Pro_10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
.Pro_30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
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This week we begin the study of the book of Proverbs in earnest. We looked at the preamble (Chapters 1-9) over the last 3 weeks, and it is interesting to note the connection here.
A lot of the preamble is actually Solomon, recording for us, the careful instruction of David and Bathsheba to him, to pursue wisdom, extended by the Spirit as an admonition to all the "sons" of the Lord. It was probably as a result of this focus on the part of Solomon's parents, that he had the good sense to ask for wisdom to to govern God's people..... and received much more than he bargained for in terms of riches, and fame!
Having dwelt on these admonitions for 9 chapters, AND we have seen Bread and Wine of Communion being offered (our post on Chap 9 last week) to the wisdom-seeker, is it any wonder that the very first proverb (our first text) talks about a WISE SON!
The book is almost bookended by another SON reference (our second text) and the wise amongst us surely know the answer to the last questions asked there? Yahweh , and Yahshua !! Very interesting material indeed!!!
We have previously said that we will look at all proverbs related to a subject (SON .. this week) as a group, and we have organized them in that fashion for commentary as well. Lets dive in.... we have created sub classifications for greater ease of exposition.
SET A: PROVERBS THAT ASK THE SON TO PURSUE WISDOM
Pro_1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Pro_2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Pro_3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Pro_3:21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
Pro_4:3 For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
Pro_4:10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
Pro_4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Pro_5:1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
Pro_6:20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Pro_7:1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
.... these are all to be found within Chapters 1-9, and we hope you can see the common thread here, HEAR AND OBEY.... they are also repeated (for emphasis) elsewhere in the book as well.
Pro_23:26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
Pro_23:19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way
Pro_24:13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
Pro_24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
Pro_27:11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
SET B: PROVERBS THAT ASK THE SON TO FLEE FROM FOLLY, AND THE COMPANY OF SINNERS
Pro_1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Pro_1:15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
Pro_5:20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
Pro_6:1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Pro_6:3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
Pro_19:27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
Pro_28:7 Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.
This set encourages to avoid foolish (sinners) like the plague. Do not agree to go along with their plans, don't embrace their doctrine, don't follow their methodology or process... don't make rash contracts with people you don't know or even your friend!... get out of them while you still can!!!
SET C: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WISE AND FOOLISH SONS
Pro_10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
Here is truth (wisdom in another guise).
A fathers contribution to creating a child is limited to his physical relationship with his wife, and it is a small investment on his part. Yes, the father has to provide for his son... but ultimately, men are not as invested in their offspring as women are... who carry their babies to term, deliver them through pain, raise them and are always concerned with their well being in life. A foolish son causes his mother to wonder how her child will fare once she is no longer able to look after him, and that is the heaviness spoken of here. Truth indeed!
Pro_13:1 A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
Pro_23:15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
Pro_15:20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Pro_10:5 He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
Pro_17:25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
A wise son makes his father proud and happy .... a foolish one brings shame. Please also note, despising your mother foolishness of the first order. Respect for Dad and Mom is enshrined in the 5th commandment (Honor thy Father and Mother)... we shall see more of this later on.
Pro_19:13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
This one is interesting.... foolish children also cause trouble for their parents ... compared in this instance to the constant chinese water torture drip-drip nagging of a contentious wife ? ....
Pro_19:26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
Harking back to the 5th commandment again.... this is foolish AND wicked behaviour (in the Word the terms are used almost interchangeably!!!).... shame and reproach springing from a foolish son that transgresses the commandment.
SET D: SERVANTS BETTER THAN FOOLISH SONS
Pro_17:2 A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
Pro_29:21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.
What a promise! A servant (would probably be NO relation to the family) ... because of his wisdom, earning the right to an inheritance amongst the brothers!! Abrahams complaint to the Lord was that Eliezer (his servant) would be the heir instead of the heir that the Lord had promised. You can see that this proverb was just as applicable to Abraham as it is to us today! What a promise!!
SET E: WISE SONS RESPECT THE CORRECTION OF THE LORD
Pro_3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Pro_3:12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Pro_13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Pro_19:18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Pro_29:17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
The Lord's kicking of our behinds from time to time is not an indication of his anger against us, but His love, in that He is trying to prevent us from getting into more trouble than we currently are!! We would be smart to cultivate the right attitude when things don't go the way we expect, and we should look to the Word to find out if we are doing something wrong! The Lord will chasten us up to the end of our lives if necessary, because there is still HOPE!
THE FINAL WORD
Pro_30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
Family is all important to the Lord. From the 5th Commandment, to the loving relationship between Father and Son we see in the Word, to the first family (David, Bathsheba, Solomon) mentioned in Chapters 1-9!
The Wisest Son is the Lords only begotten, the Son whom He loves, the Son we are asked to Hear and Obey... this is the model for sonship exemplifed by Christ's treatment of Joseph and Mary... he always treated them with the utmost respect... fulfilling the Law, but going above it too!!
Take some time to read through these proverbs this week, meditate on them, and see what they bring out in your Spirit!
Hallelujah!