24 A 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 the discerning, and they will gain knowledge. 26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child 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. (Prov. 19:24-29 NIV)
24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
This analogy is the epitome of laziness. They manage to summon the strength and effort to put their hand in the dish of food, but they are so lazy they won’t lift their hand out of the dish and raise it to their mouth to eat the food.
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.
A mocker tends to be noisy and vocal and will attract attention. When this very prominent person is rebuked or punished then the simple may learn a lesson from this. Those who are discerning don’t need the example of seeing someone being punished – they accept the verbal rebuke.
26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
The fifth commandment is clear that we should honour our father and mother. Any child who assaults or robs their father, or drives their mother from the family home, is a disgraceful child and brings shame and disgrace upon the family. The commandment applies throughout the whole life of the parents.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
We can never stop listening to the word of God. There is never a point in our lives when we can say that we have acquired all the wisdom that the Bible has to offer. If we stop listening to the word of God we will end up going astray.
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
Someone who is a false or corrupt witness makes a mockery of the justice system. The wicked person has a huge appetite for what is wrong and sinful. They are described as gulping down evil in an attempt to get as much as they possibly can. This consumption of evil shows that they find satisfaction in doing what is sinful.
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.
There are many people today who are prepared to mock God and the Christian faith. As they mock and scoff they are heaping up judgement against themselves which God will one day bring down upon them.
Prayer
Lord help us never to give up on reading Your word. Continue to teach us and help us learn and relearn from the wisdom contained in Your word, because we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.