Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Misunderstood Bible Passages, Part 32 of 47

TEXT: "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

IDEA: The proverbs are designed to give us wisdom and insight, but they are not designed as unqualified promises.

PURPOSE: To help listeners make sure that the literature they deal with is interpreted correctly.

Do you have any bits of wisdom that have guided you in life?

Where did they come from?

Did you pass them on to any of your children?

Why?

I. The proverbs were given to guide young people in the living of their days.

They serve more as principles than as promises.

That is true for Proverbs 22:6—

In the English translation it seems like a clear statement. What does that statement say?

Is that always true?

II. This proverb is really a kind of Hebrew riddle.

What is the nature of a riddle?

What goes up the chimney down but does not go down the chimney up?

Riddles are deliberately vague.

Our riddles are designed to make people smile. Hebrew riddles were given to help people learn. They are deliberately vague to make us think.

III. The Hebrew language from which our English proverb is translated states,"Bring up a child in his way and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

What's vague about that Hebrew statement?

What can "in his way" mean?

The vagueness makes us think about it, and each time we turn it over in our minds, we get a new insight about child-rearing.

Conclusion:

Think of the different meanings "in his way" could have. We'll discuss them in the next conversation.