Slices
Prepare
What does it say about your worth that Father God chooses to lavish his inexhaustibly abundant love on you (1 John 3:1)?
Bible passage
Saying 11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender is strong;
he will take up their case against you.
Saying 12
12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.
Saying 14
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
Saying 15
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 16
19 Listen, my son, and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it –
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!
Saying 18
26 My son, give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Explore
What do you feel about the parental guidance of verses 13 and 14? Perhaps it reminds you of punishments you endured as a child that seemed overly harsh. Negative experiences with our imperfect human dads can warp our relationship with our heavenly Father, making him seem angry and authoritarian and his discipline appear controlling and condemning. If you feel like this, take some time to consider what Father God’s love for his Son Jesus is like. It’s unconditional, given before he’d achieved anything (Luke 3:22), it’s deeply intimate and it’s powerful (John 17:21–23). As adopted children by faith in Jesus he loves us just the same (Romans 8:14–17), sharing Jesus’ glorious inheritance with us, which is to reign over all things!
We hear the heartbeat of the Father quicken in his delight in those who respond to his overtures (vs 15,16,24,26). What then is the role of discipline? To develop the spiritual muscles we need to be like our heavenly dad, showing justice and mercy, becoming a father to the fatherless and prizing righteousness above worldly indulgence (vs 10,11,17,23,24).
Respond
If you’ve embraced worldliness in some way, remember that Jesus, your righteous advocate, pleads your case before the Father (1 John 2:1). Repent and come into his perfect love without fear of condemnation. Like the prodigal’s father, he casts aside his dignity and runs to meet you for the joy of welcoming you home into his loving embrace.
Deeper Bible study
‘Open to me your way, reveal to me your joy, enfold me in your light. / For my heart is ready, Lord, my heart is ready.’1
The theme of parental joy emerges twice in this section (vs 15,16,22–25). Verses 15 and 16 point out that a wise heart and upright speech make a teacher or parent happy. When the son’s lips speak what is right, he follows wisdom (personified as a woman) as an example.2 The rejoicing ‘heart’ (in charge of one’s mind; v 15) and ‘inmost being’ (literally ‘kidney’, the source of emotion; v 16) symbolise the totality of a parent’s thought and feeling.3 The instruction depicts great parental pride in children (or students) who excel in wisdom.
‘Your father, who gave you life’ (v 22) and ‘she who gave you birth’ (v 25) frame verses 22–25, speaking of a parent’s gladness at their child’s wise choices. The advice to receive a parent’s counsel in adulthood is implied in verse 22: ‘do not despise your mother when she is old’. Honouring parents by honouring their teaching is the point here. The young man is told to buy the truth and not sell it, which means to cherish it for a long time. Likewise, he should treasure wisdom, instruction and insight (v 23). The motivation is supplied in verses 24 and 25, where parents’ rejoicing appears in each of the four lines. Just as in verses 15 and 16, the connection between the joy of parents and the wisdom quotient of children is evident.
For those who are parents, what makes you proud of your children? For those who are sons or daughters, what do you do to make your parents happy? For those who are not in a parent–child relationship, what do you do to please our Father in heaven? Is it academic performance, professional achievement, social status, wealth, or fame? Leaving aside the world’s values, the sages remind us that wisdom makes God and our parents proud.
‘Lord, consecrate us, bless us, transform us that we may reveal your presence.’4
1 David Adam, The Open Gate, SPCK, 1994, p17 2 Cf Prov 8:6; 16:13 3 Alan Moss, Proverbs, Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2015, p103 4 Adam, 1994, p92
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Amos 7,8; Revelation 8
Pray for Scripture Union
Local mission partner Re:generation Harrow sees their Christmas Roadshow as a great opportunity to go into schools and share the Christmas story. Please pray for the team as they go into these schools and that the children will engage and understand the good news of Jesus.
