Peace Hill Podcasts
Proverbs 19:23- 20:4 - The Joy of the Lord
23 The fear of the LORD leads to life:
| Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
|
| 24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
| | he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
| |
| | 25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
| | rebuke a discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.
| | |
| | | 26 He who robs his father and drives out his
| | | mother is a son who brings shame and
| | | disgrace.
| | |
| | | 27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,
| | | and you will stray from the words of
| | | knowledge.
| | |
| | | 28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
| | | and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
| | |
| | 29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
| | and beatings for the backs of fools.
| |
| | 1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
| | whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
| |
| | 2 A king's wrath is like the roar of a lion;
| | he who angers him forfeits his life.
| |
3 It is to a man's honor to avoid strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.
|
4 A sluggard does not plow in season;
so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.
Find Rest in the Joy of the Lord.
Translating the Fear of the Lord: The beginning thought of the passage focuses on the fear of the Lord. But what does the fear of the Lord mean? And how can we bring this idea of the Fear of the Lord into a NT understanding?
The fear of the Lord is an OT concept. To fear the Lord meant to be reverent towards an Almighty and very present God - so that one was careful not to offend against his Holy Law, lest God should bring judgment. So the beginning of wisdom in Proverbs, is the fear of the Lord - walking carefully and reverently before the Holy, Almighty God. But how do we bring this concept into the NT? Are we still supposed to think of God in this way?
For the believer set free in Christ Jesus, the fear of the Lord has become, The Joy of the Lord. The Holy, Almighty God has set us free from the fear of judgment by taking our place and being judged for us. Therefore, rather than living carefully out of a motive of fear - the believer can live lovingly towards God, out of a motive of grateful thankfulness. We can truly rewrite vs. 23 to say, “The joy of the Lord leads to life; Then one rests content, untouched by trouble”.
We Have Believed - Have We Found Rest: If we have believed and known the joy of the Lord... If we have had the realization break on us that the Lord loves us and our sins are forgiven - and have been filled with joy - and in that moment known deep contentment in our souls... If we have, in fact, known the joy of the Lord... then should we not, also, be untouched by trouble - at least spiritually? Or is verse 23 untrue - an unrealistic view of spirituality - that then would call all of Proverbs in question?
This passage is a call to fear the Lord, and a promise of rest - but it is also a description of the sin that causes us to be in trouble - that robs us of rest. So this morning, we want to look at those things which draw us away from and/or keep us from - the Joy of the Lord.
Laziness: Unwillingness to Respond to God’s Grace.
We are Unwilling to Feed on Grace: “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth “ This image of extreme laziness pictures a man, reclining at the table, who buries his hand in a bowl of food, and then leaves it there - too lazy to take the food and feed himself. He is a disgusting picture of someone who has food set before them - a banquet (wisdom / the Gospel) to refresh the soul. But though they hear and even study deeply - they do not take and apply these things to their own soul. They have examined the Lord under a microscope but have never tasted to see that the Lord is good. They know things - they have knowledge and understand texts, but they have no joy of salvation - no love for Christ. Truth has entered their mind, perhaps, but never their heart.
We are Unwilling to Be Challenged to Repent: “A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing”. Plowing is a picture of breaking up the soil so that seed can be sown. The sluggard does not plow in season - never allows the word to get too personal. He applies the word to others but is unwilling to be broken up and challenged himself, so that the word never takes deep root.
Consequently, there is no harvest of joy - no point at which grace breaks in overwhelmingly because there has never been an open acceptance of sin - never a specific conviction in which the sluggard recognized that his sin was and is too much for him to clean up Therefore, grace never brought salvation - it is only a nice provision for nice people.
Mocking: Unwillingness to Submit to God’s Grace.
The Mocker Has Stopped Listening: In the center of the passage - which is also the center of the descriptions of the mocker - is this warning... “Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge”.
The mocker in this passage (19:25-20:1), is the picture of one who has stopped listening to instruction. Like the sluggard, the mocker may be hearing instruction, but it has ceased to have any impact on his or her life. As a result, the mocker strays from the words of knowledge - from the words of life. The surrounding verses describe why the mocker has ceased to listen.
We Push Authority Away: “He... robs his father and drives out his mother...” This hatred of authority - the desire to get out from under those who are in authority over us - affects deeply our relationship to the Lord God Almighty. The same drive to go our own way and not to listen to authority drives out any call to submission to God - any rest in the grace of God. God is useful, perhaps, but not the authority in the mockers life. And where God is not the authority, God cannot be the deliverer. Those who push away God’s authority also push away God’s power to deliver them and bring them peace - t hey must find their own peace and be their own deliverers.
We are Intoxicated with Our Own Way and Wisdom: “Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise” The mocker is intoxicated by his own foolishness. This is why 19:25 says, “Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence”. The mocker will, on the other hand, learn nothing, because one who mocks - who despises and makes fun of wisdom - is impressed with his own understanding.
When we are impressed with our own understanding and intoxicated with our own will, we listen to preaching and teaching in order to evaluate the speaker - we never hear the word. When we are intoxicated with our own way, we already know what we think. We are drunk with the power to rule our own lives and to laugh or be indignant at any teaching that calls us to lay down that power and be subject.
Come to Christ and Cease Quarreling.
This passage begins with the statement that those who will fear the Lord / will Receive the Joy of the Lord - will find life and rest. The passage ends with a choice that is set before us - a plea to turn from our sluggardly and mocking ways and find rest.
“It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel”. Our unwillingness to be broken before God - to be deeply and personally moved by the conviction of his word... Our refusal of God’s authority and our intoxication with our own way... These are all ways of quarreling with God - our strife. The passage this morning calls us to lay aside and avoid strife and to find rest in the joy of the Lord.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel
-- Proverbs 20:3
