MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 28:24
ROBBING PARENTS
I. A parent’s sacred rights. A father and mother, if they are worthy of the name, have a very strong claim upon their children’s consideration. Their children owe them obedience in their childhood, and reverent and loving regard when they have reached manhood. If their parents are rich, their possessions are to be held as peculiarly sacred. “A feeling,” says Wardlaw, “should attach to it somewhat like that which attaches to holy things—things pertaining to God and His service. The violation of their property should be felt to be a description of sacrilege.” On the other hand, if the parents are poor, their children are certainly bound to help to support them, and so in some measure to repay to them the expenses of their own bringing up. Christ puts this duty to parents before that of giving even to the support of Church ordinances, and severely condemns the Pharisees and Scribes for inculcating opposite teaching (Mark 7:11).
II. The character of the child who violates these rights. There are, alas, many sons and daughters who, instead of rendering more honour to their parents than to other people give them less, and instead of showing more regard to their parents’ rights than to those of a stranger, seem to ignore the fact that they owe anything to them. In the matter of money, those who would not touch the possession of any other person will sometimes appropriate what belongs to their parents, and say, “It is no transgression;” or if they do not go quite so far as this, do not hesitate to live upon them when they ought to be earning their own living, or to incur debts which they know their parents will discharge. He who is guilty of any of these negative or positive transgressions “robs,” his father and mother, and his character is given here. Although he may not be openly a vicious man—although he may seem to be much less blameworthy than the man who openly violates the law of the land, he is here put on a level with him. The sin in the sight of God is as great, and there is in such a man the capability of developing into an open transgressor, for he who can violate such holy demands of duty, and trample upon the rights of such a sacred relationship, only wants the motive and opportunity to commit actions which would at once class him among the criminals of society.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
“But if any widow have children or nephews, let them first learn to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents.” (1 Timothy 5:4.) It is observable, children’s kindness to their parents is termed piety or godliness, because it is a part thereof, and very acceptable to God. Besides, it is called a requiting them, intimating that it is not an act of grace, but of justice.—Swinnock.
To say that we did not look upon a thing to be a transgression will be no just excuse for any piece of conduct we might have known to be criminal. It will only shew us to be so depraved that even our minds and our consciences are defiled.—Lawson.
For Homiletics on the first clause of Proverbs 28:25, see on chap. Proverbs 13:10, page 305.