Parenting by the Book
STUDY 270
Text: Proverbs 24
27 August 2006
Dear Parents,
THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
That there is a battle between the righteous and the wicked will soon become obvious to children. It is wise and indeed important to apprise them of the activities of the wicked and the righteous.
WICKEDNESS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
The wicked are capable of anything. Because he is evil and does not have any regard for God or the godly, he will attempt many deeds.
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man,
against the dwelling place of the righteous;
Do not plunder his resting place.Proverbs 24:15
1. The wicked lies in wait
The thought here is similar to that of an ambush. The wicked obviously thinks he can get away with his dastardly deeds.
2. He is not afraid even of attacking the dwelling (place) of the righteous
This description tells us that the wicked feels as if he is “above the law”. He can do to the dwelling place of the innocent (“the righteous”) and do whatever he pleases.
3. He makes preparation to plunder the home of the righteous
This is a terrible but accurate description of the extent to which the wicked is prepared to go. He will actually attempt to plunder the home of the righteous in broad daylight.
The wicked may actually feel that he would get away with all his planned misdeeds!
THE HERITAGE OF THE RIGHTEOUS
The wicked seems all-powerful. How do we teach our children about the heritage of the righteous? Let us ponder the following text.
For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
But the wicked shall fall by calamity.Proverbs 24:16
The righteous may fall, but he will rise again! This is a precious heritage that we must teach our children. They must not be afraid of the wicked, nor of falling. He must be assured that he will rise again!
In contrast, when a calamity hits the wicked, he will fall, and never rise again. Hence there must be no envy of the wicked.
Prayerfully,
Pastor Charlie