My
Son, Do Not Forget…
October 26, 2014
BMC – Prov. 3:1-24
Heritage Sunday
Introduction:
Appalachian Trail
Some of you may remember that this
past spring, my family took a weeklong vacation to the Harrisonburg and Washington
DC areas. Normally we aren’t able to do
that in March, because normally the children’s spring break from school falls
on Holy Week and I’m not able to get away for that long. But this year with Easter being so late, they
had spring break on a week when we could get away so we took advantage of the
opportunity.
We decided to go to Harrisonburg and
reconnect with some of our friends from the years prior to kids that I was in
seminary there and working part time at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church. Being there also made it possible for us to
do a couple of day trips into Washington DC.
When Beth and I lived there, we would sometimes do day trips in but that
was before kids and they had never been there.
We wanted them to see things like the
National Mall with the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial, the Capital
Building and the White House. We also
wanted them to have the chance to see some of the Smithsonian Museum including
the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. While we were there, we also went to the
National Archives to see the Constitution.
Besides going to DC, we also toured
Harrisonburg and showed them where Daddy went to school, where Mommy and Daddy
lived while we were there and where we went to church while there. As I think about it, that trip was in many
ways an opportunity to share about their heritage with our kids. It was a whirlwind tour of aspects of our
national heritage as well as the early days of our immediate family’s heritage
as Beth and I were newly married and growing as a couple.
For Elam and me, a significant part
of this was a 7-8 mile hike that we did just the two of us along a portion of
the Appalachian Trail. Portions of the
hike were a cool and slushy trek in the wilderness. It allowed us to get in touch with a deeper
heritage, the heritage of God’s creation; but it also allowed a focused time
for my ulterior motives. But I’ll come
back to that in a moment.
It seems to me that our theme for
this morning connects to this tour of our heritage as a family. As November 1st, all Saints Day,
approaches this is Heritage Sunday, a day in which we pause to consider the heritage
that we have so richly benefited from.
And this heritage is passed on at multiple levels.
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For
the joy set before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down
at the right hand of the throne of God.”
We benefit from a great cloud of
witnesses beginning with the people of the Old Testament who formed a people of
God from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and beyond.
And we benefit tremendously from the heritage passed on to us from Jesus
Christ, the pioneer and perfector of our faith who grants us salvation and
models for us kingdom living.
We benefit from the apostles of the
early church and the faithful who carried the church for 1,500 years. We benefit from the heritage of the early
Anabaptists who initiated the Radical Reformation that returned the focus of
faith more directly to Jesus Christ and God’s word. And we benefit from the heritage of the Amish
and Mennonites since then, our forbearers who have modeled the way and passed
on their wisdom and their understanding of God’s wisdom to us.
And of course, we benefit from those young Amish
Mennonites who nearly decided 125 years ago to be baptized and to plant Bethel
Mennonite Church. Each one of us,
whether directly or indirectly, benefits from a heritage that was passed down
to us by a family member, a friend, or perhaps a stranger who took the time to
share with us faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Proverbs 3:1-24
And it seems to me that passing on a heritage is the central work of
the writer of these proverbs in chapter 3.
The author is attempting to pass on wisdom, a heritage, to his son,
whether that be literal or figurative, and He shares this heritage with us as
well.
Within the book of Proverbs, “this is the fourth instruction that
begins with a father addressing his son.
Like the other three, it was composed with great care. The poem has twelve verses (or couplets) in six
two couplet (four-line) stanzas (3:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12). Each of the six stanzas begins with an
imperative calling for a certain line of conduct, followed by a statement of
the consequences of doing so.
“The six stanzas are further divided into three poems, each having two
stanzas (3:1-4, 5-8, 9-12). Each of
these three poems has a distinct theme.
The first (3:1-4) is about not forgetting the father’s teachings, the
second (3:5-8) about putting one’s wholehearted trust in Yahweh, and the third
(3:9-12) about honoring Yahweh with your wealth (3:9-10) and submitting to his
fatherlike discipline of those he delights in and loves (3:11-12).
“The poems are framed by the father’s personal address to his son (my
son) at their beginning and end (3:1, 11).”[1] Consider with me the heritage that the author
passes on here.
Keep My
Commandments (v 1-4)
In the first poem, we read that he should keep his Father’s
commandments. “Here the appeal is that
he not forget them and make sure he will keep his father’s command in his heart
(3:1,3). The teachings to be kept in
this way are described in 3:3 as love (hesed, affectionate fidelity) and
faithfulness (emet, truth, sincerity).”
One might note that “Hosea laments their absence in the society of his
time (4:1). The son is instructed to bind
these around your neck (as a necklace) and write them on the tablet of your
heart (3:1, 3; cf Jer 31:33-34)” which also echoes the covenant of Jeremiah
31:33-34. And “resembles what Moses said
should be done with his teachings (Deut 6:6-9; 11:18-21). The poem promises that the son in this way
will win favor [or blessing] and a good name in the sight of God and man (3:4;
cf. Deut 28:1-14; 30:11-20).”[2] Thus the first part of his heritage is to
keep the commandments of his father and to internalize them.
Trust
in the Lord
Next come the familiar words to “Trust the
Lord with all your heart and to lean not on your own understandings. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will
make your paths straight.” He encourages
his son to trust in the Lord rather than his own wisdom.
This is a fitting and important corrective or
balance in the midst of a book that is promoting the importance of wisdom and
living wisely. Wisdom is a good thing
and we should adhere to the Lord’s wisdom.
Unfortunately, when people gain or have a lot of wisdom or knowledge,
they can begin to rely more on themselves than on God and at that point, things
get out of balance.
Thats a part of what happened to Solomon,
isn’t it? He was said to be the wisest
person in the world and yet he made some very foolish and significant mistakes.
“Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD
completely, as David his father had done.” (I Kings 11:6). “What is meant is that Solomon abandoned the
teachings of Moses, failed to put his trust wholeheartedly in Yahweh, and
instead worshipped other gods.”
“This second poem (3:5-8) is an appeal to the
son not to be led astray by a similar inflated pride and fail to trust Yahweh
with his whole heart. This poem calls
for wholehearted trust and respect for Yahweh and thus [also] echoes the
teaching of Moses in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:29; 6:5).”[3] The second part of the heritage is to trust
in the Lord rather than in our own wisdom.
Honor the Lord with Our WealthIn the third poem of this passage, we are given the heritage to honor the Lord with our wealth. “The son is told to honor (show respect for) Yahweh by bringing to him from your wealth and from the beginning [firstfruits] of all your increase (3:9, lit).” This certainly connects to Deut 18:4 in which the people were instructed to give their firstfruits to the Levites.
Beyond that we are
told that “a plentitude of blessings is promised for those who comply with
God’s directive: Then your barns will be filled to overflowing (Prov. 3:10)” This
is a promise that is also given in Deut 28:8 and Mal 3:10-12[4] But let us not loose sight of the reason for
our giving. We do not give so that we
will be blessed. We give so that we will
honor God. We give out of worship of God
and a direct result of that right giving will be blessing, but we do not give
to be blessed.
It is too common
in our culture for us to ask, “What’s in it for me?” or “What will I get out of
this?” It should not be so in our
worship of God. We give to honor God,
regardless of what we will receive from God, all the while knowing that God has
promised to care for our needs and to bless us.
Some
of you know that during a significant portion of my growing up years at home,
my father was not one to attend church or even to be very committed to a sense
of faith. In fact at times, he could be
rather antagonistic toward faith. But
around the end of my middle school years and into my high school years, God
began working in his life and bringing him back around.One of the significant places that God worked on him and that was instructive to me was in the area of tithing. When my Dad came back to faith, he was committed to tithing a tenth of what he earned. And I remember very clearly that this was not just his regular paycheck. This also included tithing from bonuses that he received. And while I don’t remember that we ever talked specifically about the motivation behind his giving, I always had a sense that it was out of a combination of a sense of gratitude for what God had done for him and a way of honoring God.
This has shaped me in my giving practices and has been a portion of the heritage that I have received. Given the statistics that some of us heard during an Everence seminar that we attended about a month ago, this should not be all that surprising really. Have you ever stopped to think about who has influenced your giving habits? Probably most of us haven’t.
In a survey taken to ask who were the influences and teachers of the next generation of donors, people were able to mark all those who served to influence them. 89% said that their parents influenced them. 63% of the people said that grandparents influenced them while 56% said that friends influenced them. With 47% of people saying that peers influenced them and 41% stating that siblings influenced them. While 40% listed their spouse as an influencer, only 19% listed religious leaders and 10% listed financial advisors.[5]
Among our parents, grandparents and siblings, family members serve as significant influencers of our giving habits. They like the father in these proverbs may pass on a heritage of giving that honors the Lord.
The Ulterior Agenda
Well as I said, I had an ulterior motive for taking Elam on an eight mile hike along the Appalachian trail just he two of us last March. This year, Elam is in 6th grade which means that he is a middle schooler now. That meant that it seemed like it was time for us to have “the talk.”
Years ago, Randy
had shared with me about how he had had a similar talk with his son. He too had done so in a different setting in
which the two of them were having a time of bonding together. I remembered this and thought that hiking
along the Appalachian trail seemed like a good opportunity to spend some
focused time sharing some knowledge and experience with the next generation. And in the midst of that to offer a
perspective of how faith intersects with those realities.
Conclusion: Our heritage
We too are both beneficiaries of a rich
heritage both within our families of origin and within our faith
community. What words of wisdom do we
wish to pass on as a heritage to those who will come after us?
For the writer of Proverbs 3, he desired
to pass on to his son the reminder to keep his commandments, to trust in the
Lord rather than in his own wisdom, and to honor the Lord with his wealth. Certainly along with this as one’s living on
the other side of the resurrection, we would want to pass on a saving knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the very least.
Take a moment to consider for yourselves
what other aspects of our heritage we wish to pass on. And prayerfully consider the ways that the
Lord is inviting us to do this in whatever context we find ourselves.
{Pause and Pray}
Amen
[1] Proverbs:
Believers Church Bible Commentary John W. Miller pg.49
[2] Proverbs:
Believers Church Bible Commentary John W. Miller pg.50
[3] Proverbs:
Believers Church Bible Commentary John W. Miller pg.50
[4] Proverbs:
Believers Church Bible Commentary John W. Miller pg.50-51
[5]
“Creating Congregational Culture of Generosity” serminar Lake Institute on
Faith and Giving presented by Everence 9/26/14 @ Jubilee Mennonite Church
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