Ex 22:1-4; Deut 15:12-15; 2
Kings 4:1; Neh 5:1-5. Therefore, in the second half of this verse, it adds
that those who borrow, whether by necessity or choice, voluntarily put
themselves under the power of the rich. And, if we get into too much debt, we
become a slave, working for the one who we are indebted to.
This proverb must be viewed in the perspective of the
theology of Deuteronomy, which regards Israel’s ability to grant loans to the
heathen as a sign of their God-given prosperity, Deut 28:12, and Israel’s need to borrow from them the absence of
God’s blessing, Deut 28:44.
Yet, the Bible does not forbid making or taking out loans, Lev 25:35-36; Mat 5:42; Luke 6:35.
However, financial and social bondage can be the result. Therefore, extreme
caution is wise when incurring debt. And, since there were no banks in ancient
Israel, borrowing was a personal arrangement between individuals or families,
with relatively few covenantal constraints upon lenders, cf. Ex 22:25ff; Lev 25:36f; Deut 23:19f.
Therefore, a borrower needed to consider carefully whether a particular lender
might prove benevolent or tyrannical, even to the point of requiring him to
sell his family or himself into slavery to repay the loan, Ex 21:2-7.
Therefore, if we are to be walking properly as servants unto
the Lord, we cannot fulfill that mandate, if we are servants to another; the
creditor / THE MAN!
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