Thursday, November 29, 2018 – Proverbs 22:28-29

Be Satisfied with what God has Blessed You with &
Do Your Job Well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBfnqehjxJA

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

www.facebook.com/GraceDoctrine

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.

Vs. 28

Prov 22:28, “Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set.”

In this “5^th Saying,” we once again begin with a prohibition, vs 22, 24, 26, utilizing the Hebrew negative Adverb AL, “do not.” This time, it is linked with, “move,” which is the Hiphil Jussive Verb SUGH, סוּג that means, “to turn back, to deviate, to be disloyal.” The causative Hiphil with the Imperfect Jussive of desired action exhorts us to, “not to be caused to deviate from.” This prohibition is also given in Prov 23:10a, utilizing the same structure for the first half of the passage. In fact, five times in the OT SUGH is used to refer to the removing of a “boundary,” GEBUL, גְּבוּל stone that was prohibited under the Law of Moses, Deut 19:14; 27:17; Prov 22:28; 23:10; Hos 5:10.

The Noun GEBUL designates, “a border, boundary, or territory; barrier or wall.” It is used to point out the limits or boundaries of territories, 1 Sam 13:18, or borderland of geographical areas, Psa 78:54, that were to be respected.

The nature of these borders or boundaries that God had allotted to the people of Israel were, “ancient,” OLAM, עוֹלָם‎ that means, “forever, eternity, something everlasting, etc.” We have noted this word in Prov 8:23; 10:25, 30, and will see it in Prov 23:10; 27:24.

Prov 10:25, “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation.”

OLAM has the sense of eternity, past and future. Here it is in regard to eternity past. The second half of this verse tells us “which your fathers have set.” Yet, those boundaries were ordained by God from eternity past.

“Which your fathers have set,” uses the Relative Participle ASHER, “which,” (to further qualify the boundary and contains the reason), the Qal Perfect Verb ASAH for “to make, made, or set,” with the broader context of “have put into effect or put into place,” (a word prominent in God’s creations), and the Plural Noun AB that means, “fathers, heads of household, ancestors, etc.” Therefore, these borders were set by their forefathers, maybe going back to the apportioning of land when Israel occupied the land of Canaan given to them by God, Joshua 14-21, that refers to the time when Joshua distributed the land by casting the sacred lot. It began with territorial boundaries for the 12 Tribes of Israel, with Ephraim and Manasseh getting portions each, as the double blessing to their father Joseph. Then, within those borders, land was divided by families. Private land boundaries were marked out by stone pillars or cairns (piles of stone) erected between properties to mark legal ownership. So, these boundaries were part of God’s blessings to each family as they entered the Promised Land.

Deut 19:14, “You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.”

But, we also must remember that because the land was the Lord’s in the first place as its Creator, and the Israelites were merely His tenants, Lev 25:23, it was His to apportion, cf. Joshua 14-21.

Lev 25:23, “The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.”

Therefore, to steal someone’s property was thus to reject God’s Lordship, His right to use the land as He wished. The Law cursed anyone who moved a boundary marker, Deut 19:14; 27:17, a curse reiterated in Hosea 5:10.

Deut 27:17, “Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen’.”

“In an agrarian society, the ability to feed one’s family (to survive) might depend on the produce from an acre or so of cultivable land. Moving a boundary marker stole not only property, but crops. This loss could well ruin the life of the small farmer.” (Complete Biblical Library Commentary.)

“Throughout the ancient Near East, people had great respect for private and tribal boundaries so essential for a family’s life. Without this understanding, every field would be up for grabs and anarchy would ensue. Unfortunately, the crime was easy to accomplish and difficult to prove. Proverbs is concerned with protecting the fields of the widows and fatherless (see 15:15; 23:10; cf. 14:21, 31; 17:5; 30:14) because the economically disadvantaged, who had limited financial resources and no one to represent them in legal disputes, were most vulnerable to this high-handed, greedy transgression of their rights (cf. Job 24:3). As the era of the monarchy progressed, the powerful class seized the ancestral lands of their subjects (1 Kgs. 21:4; Isa 5:8; Hos. 5:10).” (Waltke, New International Commentary.)

That is why we also see the prohibition to steal from the poor or weak and God’s promise of defense and retribution in vs. 22-23, linked with our verse. As noted above, the parallel admonition in Prov 23:10, is followed in vs. 11, “For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.” This reminds us of Prov 22:23, where the Lord is the defender of the weak, and judge, jury, and executioner of the offender!

As such, God wanted them to be satisfied with the provisions He had given to them and seek Him out for the necessary provision of the family. He did not want them to covet the land He had blessed another family with. It reminds them and us, not to covet our neighbor’s property that could lead to illicitly moving boundary lines.

Interestingly, by “moving the boundaries of our fathers,” it actually is breaking three of the 10 Commandments:

1. The 5^th Commandment of “Honoring your mother and father,” Ex 20:12.

2. The 8^th Commandment of, “You shall not steal,” Ex 20:15.

3. The 10^th Commandment of, “You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor,” Ex 20:17.

Further, the land proportioned to each family was rendered holy and not to be tampered with by its sacred origin and antiquity, as Jephthah argued in Judges 11:14-17. Therefore, we see what may seem like a simple action of moving a boundary stone is actually very egregious to The Lord.

We also have several additional principles from this passage:

1. The property that you have, has been ordained from eternity past by God.

2. There is absolutely nothing wrong with owning and maintaining property.

3. Yet, we are not to covet, (lust after), or steal the land or property that belongs to others, especially our neighbors.

4. Be satisfied, content, and happy with what God has given you!

5. Enjoy the blessings He has for you, and do not lust after the blessing of others.

On a spiritual basis, I present two comments from H.A. Ironside that is very similar to that of J. Vernon McGee’s comment on this verse.

“In this dispensation of grace the allotment of God's people is heavenly, not earthly. Our inheritance is in the precious truth which He has committed to us. To remove the landmarks—the great distinguishing doctrines of Scripture—will be to incur the divine displeasure. Yet, unfortunately, many supposedly learned doctors are engaged in that wretched business today. No truth of Scripture is too sacred for their irreverent handling. Precious truths like those of atonement and justification by faith—even the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ—are, in their eyes, but common ideas, which they may dismiss or ignore as they please. But a day of reckoning is coming, when God will judge them in righteousness; and those who have been misled by their removal of ancient and venerable landmarks of God's Word will curse them for the loss of their souls. Terrible will be the accounting of men who, while posing as instructors of the flock of Christ, have all the while been Satan's instruments for overthrowing the saving truths of Scripture. See Paul's warning word to Timothy (2 Timothy 1:8-13, and 4:1-5). Compare with Proverbs 23:10-11.” (H.A. Ironside Expository Commentary - Proverbs.)

“Now I am going to make a spiritual application of this. You may think I am square when I say this, but I believe that today we have seen the landmarks of the Christian faith removed. They have been removed by what was first called modernism, and now is called liberalism. These folk with a liberal viewpoint say, "This old landmark, this doctrine that was taught in the days of the apostle Paul, is no longer relevant. We have learned so much that we don't need the doctrine of the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures. We can do away with that. And we can do away with the doctrine of the deity of Christ." These distinguishing doctrines of the Christian faith have been pretty well washed out by a great many of the old line denominations on the basis that we must come up to date. Now I want to say this: Instead of moving forward and removing landmarks, we need to start moving backward to get back to many of the ancient landmarks. Those ancient landmarks made this nation great. The landmarks of moral values, the spiritual truths, the biblical basis -- all have been removed. We look around us today and hear everyone telling what he thinks the solution is, and it is always a sociological or psychological solution. I haven't heard any of our leaders suggesting a biblical solution. I say that we need to get back to the good old landmarks which our nation had at the beginning.” (Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee.)

Vs. 29

Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”

This “6^th Saying,” stands out from the others as it is a positive exhortation for doing your job well and a model of success. It begins with the Qal Perfect of CHAZAH, חָזָה “to see, behold, to perceive or consider as the result of reflection or insight.” This is the first time it is used in Proverbs, and will be used again in Prov 24:32; 29:20.

It is used in contrast to its broader synonym RA’A, “to see,” and is predominantly a technical term for a form of revelation to the prophet, consisting of the perception of God’s voice in a vision or deep sleep. However, the word is used here and in Prov 24:32; 29:20, as in Psa 11:4; 17:2, to connote a sharp inspection.

The “man skilled” is ISH MAHIYR, מָהִי that means, “skilled or diligent, quick to communicate, ready, or prompt, that is, being zealous for what is right.” It is used only four times in the OT, Ezra 7:6; Psa 45:1; Prov 22:29; Isa 16:5. In each context, it shows that zeal for the task at hand is a common characteristic of the person or thing described as “skilled.”

The skill spoken of here is “in his work,” BE MELAKHAH, מְלָאכָה. It connotes the idea of the productive, purposeful activity implied by someone being sent to bear a message. And, since it is tied with the “king” MELEKH, we could say the job of emissary or ambassador. But, it is also used generally for any kind of work or business’ civil, political, religious, etc., and for the “work of God.” It can also refer to what can be gained by the earnings of a person’s work, i.e., one’s “possessions, property, substance, goods, articles,” as in Gen 33:14, (herds), Ex 22:11 (what a neighbor owns). So, we also see a tie in with vs. 28, the rightful ownership of property.

MELAKHAH is used in Prov 18:9, for the negative exhortation and 24:27, for another positive one. 

Prov 18:9, “He also who is slack in his work is brother to him who destroys.”

Therefore, in our passage, it encourages us to think of someone who stands out for his or her ability and emulate them in our own work.

In the second half of the passage, we see the blessing of doing your job well, “He will stand before kings.”

“He will stand,” is the reflexive Hithpael Imperfect of the Verb YATSAB, ‏יָצַב‎ that means, “to stand, confront, or take ones stand.” It is used in a reflexive stem as here, and means, “to station oneself or to take a firm stand,” cf. 1 Sam 3:10. This word pertains to firmly presenting oneself to engage in a mission, in a fight, or in a commission. It is never used of taking one’s stand after fulfilling an assignment.

And, because it is in reference to “before kings,” LE PANIM MELEKH, YATSAB means, “putting oneself in a place of honor,” in our verse. The plural for “kings” suggests this proficient person enjoys an international reputation. The Hebrew actually reads, “Face to face with kings, he will take his position of honor.”

Excellence has rewards, one of which is to be recognized by the most important members of society, those who could also best reward quality, cf. Prov 10:4; 21:5.

In the last part of our passage, “he will not stand before obscure men,” we have a contrasting complementary exhortation using the negative BAL, “not or nothing,” and the reflexive Hithpael Imperfect of the Verb YATSAB, once again. Therefore, it means, “he will not take a position.” The ones in view here are, LE PANIM CHASHOK, “face to face with obscure or insignificant ones.”

CHASHOK, חָשֹׁךְ is only used here in the OT. It comes from the Hebrew Noun for “darkness,” CHOSHEK, and is an Adjective identifying something as obscure or insignificant. It is a detrimental and belittling term used of certain persons who are nobodies on the social scale or in political influence. Therefore, this proverb aims to motivate the son to become competent in whatever commissions he receives in order to rise to his greatest social and economic potential in the service of kings. By receiving these royal commissions and successfully fulfilling them, he earns himself an international reputation and a handsome profit.

Principles:

1. Skill is the result of practice under the oversight of someone who is already accomplished at that skill, trade, or profession.

2. Wisdom recognizes someone else’s expertise, is humble to see its own need, and is then willing to submit to being taught so that it can gain that skill.

3. Mastery, however, comes only through tutored diligence. Dabbling in many areas may be recreational, but it cannot lead to excellence, which comes only from focused effort over a period of time.

4. Excellence, in turn, leads to enjoyment, which encourages further effort.

And, that is the formula for the believer who desires to or has excelled in the spiritual life. God has given us a spiritual gift, with a ministry, and an effect, 1 Cor 12:7-6, as professional Christians, from the moment of our salvation. He has pre-ordained these. Now, it is your job to learn about your gift and develop it to achieve excellence in the service of our King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. Skill. Identify your spiritual gift and develop its traits. Find someone who you know also has that gift.

2. Wisdom. Humble yourself to learn from the expertise of others with your gift.

3. Mastery. Then exercise your spiritual gift under the tutelage of others who have your gift. Ask for constructive criticism to help fine tune your gift. And focus your attention on your gift and not the gifts that others may have.

4. Excellence. After focused effort over a period of time, you will have mastered your gift and now you can enjoy the fruits of your labor by excelling like never before in your ministry and effect.

And, all of this is accomplished through the consistent and faithful intake and application of God’s Word from your right Pastor-Teacher; diligence in studying and applying God’s Word.

Jesus taught that the reward will be for the one who is trustworthy in the small things of this world. They will be entrusted with ten cities in His coming kingdom, Mat 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27; cf. John 12:26.

Mat 25:21, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master’.”

Luke 19:17, “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities’.”

His commendation will not be based on the amount of work you have done, or on the number of people to whom you have witnessed, or how hard you have worked, but on how faithful you have been to the task He has given you. He may have given you the task of being a mother to a little one in the home. Moses’ mother was faithful in that way, and her name is recorded in the Word of God. The reward will be for faithfulness in the application of your gift.

Rom 12:10-11, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; ¹¹not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”