Discipline Makes a Skillful Man

Proverbs 29:15-27

15 The rod and rebuke give wisdom,
But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

16 When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases;
But the righteous will see their fall.

17 Correct your son, and he will give you rest;
Yes, he will give delight to your soul.

18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
But happy is he who keeps the law.

19 A servant will not be corrected by mere words;
For though he understands, he will not respond.

20 Do you see a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

21 He who pampers his servant from childhood
Will have him as a son in the end.

22 An angry man stirs up strife,
And a furious man abounds in transgression.

23 A man's pride will bring him low,
But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

24 Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life;
He swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing.

25 The fear of man brings a snare,
But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

26 Many seek the ruler's favor,
But justice for man comes from the LORD.

27 An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,
And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

Discipline and rebuke form a skillful man of wisdom, for wisdom is defined as skill and prudent use of the knowledge gained through understanding from God’s word and work in us.  These go against our sin nature and so the things contrary to holiness and righteousness need to be worked out of us as those of righteousness and holiness are formed into us, which is our ongoing sanctification.  The foundation of these things is found throughout the Old Testament, and much is spelled out for us in the proverbs of this book of wisdom.  Yes, a child only brings shame to the one raising him or her if there is no guiding and formative discipline, which holds true for all God’s children which we are because we endure it (Hebrews 12:5-6, 9-10) to form righteousness in us (Hebrews 12:11).  Our correction yields delight and peace to our Heavenly Father as it does in the natural realm.  But those who are left to their sin nature without correction only bring more sin into action and lead to their ultimate fall as we are often able to observe.  Without God’s word preached, taught, read, and studied, people will gravitate to more and more lawlessness, but those who feed on it are truly happy and blessed as a result of its spiritual correction and guidance (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Yet only God’s children can be corrected by His word; mere servants who are not of the inheritance of the household hear and may even understand, but do not respond to the word’s guidance and discipline because it is not their Father’s voice they hear.  It is suggested here that if a master pampers a servant that he or she may be brought up as an honorary child as adopted into the household, a vague picture of how we are brought into the house of the Lord as adopted sons and daughters of the Master in heaven.  Then there are those who are hasty in their speech without understanding and wisdom to guide and correct, and their acts of foolishness make them the fool for not attempting to bring up others into God’s house through instruction of the scriptures.  Their anger only brings strife and sin as their pride lowers them from the Lord’s better plan for His creation; the humble ones know this, and they find honor in honoring their Lord (1 Samuel 2:30).  The thief only comes to destroy people (John 10:10) and those aligned with him do the same because they hate their own life but are too proud to submit to knowledge and understanding to gain a heart of wisdom as a Psalm 90:12 reminds us.  Many fear the approval of their fellow men over God and are ensnared in the lies of pride’s unrighteousness, but those who follow to learn from God’s good yoke in trust of him according to His word are kept safe for eternity!  We should therefore be concerned with God’s favor and not that of our the earthly rulers or political parties, because the true and only justice comes from God.  We seek it in vain elsewhere.  Our righteousness of Christ then is an abomination to the evil ones, but they are the real abomination to the righteous in Christ because they deny the one who can give them peace with Himself through humble and yielding trust in Him for repentance leading to life.  Only God’s correction makes a skillful man of wisdom in these things.  If we do not endure discipline, we are not His children (Hebrews 12:7-8).  This is not wise.