He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
The Effects Of Foolishness: The Need For
Chastening (1): Proverbs 29:15-18
15) The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left [to himself] bringeth his mother to
shame.
16) When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the
righteous shall see their fall.
17) Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give
delight unto thy soul.
18) Where [there is] no
vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.
In
this chapter, Solomon examines the effects of foolishness on the lives of the
foolish and those who are around them….
EXPOSITION:
In
this devotion, we will look at one of the great effects of foolishness… the
need for chastening…
15) The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left [to himself] bringeth his mother to
shame.
1. the stick and verbal correction will cause
the Word to be applied to the life
2. but a child (from infancy to adolescence)
that is unattended delivers to his mother disappointment and embarrassment
When
a child is disobedient verbal correction is to be used with those who are
uninformed of the rules. A combination
of verbal correction along with corporal punishment are to be used with those
who rebelliously break the laws they are given.
If the child is left to themselves without the needed correction it will
result in both disappointment and shame
to fall upon those who have authority over them.
16) When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the
righteous shall see their fall.
1. When the lawless increase, rebellion
increases also.
2. The lawful one will observe their ruin.
When
those who are wicked increase in numbers so too will the sins that they
commit. This is one of many reasons why
wickedness should be properly dealt with instead of allowing it to grow and
spread to others. If wickedness is not
punished correctly, it sends a message that there are no harmful results to
wicked actions which encourage others to follow in the footsteps of the wicked.
This
helps us to understand 2 important reasons for parents, and governments, to
promptly punish sins that are committed:
1.
sin works eventual ruin when left unpunished
2.
sin can spread to others when left unpunished
Wickedness
eventually works ruin, but the lives of the righteous will escape sins
effects. This will allow the righteous
to see the end results of sin in the lives of others.
17) Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give
delight unto thy soul.
1. If a son is corrected (through words or
punishment), he will give us peace and contentment
2. A corrected son will give pleasure to our
earthly life.
When
a parent is diligent in training a child through speech and discipline, the
parent will reap the fruits of peace, contentment, and pleasure.
18) Where [there is] no
vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.
1. When a throng of people do not receive or
understand the Word of God, they will be brought to shame
2. but the person that receives and clings to
their Godly responsibilities are happy due to the blessings of God.
It
is important to understand that the word “vision” is a Hebrew word that means “a
revelation” or an “uncovering”. It does
not mean to have a dream or goal to pursue as is popularly taught in today’s
time.
In
the days of the OT writings, one of the ways the Word was revealed to men was
through the use of dreams, visions and other supernatural revelations from the
Lord. Once the Word was revealed to the OT characters, the Spirit of the Lord
would then need to apply it to their hearts and minds. This application by the Spirit would result in
them coming to faith in the coming Messiah and submitting to His service.
In
today’s time, we have the completed Word (the Bible), because of this the Lord
no longer reveals His Word to us through dreams, visions, and other
supernatural means of inspiration. However, we still need to have the Word
“revealed” to us by the Holy Spirit, through the opening of our hearts and
minds to the completed Word. This is the
principle we are to use in applying this verse to us in today’s time.
What
is being taught to us in this verse is the need to come to an understanding of
God’s Word…
1. Without an understanding and application of
the Word to the life the people will perish due to their sins. They will not see their need of salvation,
nor will they come to an understanding of the Lord’s desires for their lives
this leads to their eventual ruin. Just
as stated in our previous verses.
2. for those who can understand and apply the
responsibilities (laws) found in God’s Word, they will be blessed and happy as
they serve the Lord on earth and enter into eternity with Him. From a human standpoint, the proper
application of instruction and discipline can be a major factor in an
individual coming to an understanding and application of the Word.
This
interpretation of this verse is very much in alignment with its context. To make this verse mean we must have goals to
work towards or else we will perish seems to be taking it out of its prior
context. It also is taken out of the
context of the last segment of this same verse that says “but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.”
It does not say “but he that has goals to live for, happy is he”.
SUMMARY:
In
this text, we find some reasons for those in authority (parents, governments,
employers etc) to discipline the lawless who are under their authority:
1. a lack of proper discipline brings
disappointment and embarrassment upon those in authority
2. lawlessness spreads when it is not punished
3.
proper discipline brings peace,
contentment and pleasure to the life of the authority holder.
4. without the application of the Word to the
life of the lawless, the entire group of people who are under authority will be
brought to shame
5. the proper discipline of those under our
authority will bring blessings and happiness from the Lord.
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
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