Raised in a Christian home with a godly influence, I should have known
better. Observing two other siblings who
seemed to follow the “path of righteousness,” attend Christian institutes and
marry Christian spouses, enter fulltime ministry, should have impressed me. But
for some reason I chose the “path of wickedness”. But in my early 30’s God intercepted my
free-fall and changed my life. It would
not have been out of line for my parents to give thanks to God who kept His
Word, where He spoke through Solomon: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will
not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6, ESV).
However, is that valid? Does God
assure us that if we raise a child “in the way he should go” that this provides
that necessary hope to parents that he or she will return, no matter what? The answer is found in a correct
interpretation of the proverb.
Interpreting the Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs is a collection of wisdom and insight attributed to four authors . . . It presents
“wisdom” (חָכְמָ֣ה, chokhmah) as rooted in God and the key to a successful and
righteous life.[1] Dr. Bruce Waltke provides some guidelines for
understanding how proverbs function. Here are two that he mentions:
1. “The
promises in Proverbs are partially realized in real-life experience. Those who
pursue righteousness and work hard usually experience positive outcomes as a
result of their character. The
terse and succinct nature of Proverbs means that an individual saying does not
express the whole truth of the matter.”[2]
When we come to this book, interpretation is challenging because some
proverbs seem to conflict with our experience (10:27; 22:4); and in fact some
proverbs conflict with one another (26:4-5; cf. 6:6-11 with 15:16). Some standards that we try to maintain in
understanding the Book are:
a.
Interpreting the proverbs in keeping with the
over-arching theme of the Book.
b.
Watching with due care and not assume that sayings
are unconditional promises.
c.
Balancing the interpretation with the entire
canon of biblical literature.
The message of
Proverbs is that when we live in harmony with the order found within creation
and in the proper relationships with our fellow human beings, then we are wise.[3]
When it comes to family dynamics, there is an order that God imprints
upon the parent/child relationship.
Proverbs 22:6 is part of that imprint.
English
Translations
Proverbs 22:6
(AV)
|
Proverbs 22:6
(NASB95)
|
Proverbs 22:6
(NIV)
|
Proverbs 22:6
(Tanakh)
|
6 Train
up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart
from it.
|
6 Train
up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not
depart from it.
|
6 Start
children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will
not turn from it.
|
6 Train a
lad in the way he ought to go; He will not swerve from it even in
old age.
|
Defining Key Words
1) Train. “The imperative is "train"
(hanok); the verb includes the idea of "dedicate," and so the
training should be with purpose.”[4]
Some suggest notion more in keeping with motivation, such as, “a kindred Arabic
word was used to describe the process of putting date syrup into the mouth of a
newborn to encourage sucking.” [5] The notation in the NET Bible adds though: “While this makes an interesting sermon illustration, it is highly
unlikely that this concept was behind this Hebrew verb. The Arabic meaning is
late and secondary – the Arabic term did not have this meaning until nearly a
millennium after this proverb was written.”[6]
2) The
Way. “The right road is expressed "in the way he should go" (`al-pi
darko). The way the verse has been translated shows that there is a standard
of life to which he should go.” [7] Alternately, The Believers Study Bible, explains
the phrase by suggesting “in the way he should go” is more literally “according
to his way.”[8] However the expression “the way he should go” tends to reflect the
whole point of the Book. Some take
a psychological approach and offer the meaning that the child should be
trained according to his inclination or bent of mind. This is unlikely. Others take the expression in a form of
warning. For example: “In other words, the parent who continually
allows a child to have his own way is laying a foundation for self-willed
living, from which the child will not depart.”[9]
This view has merit but the common logic of the proverbs tend to support
the belief: “in accordance with the manner of life to which he is
destined, i.e., the right way, the way of wisdom.
Interpretation
The ESV Study Bible
makes a fascinating point. “This proverb, founded on the covenant with Abraham
(cf. Gen. 18:19), encourages parents to “train” (i.e., to “dedicate” or
“initiate”; this is the sense of the word in Deut. 20:5; cf. Ezra 6:16) their children
in the way (i.e., the right moral orientation) by pointing to the kinds of
conduct that please or displease the Lord, and to the normal outcome of each
kind of conduct (on the matter of consequences).”[10]
What would be the
normal consequence of such training?
Answer? That it will have an
enduring impact. Solomon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit expected
that under normal circumstances such an environment will produce a lasting
effect. Yet we remind ourselves that
proverbs are not unconditional promises. Practically it seems to me the
following:
To fail to train your
child in the way of wisdom does not guarantee his or her ultimate failure; no
more than training your child in godliness guarantees spiritual success. The issues are complex. Matthew Henry, as he
does so often, gives us wonderful clarity: “Ordinarily the vessel retains the
savour with which it was first seasoned. Many indeed have departed from the
good way in which they were trained up; Solomon himself did so. But early
training may be a means of their recovering themselves, as it is supposed
Solomon did. At least the parents will have the comfort of having done their
duty and used the means.”[11] [Emphasis Mine]
[1] Kuo, J. C. (2012, 2013, 2014). Proverbs, Book of. In
J. D. Barry, L. Wentz, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair-Wolcott, R. Klippenstein, D.
Bomar, … D. R. Brown (Eds.), The Lexham
Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Ibid, (Waltke, “Does Proverbs Promise Too Much?” 322–27;
compare Waltke, Proverbs 1–15,
107–09)
[3] Williams, M. (2012). How to Read the Bible through the Jesus
Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture (p. 79). Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan.
[4] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/III. The First Collection of Solomonic
Proverbs (10:1-22:16), Book Version: 4.0.2
[5] Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R.,
Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J. (Eds.). (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed.,
Pr 22:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[6] https://bible.org/netbible/
(Proverbs 22:6)
[7] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/III. The First Collection of Solomonic
Proverbs (10:1-22:16), Book Version: 4.0.2
[8] Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R.,
Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J. (Eds.). (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed.,
Pr 22:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1172). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[11] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew
Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume
(p. 1004). Peabody: Hendrickson.
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