10 Accuse not a servant unto his
master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty. 11 There is a
generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. 12 There
is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from
their filthiness. 13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes!
and their eyelids are lifted up. 14 There is a generation, whose teeth are
as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the
earth, and the needy from among men. 15 The horseleach hath two daughters,
crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four
things say not, It is enough: 16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth
that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough. 17 The
eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of
the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. 18 There
be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: 19 The
way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship
in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. 20 Such is the
way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have
done no wickedness. 21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for
four which it cannot bear: 22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool
when he is filled with meat; 23 For an odious woman when she is married;
and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
(Proverbs 30:10-23)
You may have noticed in this next to the last chapter of Proverbs that God
categorizes his meanings to make them more easily understood and remembered. He
gives us specific numbers and classes of things to be observant about.
These are not intended to curb our joys in life, but rather to facilitate them.
Proverbs are a great professor of knowledge to us, and, like a good
professor, the subject material is being summarized near the close of our
period of instruction. But the subject material is never fully learned and
Solomon would have us review, review, review in order to master the material of
wisdom.
God's Word is a two-edged Sword, but so is false speech as well. It may hurt
the object of its hate, but that sword cuts backward to fall upon the wicked
one who wields it. 10 "Accuse not a servant unto his master,
lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty." The implication
here is a false accusation and a public rebuke. Even if we are correct, we do
not correct another in the presence of his superior unless necessary. But to
falsely accuse bears a double penalty that will come home to roost with its
parent. Even the secular law punishes those who lie and scandalize the
innocent. How much more is the wrath of God raised against such a tale-bearer.
Verses 11 through 14 describe four classes of wicked people: 1) Those who
do not honor parents; 2) Those who are self-righteous; 3) Those who are full of
vanity, pride and insolence; and 4) Those who are greedy, cruel, and who
oppress the poor.
11 "There is a generation that curseth their father, and
doth not bless their mother." It is no surprise that this
particular class is listed first, for it signifies the birth and origin of
societal immorality. "For Moses said,
Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him
die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It
is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by
me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his
father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your
tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."
(Mark 7:10-13)
Those who curse their own father and do not bless their dear mother are the
siblings that grow into an unrighteous and wicked generation. This is particularly
prevalent in America today. The generational ball is being fumbled between
parent and child so that each generation is less righteous than the previous.
One cause of this is that we have turned the raising of our children over to
the unlikely parentage of government. Our schools have begun to teach every
filthy and abhorrent sin that contradicts biblical morality. We have allowed a
wicked man to come and live in our home alongside our wives and children. The
man is an alcoholic, an adulterer, a murderer, and his speech is full of
cursings and blasphemy. Moreover, he undresses completely before the eyes of
our innocent daughters. His name is TELEVISION. He seldom sleeps, and we never
rebuke him for his trespasses. Our children are not at fault for their evil
learning for we, the parents, have made all things of violence and filth
appealing to our very children. God forgive this nation for its transgressions
against a God that has blessed us beyond every other nation of the earth.
12 "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,
and yet is not washed from their filthiness." The Pharisees of
Jesus' time come to mind, but so do the holier-than-thou Christians of our day
who do all for appearance sake and whose hearts are void of spiritual
understanding. It is very difficult to find a theologian, or a minister, who
does no0t presume to have an answer for every mystery of Holy Scripture; yet,
they are foolish hypocrites: "For since the beginning of the world
men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the
eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth
for him." (Isaiah 64:4) Can we not simply admit that there are
mysteries in God's Word that we cannot fully comprehend in our mortal coils,
but admit that whatever the mysteries, it is good beyond imagination?
13 "There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and
their eyelids are lifted up." Well, now, we in our church are
all pretty good, aren't we? Not at all. The very moment we begin to feel that
we are "good enough" is the very moment that we become unworthy
beyond all measure in the eyes of God! Insofar as worth is concerned, we are no
better than a mud worm, but in His Mercy and Grace, God has seen fit to extend
to us the privilege of son ship to all who believe unto salvation. This is
another of those marvelous mysteries that no theologian can begin to fathom in
depth. But some are like the Pharisees. They have read their Bible through and
through. They can quote beautiful scripture for every occasion, but their
hearts are black with secret sins and envyings. "The wicked, through
the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his
thoughts. " (Psalms 10:4) Rather than portraying the beauty of
God's Word to others, the prideful professor will appropriate the Word of God
to himself and take the credit, too.
14 "There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and
their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy
from among men." There are ruthless land owners and business
men; bankers and politicians, who care NOTHING for the plight of the poor.
There only effort toward to the poor is to perpetuate their plight and to
increase their numbers. "Keep them on the plantation" is their
slogan. But they phrase their approach in cunning words that appeal to the
desperate heart that unknowingly falls for their deceits. God has issued
a stern rebuke to these money-grubbers both in business and in the ministry:
"He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that
honoureth him hath mercy on the poor." (Prov 14:31) "But
ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the
judgment seats?" (James 2:6)
Moderation in all things is also a Godly way. An insatiable appetite is wicked
beyond measure. God compares the man who lusts for everything with envy and
greed to the horseleach - a bloodsucker of the fly family. It is never
satisfied and will suck blood from its victim until there is no more blood to
be had. The same with loan sharks and sophisticated bankers (and preachers). 15a "The
horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give." There are
now presented four things that are possessed of insatiable appetites - so much
so that they are amazing for magnitude: 15b "There
are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is
enough." 16 "The grave; and the barren womb;
the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is
enough."
What are these things? Study them as presented and see
if they can ever be satisfied: 1) The grave and Hell; 2) the barren womb; 3)
the parched ground of the earth; and 4) The consuming fire in the midst of
combustible materials. Which of these four can be satisfied? Have we filled the
half of the graves of the world as of yet, or the gaping abyss of Hell? Can the
womb that cannot bear offspring ever be satisfied since the womb is created for
the very purpose? Can the parched earth ever be satisfied with an
abundance of water? What of a raging forest fire where timbers are in
abundance? Can the fire be satisfied until it consumes all? Can rage and
jealousy be satisfied until its intemperate appetite is curbed by the vacuum it
creates? Envy is never filled, and lusts are forever driving the flesh.
Here are judgments that follow, not as punishment, but as a direct result of
greed and envy: 17 "The eye that mocketh at his father, and
despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and
the young eagles shall eat it." Such a child shall be a
vagabond and an exile. He shall perish in his wanderings from grace. Being
disobedient and disrespectful to parents, he shall have his eyes plucked out in
wilderness places. The first thing that a raven mutilates of a down animal is
its eyes -even while the poor creature struggles in pains of death. The remains
of such a child are not worthy of the honor of burial in God's eye. The
buzzards will be its only grave.
18 "There be three things which are too wonderful for me,
yea, four which I know not: 19 The way of an eagle in the air; the
way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and
the way of a man with a maid." Now we come to four things that
are inscrutable and beyond understanding of the observer: 1) An Eagle is
flight is wonderful in its ability to ride the updrafts of mountain slopes. It
soars without effort as the Christian soul riding upon the windward drafts of
the Holy Spirit.; 2) The way of a serpent upon the rock. Though the rock may be
smooth and polished by wind, the serpent seemingly glides across that surface;
3) The way of a ship at sea. The ship sails according to the winds of God. It
leaves no trail in the sea that will later expose its course. The world
understands not the Christian whose life is governed by the winds and currents
of the Holy Ghost. He cannot follow in the path of righteousness who does not
understand the mysteries of God's seas. 4) The way of a man with a maiden.
This, too, is perplexing to me and has been from the time of my youth. It
seemed to me that the prettier girls always sought out the fellows who
respected them least, yet they were attracted by some unseen force to such men
who abused their honor and their name. Why are some who profess Christ led off
the path by those shysters who rob them of their money as well as their souls
through deceitful ministries? An adulterous woman would actually prefer such
fellows. Their libels make excellent advertisement for their craft. 20 "Such
is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith,
I have done no wickedness." The only thought of the woman my
mother described as a "hussy" is self-gratification of the senses.
She is so reprobate that she doesn't even recognize her sins.
There are four things that disquiet and disturb the very earth itself: 21 "For
three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:"
What are these four? 22 "For a servant when he reigneth"
1) When a servant or a poorly qualified employee is raised to a position of
leadership, there is no reckoning his abundance of self-pride and arrogance.
"... and a fool when he is filled with meat;" 2)
The only curb on a fool's foolishness is his hunger. Once that particular want
is satisfied, he is free to resort to his full-blown foolishness. 23 "For
an odious woman when she is married" 3) A loathsome woman may
be curtailed when alone in the world, but when married, there will be no
curtailing her loathsome nature - it is rather magnified. and 4) "....
and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress." What
has this last statement to do with the carnage and wars of the Middle East
today?
Does the handmaiden, Hagar, come to mind? Sarah was strongly disquieted by the
obvious presumption of Hagar once she had bore a child to Abraham, Ishmael by
name. Ishmael became the father of the Arab nations, and there has not been a
single day of peace in the region from that moment to this. The Angel of the
Lord found Hagar in the wilderness place called at a well called Beerlahairoi
(The Lord Seeth me) when she had fled her mistress, Sarai. "And the
angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it
shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her,
Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name
Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild
man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and
he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. " (Gen
16:10-12) There is a great principle implicit in this account. Sin (of Abraham
and Sarai) is never personal. It always has far-reaching consequences of
eternal import. The Arab nations have never been at peace. They constantly war
with one another if there is no greater common enemy that threatens from
without.
