9 Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words. 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. 12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. 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. 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. 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. (Prov. 23:9-18 NIV)
9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.
There are some people that you should not continue to counsel. They will wear you out by your efforts because they fail to listen, fail to make any effort to help themselves. The second line explains why. They will scorn the words that you say.
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.
We have already dealt with this at some length. The Teacher is warning us to not overstep what God has set down in law. Sometimes because we can do a thing we feel we should do it. There is never a just cause to go against what God has said in His word. The fatherless are in a vulnerable position and it would be easy to take advantage of them. Whatever strength you have and whatever weakness your neighbour might have, it is never right to take advantage just because you can. The defender of the weak is the Lord. We will not escape the judgement of exploiting their weakness.
12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Wisdom and knowledge do not come naturally to us. We are not born wise, we are not inherently wise. People may have a very high IQ, but that does not make them wise. It was not because of our wisdom that we chose to follow the Lord. We did not make better decisions than others. In mercy and in grace God redeemed us. Left to ourselves we would never have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. As we are now in Christ we need to apply ourselves to understand what God’s word says. We need to listen to the faithful preaching of God’s word.
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.
As we have said before in these meditations the scriptures do not rule out corporal punishment. However, society today frowns upon this. We do not need to insist on corporal punishment because the important point is discipline. We can harm a child as much by the words that we say, as by the physical punishment that we might inflict. Wise discipline, loving and thoughtful discipline is required. When we are angry we should not discipline, because anger can produce the wrong actions and the wrong words. When a child is disciplined they should understand why they are disciplined, and they should be reassured that they are loved. Discipline is important but it should be thought about carefully so that it is not an expression of anger, so that the child is not afraid, but that they learn the difference between right and wrong and that bad behaviour leads to bad consequences.
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.
The Teacher is delighted with the person who has listened to his teaching and that they have become wise. The Teacher rejoices in the student who has become wise.
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.
It is possible to envy and desire the successes that the wicked appear to have, but the right way is to fear the Lord always. When we fear the Lord there is hope, and that hope will never disappoint us.
Prayer
Lord God, help us to continue to fear You all the days of our lives. Help us never to be tempted to desire the temporal successes that the world appears to have. Help us to set our hope in You which will surely lead to eternal joy in Your presence because we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.