And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
And the younger of them - as the more thoughtless, said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me - weary of restraint, punting for independence, unable longer to abide the check of a father's eye. This is man, impatient of divine control, desiring to be independent of God, seeking to be his own master-that sin of sins, as Trench well says, in which all subsequent sins are included as in their germ, because they are but the unfolding of this one.
And he divided unto them his living. Thus God, to use the words of the same penetrating and accurate expositor of the parables, when His service no longer appears a perfect freedom, and man promises himself something far better elsewhere, allows him to make the trial; and he shall discover, if need be by saddest proof, that to depart from Him is not to off the yoke, but only to exchange a light yoke for a heavy one, and one gracious Master for a thousand imperious tyrants and lords.