Proverbs 13:21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.
22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.
24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
25 The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.
Sinners cannot help themselves. They have limited if any discernment and they get themselves involved in all kinds of evil.
The righteous person receives good things from the Lord. The world will hate the righteous person, but God blesses them. It is better to be hated by the world and loved by God than to live under the wrath of God and be flattered by the world for a short time. God’s love for His children is eternal. His wrath for the lost is also eternal.
The only hope for the sinner is that he repent toward God and put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. He blesses them with a godly testimony. The world can only see materialism as the way to leave an inheritance. God is far more concerned about Truth and genuine love. It is a blessing to be able to look back at parents and grandparents who loved the Lord and had a testimony of faithfulness, than to reflect on parents and grandparents who refused the truth and chose the way of compromise.
Even the wealth of the sinner is there for the just to use. He likely never intended it to be so, but God has a way of turning things around. The saints in the book of Acts were accused of turning their world upside-down. God would still love to do that today. He is causing interference for the plans of the ungodly. He would do much more if those who know Him would walk humbly with Him and glorify Him.
In verse 23 we see that the poor has greater respect for the land than those who do not know the Lord. The poor in the context are those who are classified as poor by the world. God has a different standard. The poor know how to work the land so that it produces well year after year. They do not just take from the land, but they actually put back into the land.
Often times the worldly farmer is looking to put the least amount into the land but wants to suck out the most he can get. We have lost out for many years in that most farmers no longer summer fallow their land. They claim they cannot afford it. Instead they need to use more chemicals to try to keep the weeds down and they notice that the soil is getting tighter and harder to work.
God shows us how to farm in the Bible. The Bible covers all the needs of man. When farming becomes a business with corporate designs it cannot function the way God intended. There are consequences to ignoring God’s way.
In verse 24 we learn more about what true love is. The government insists that spanking a child is child abuse. Godly parents know that it is important to discipline the child in time and as often as is needed. A godly parent does not want to have to visit his child in prison, or see it die of an overdose or become a parent before he or she is ready for it.
Godly discipline is very important. The best time to start is when the child is young. It is always important to remind the child that the ultimate goal is to help them to see the need to know the Lord. The parent cannot force the child to be saved, but God requires that he at least remind him of the way of blessings.
In verse 25 we see that the righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul. The soul of man needs to be fed properly. Today, there are so many distractions designed with the assistance of the devil, to try to dull the senses. Many people are walking around with their souls so depraved. They know they are lacking something, but they are too stubborn to look to the only source of help. Thus they never find satisfaction. They die with the wish of something better, but they cannot find it because they choose anything and everything but that which is true and right.
The lost person’s soul is not alive, and thus he concentrates on feeding his belly. That which goes into the belly goes out in the draught. There is no long term satisfaction there. There is always the longing for something more.
The saved person who is feeding the soul that has been made alive through the new birth will find contentment in submitting to the Truth. It is far superior to satisfy the need of the soul, than to try to satisfy the never satisfied belly.
Pastor Bartel