Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Here, we are again confronted with ungodly witnesses, referred to as witnesses of Belial. Belial means worthlessness, destructiveness (Deut. 13:13). In the New Testament it became a name for the Devil (2 Cor. 6:15), who is the father of all such “evil qualities”! Thus today’s title is not so harsh, as it may appear.
This reminds us of the words of our Lord. Beware of false prophets, and, Take heed what ye hear (Mk. 4:24). How much this warning is needed in our own day! False teaching goes largely unchallenged, especially if it comes from “highly reputed” Bible teachers from prestigious churches or colleges!
Solomon often touches on family life, and on the virtues or vices of the home. The strength or weakness of a nation is in its homes. We hear much today about “abused children,” and that is a tragedy indeed! We seldom hear of “abused parents,” however. Yet how many such there must be who are left in the wreckage of disobedient, rebellious children! A disobedient child:
Wrong must be rebuked. Are we not all capable of wrongdoing? If anyone should think that he is perfect, it means that he does not know himself or the extent of his fallen nature. Today’s wise men debate the morality of punishment, but God’s Word is our guide as to what is or is not moral. True, great care is needed as to how we handle this matter, because punishment usually bears upon it the image of sin! Consider the three persons contrasted in this Proverb and the results.
Today’s proverb (vs.23) provides a precise summary of the very essence of this Book of Proverbs. The blessings described here are the result of a God-given pattern for life, but not to be confused with some automatic “success-formula” so widely preached today. These blessings are all of God’s amazing grace.
Survival for “man and his world” is one of the buzzwords in our frightened times. Man’s devices are continually backfiring on him. We seem to lurch from one brink of disaster to another in spite of our much-vaunted progress. Whether we like it or not, this text presents the only source of hope for man in God’s world.
Many educational experts now assert that swatting or spanking children is never good discipline. (“Toronto Star”). Another front-page headline in the same paper one year later reads, “Make spanking illegal.” Spanking makes children more likely to disobey, and unspanked children behave better than spanked ones, according to their studies. This group aims to repeal the Criminal Code which “exempts parents from assault charges even if they use reasonable force in correcting their child.” What do these “experts” know that Solomon or God’s infallible Word doesn’t know? Godly Bishop Ryle (1816-1900), commenting on this topic, said, “I only beg to enter my decided protest against the modern notion that no child ought ever to be whipped.” Apparently the “modern” notion has been around quite a long time! Today’s proverb is to be ruled, by our modern standards, not only “illegal,” but in violation of “the human rights of children.”
What a motive for social justice! Pagan morality never propounded such a proposition. Yet, this is one of the strongest and clearest admonitions of the Bible, both in the Old Testament, and in the New. Great indeed is the Lord’s mercy to the poor! Can His children be indifferent to what is so close to His compassionate heart when He said “Go, and do thou likewise”?
In Solomon’s time slothfulness was a common failing. Making allowances for victims of poverty, it is still a major social problem today. So many want everything without giving anything! Today, it is not “politically correct” to call this for what it really is- sloth, a sleeping paralysis! Sloth is a good old Anglo-Saxon word that needs to be rehabilitated. It was well understood in past centuries. “O England, full of sin, but most of sloth” (Hebert). Milton wrote: “Belial, with words clothed in reason’s garb, counselled ignoble ease, and peaceful sloth, not peace.” Bishop Ken taught us to sing:
Our proverbs today present two sets of doubles relating to the happiness or misery of the home. In one we have a foolish son and a contentious wife; the other deals with bestowment of wealth and a wife.