Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule:
Proverbs 23-24
Saturday: Amos 1-4
Sunday: John 16-18
Here we find practical instruction in how to obey the fifth commandment. Proverbs 23:18 gives direct commands, while verses 23-26 present the same truth indirectly. The two focal points are listen to instruction and do not despise. Perhaps Proverbs repeats the command to listen so often because it is so easily forgotten. To despise is to hold in contempt, one of the sins that Proverbs deals with often.
To buy the truth is to spend whatever time or energy it takes to gain it. It is a call to discipline! The rest of this passage dramatizes once again the truth that the best way to honor your parents is to become wise and righteous. Nothing will make them happier or more fulfilled as parents.
Proverbs 28:24 explains this truth from the negative side. For a son to rob his parents of their possessions has the effect of destroying those items: they are lost to the parents. What could be a more obvious way to break the fifth commandment? To make matters worse, the ungrateful son claims he has done nothing wrong. Jesus condemned a sophisticated version of this sin in His day, the “practice of corban,” which allowed a person legally to escape his obligations to help his parents by declaring that those funds had been designated for the temple. The early church agreed in condemning a son who failed to help his parents, calling him worse than an infidel.
Prayer Requests:
Personal
- Lord, please help me to model what your design is regarding caring for parents and demonstrating true honor.
- Lord, please help me to demonstrate gratitude for your design for the family.
- Lord, please help me to be someone who learns to listen carefully as people speak, especially those who are giving me wisdom and truth.
Political
- Representative Abdullah Hammoud – District 15 – Dearborn
- Representative Roger Hauck – District 99 – Mount Pleasant
- Representative Shane Hernandez – District 83 – Port Huron