Thursday, November
15, 2018 – Proverbs 22:15
Training in God's Word Removes
Sins of the Tongue
in Our Lives.
Sins of the Tongue
in Our Lives.
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 22:15, “Foolishness
is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far
from him.”
In this Proverb, we will see the significance and importance
of teaching God’s Word / Bible Doctrine to those who are unbelievers and
immature believers, so that the sins of the tongue, such as lying in a court of
law, are far removed from the mentality of their soul and their speech.
As we will see in this passage, various words from vs. 5, “far”, vs. 6, teaching the “NA’AR,” and vs. 8, “rod,” link this proverb with others on training and
judgment.
“Foolishness,” is
the Feminine Noun IWWELETH, אִוֶּלֶת
that indicates “folly or foolishness.” It is a cognate of EWEIL, “fool’, and is
a synonym to PETHI, “fool, inexperienced, simple,” vs. 3, and the Adjective NAVAL, Prov 17:7, 17. Of its 24 usages in the OT, it is used 22 times in
the book of Proverbs, and twice in the Psalms, Psa 38:5; 69:5. Many of its usages include the concept of various
kinds of moral degeneracy. In the context of our verse, it represents primarily
perjury and lying, but also includes slander, gossip, maligning, etc.; the
various aspects of verbal sins called “sins of the tongue.”
Prov 17:7, “Excellent
speech is not fitting for a fool, much less are lying lips to a prince.”
The folly or foolishness of the fool is often characterized
as something that is evident to all. The only ones they are fooling are
themselves. Whereas, the prudent person is characterized by silent reflection
and thoughtful speech, the fool blurts out his folly (lies) to everyone, Prov 12:23. Again, prudent people act
out of knowledge, (Bible Doctrine resident within the soul), but fools expose their
perjury, Prov 13:16.
Prov 13:16, “Every
prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays folly.”
This
“foolishness” or propensity to lie, is “bound
up,” the Qal Participle Passive of QASHAR, קָשַׁר that can mean, to “bind
or tie” or to “conspire.” In fact, in 1
Sam 22:8; 2 Sam 15:31; 2 Kings 14:19; 15:30; Amos 7:10, it is used for “to
conspire against,” or “to be in conspiracy against.” In these applications, the “to conspire” means to either outright lie or
withhold information, which results in the truth not being known.
Amos 7:10, “Then Amaziah, the priest of
Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, ‘Amos has conspired
against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure
all his words’.”
2 Sam 15:31, “Now someone told David,
saying, ‘Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.’ And David said, ‘O
LORD, I pray, make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness’.”
In
the book of Proverbs, the other three times QASHAR is used is in regard to
“binding” Bible Doctrine to your soul, Prov
3:3; 6:21; 7:3. Therefore, because the fool did not or does not “bind”
God’s Word to his soul, instead the foolishness of the “sins of the tongue” are
bound to him. As you know, this begins with negative volition towards God’s
Word that results in mental attitude sins.
That
is noted in the next few words, “in the
heart of Child,” which in the Hebrew is the compound word BELEB-AN’AR. It
is made up of the Preposition BE, “in,” the Noun LEB, לֵב, “heart,” (the right
lobe of the souls where we store and retain information), and the Noun NA’AR,
נַעַר, “child, young man, or servant.”
We
noted, NA’AR in vs. 6, “Train up a child
in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
There we spoke about educating the young in the ways of God and dedicating them
to a life of holy service unto Him.
Here,
we see the folly that is part of the mentality of the young, (we could even
say, “immature believer’), because the old sin nature (OSN) is the main force
in the mentality of their soul, cf. Eph
2:3.
Eph 2:3, “Among them
we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of
the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the
rest.”
But,
if they are taught and learn God’s Word, there is a counter force now working
in their soul to negate the negative influence of their OSN. That is why they
need to be trained in the Word of God, because foolishness, the temptations of
the OSN, is ruling their soul.
Therefore,
whether “folly” refers primarily to a heart that is naive (inexperienced) or
rebellious, it is endemic to human beings and must be remedied. This remedy is
seen in the second half of this verse, “The
rod of discipline will remove it far from him.”
“The rod of
discipline,” is first the Hebrew Noun SHEBET, “staff, stick, scepter,
tribe,” that we noted in vs. 8,
regarding the “sower of iniquity.” There, it symbolized the authoritative power
of the unjust oppressor and his powerful means to beat down the oppressed. In
our verse, it speaks to the authoritative power that “discipline” has to beat
down a sinful volition that can lead to “sins of the tongue.” “Rod” does not
refer only to corporal punishment, but is a metonymy for any form of
discipline.
“Discipline” is
the Noun MUSAR, מוּסָר that can mean, “instruction, chastisement, discipline,
or warning.” This word is used in most of the chapters in Proverbs. It occurs
most frequently of the “discipline, correction, or instruction” of wisdom, as a
technical term for instruction in the school of wisdom, Prov 1:2, 7. Instruction is characterized by reverence or fear of
the Lord, Prov 15:33.
Prov 1:2, “To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding.”
Prov 23:12, “Apply your heart to discipline
and your ears to words of knowledge.”
Prov 23:23, “Buy truth, and do not sell it,
get wisdom and instruction and understanding.”
And
remember, the only antidote or corrective to sin is discipline wisely
administered, Prov 25:12, out of
love and concern for others ultimate well-being, Prov 19:18. Also, since not all children or immature believers are
equally rebellious or contentious, parents or those instructing them, need
discretion to discipline each as best fits the individual and the situation.
Prov 25:12, “Like an earring of gold and an
ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.”
We
also see in Proverbs, those who hate God’s discipline ignore His commandments and stray far from them, Psa 50:17; Job 36:10; Prov 1:7; 16:22;
19:27.
Prov 1:7, “The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Prov 19:27, “Cease listening, my son, to
discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.”
Prov 16:22, “Understanding is a fountain of
life to one who has it, but the discipline of fools is folly.”
In Prov 16:22, we also see that the
discipline of the “fool,” (one without doctrine in their life), is folly,
meaning that any discipline in their life is actually wasted because they do
not learn from it. Rather than living the superabundant life of the spiritually
mature believer, the fool’s life is wasted not just in the foolishness of their
mode of operation, but also being constantly disciplined by God. Instead of
being in a place of blessing with impact, they are in a place of discipline and
wasted opportunities.
Yet, in our verse, discipline is recommended as an antidote
to foolish behavior, (or lying, as is the context of this chapter). Proverbs
speaks specifically of parental (or the mature ones) instruction as something
to be closely followed, Prov 1:8; 4:1;
13:1, and failure to listen to their instruction results in ignorance, Prov 19:27ff.
As such, the fool is the one who rejects their teaching,
instruction, and discipline, Prov 15:5,
and those mature ones who spare “the rod,” (authoritative teaching and
instruction in the Word of God), actually hate the unbelieving and believing
immature ones. But, the one who provides instruction and discipline to the
immature ones loves them, Prov 13:24,
and, the "rod of discipline" will remove foolishness from the child.
Prov 15:5, “A fool
rejects his father's discipline, but he who regards reproof is sensible.”
Prov 13:24, “He who
withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him
diligently.”
Our proverb “spare the rod and spoil the child” was probably
derived from Proverbs, cf. Prov 10:13;
13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15.
Other similar ancient proverbs include the Egyptian
proverbs, “Boys have ears on their back sides,” and “He who is not flogged is
not educated.”
The reason the “rod of discipline” is so important, is that
it “will remove it (foolishness /
lying) far from him.”
“Will remove it far
from him” is the causative Hiphil Imperfect of the Verb RACHAQ, רָחַק with
the Pronominal Preposition MIN in the Masculine, to indicate “from, out of,
away from, etc.” In the Masculine, it refers back to the “immature one,”
therefore we add, “him.”
RACHAQ, רָחַק means, “to be distant, to be far away, to
become far away, to be separated from.” In the Hiphil stem, it has the
causative force of “to remove,” and the Imperfect speaks of the future
occurrence of this removal. Therefore, it indicates that lying and sins of the
tongue, as other sins, become a long way off, distant, and far removed when
God’s Word is applied in the soul.
Prov 4:24, “Put away
from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you.”
Prov 22:5, “Thorns
and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards himself will be far
from them.”
Prov 30:8, “Keep
deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with
the food that is my portion.”
In combining the context of vs.10 and 15, it
suggests that one can forgive a young person’s folly, but if it is not driven
out (like a mocker), and removed far away from him, it can turn to evil,
especially inside the legal system. When that happens, it is not only the young
who suffer but also the family and the whole community, especially its poor or
weak.
In the context of this chapter, if the rod of discipline
drives folly far away from the youth’s heart, it does so to nurture the love of
a “pure heart” that will win over the king, as we noted in vs. 11. The king’s love for purity is like that of YHWH, who
watches over knowledge, vs. 12. In
sum, the discipline of correction will save the youth from the path of the
wicked, vs. 5, and make a way for
responsible service to king and community, vs.
11.
Likewise, it was the “immature one” who fell into the trap
of the adulterous woman in Chapter 7,
and the NA’AR now appears in this proverb that follows hers, vs. 14. Therefore, we see that foolish
choices in one area influence others, and only those who stray from YHWH’s way
will be susceptible to her seductive danger. Therefore,
better is the rod used for discipline, training, and instruction than a trap of
sin and death, vs. 5, cf. Prov 13:24; 23:13-14; 29:15.
Therefore,
the youth’s stubborn insolence and his immoral propensity for laziness, vs. 13, lust, vs. 14, and greed vs. 16,
is tightly bound up within his constitution, but the father’s disciplining rod
breaks folly’s hold and frees him.
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