Sermons
Vander Kam on Proverbs 22:6
Sermons
Vander Kam on Proverbs 22:6Proverbs 22:6 – "Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it." (New
American Standard Bible)
Beloved in the Lord: it is again, of course, that time of the year that the long summer vacation is come to an end, and that it is about time that all the various activities begin again, both in school and church. And that is the time of year that comes around again with monotonous regularity but nevertheless it is also a good thing that it comes. That we may again get into that kind of a routine so that we are going to be instructed in various things because the necessity for instruction has by no means gone out.
Those are the things that are always with us and will always remain with us, that we are to be instructed, and especially from youth on, and that we are to be instructed in our youth in the way in which we are to go. Now the Bible has ever so much to say about that, and there are also ever so many places where it is alluded to, where it is alluded to in such a way so that we are to be instructed in the fear of the Lord, and that the fear of the Lord, that alone is the beginning, the very principle of wisdom. That is the principle upon which it all rests. And if we do not have that principle of the fear of God then there is nothing left.
That is one of the great difficulties of the present day, of course, in the country such as this, which still has somewhat of a tie to Christianity, but nevertheless there is no longer the tie to the wisdom of God. There's no longer that kind of a tie that we say that the fear of the Lord is that driving force in this country. It is no longer there, but it is now given over to secularism and all these other things. And therefore it is also well that we look and listen to the Word of God as it comes to us to show us what the true instruction ought to be.
And therefore we speak to you tonight on "The Instruction of the Covenant Child." And that we notice in the first place, its duty; secondly, its method; and finally, its results.
Now the duty is this, that we are to instruct the child, "train up a child in the way in which he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it," you see, says the Proverbs writer. So that it is the child that has to be instructed because of the fact that a child when he comes into the world, knows nothing of this world into which he enters. He doesn't know what to do, he doesn't know how to live in this world, and therefore has to be instructed in all things, as those of you who have small children know. And that is the reason why they come with all the various questions that come to mind, the various questions of which we become very tired many a time, but nevertheless, it's also the only way whereby they are going to know, whereby they are going to learn. And they want to find out all the various things that are in this world.
Now we are to instruct that kind of a child, we are to instruct him, that is, the parent is to instruct him. That is here taken for granted. That isn't even mentioned by the writer; the writer does not even go into this and say, "You parents, train up a child in the way he is to go." No, that is taken for granted. Who else! A parent is instructed to do that, that's his duty. That is the duty that comes with parenthood, that it is not only that we are to take care of their physical needs, but it is also that we are going to take care of various other needs, and that includes also their mental needs and their spiritual needs.
So that they are to be instructed in the home, and they are to be instructed there in such a way, so that when they are older they are not going to depart from it. They are to be instructed in the ways of God; that is the underlying thing that is here found in this text. That is the underlying basis, that is the root, that is the foundation of this text. That it is upon the basis of the Word of God. Solomon has been speaking concerning that wisdom coming from God.
Then in Ecclesiastes, and "that is the whole duty of man." There is finally nothing else left, that's all there is. It isn't this, that we may amass a fortune; it isn't this, that we may attain unto fame; but it is this, that we walk in the precepts of God, that we fear God and keep His commandments. That is the whole duty of man.
Now we are to instruct the child in that. That child is given into our trust because it isn't ours; they are loaned to us. "Loaned items, loaned things." And our children are among those. They are loaned to us. And we are taking care of someone else's children; remember that! We are taking care of God's children. We have said that already at baptism. That is Thine, that child. And friend, then we turn around and we claim it as our own.
Now we have to be instructed in the Word of God so that we also realize beloved, that they are and they always remain His children. They are His children so that He is also able to do with them whatsoever He pleases. And that it is the duty of the parent to whom they are now loaned that they may be instructed, that they may be instructed in the ways in which they are to go. That is the duty that is placed upon us.
Now that is the kind of a duty that is also assumed already at the time of baptism, that there they also promise that they will instruct this child in the aforesaid doctrine with all their power. They are not going to leave a stone unturned; they are going to do everything in their power to instruct that child in the aforesaid doctrine. And there are many who have answered yes to that question who didn't know what that aforesaid doctrine was. They better! They better know, they better have a good understanding of it, so that they may also be enabled to instruct that child that is entrusted to them, and you are also going to be so careful with a child that is entrusted to you. Your own children; of course you take good care of them. But if you have to take care of someone else's children, oh, then if something goes wrong you are immediately upset, very much upset. Now you're taking care of God's children; you'd better be upset if something goes wrong. They are to be instructed and that with all your power in the aforesaid doctrine, in the truth of God. In that truth that has been outlined there, they are to be instructed in that; train up a child.
Train him, encourage him, educate him, teach him; those are the things that are here at the basis of verse six of Proverbs 22. It is their duty to do that and at the same time beloved, it is also this that they are not always able to accomplish all of this, and consequently they have also there said, "Or cause them to be instructed." And that is perfectly legitimate.
That is the reason also why we have always had parent-controlled schools. This government thinks that the children belong to the state – they don't! They belong to the parents, as far as they belong to anyone here on earth. They are God's children, but they are parentally controlled schools, not state-controlled, because the state has nothing to do with education except to see to it that there is this, that an opportunity is found. But otherwise, the instruction is to come from the parents, and that is something which is principially, or to be ingrained into us. And very important in our day that we cause them to be instructed therein, if we can't do it ourselves, and you can't do it all yourself.
And that we don't go to the opposite extreme and say at baptism that we all take upon ourselves now the obligation to instruct that child. No, that is foolishness. And this is found in one of the forms that has been adopted, you know. That we all have now that duty upon us. That's not true! That is the duty of which you have shed yourselves almost immediately when you left the church that morning. And that is something that is totally out of the picture. They are to cause them to be instructed; that is, to cause them to be instructed by those agencies that also have the same kind of a philosophic outlook as they themselves have.
That is, that they are instructed in such a way so that the fear of God is predominant. That the fear of God is ever before them. That they are instructed in the way in which they are to go. That is the important thing – or don't you care which way they go! Anyone who thinks that has no conception of what a child is worth. And consequently the importance of Christian education, that is, Christian education in the home, and in the church, and in the school, everywhere. That's the duty, and it is the parental duty, and we are never to shed ourselves of that duty. We cannot shake that promise. That is the duty God imposed, and we are never, never going to get underway from that. That is the imposition upon us, and an imposition that is just, and one that we gladly take, to instruct them to the utmost of our ability, or cause them to be instructed therein. That is, in the aforesaid doctrine.
Solomon also has not fair-penned verse six of chapter 22, just at loose ends. He has written that fourth chapter, by the way, and therein he has also shown clearly what it means. And he has shown it throughout, and that is through Proverbs and through the book of Ecclesiastes. The fear of God has to be instilled; they have to be taught. And there it is, as a blank sheet of paper on which you are able to write. This is the beauty of it, with a child, that you have the first opportunity to instruct in the way in which he is to go. That has to start early.
I have said at different times that instruction does not begin in the high school, but it begins in the high chair. That's an easy way to remember it. That is the place where it ought to begin, that very earliest day. That's what Solomon has in mind too, and he has spoken of that in various places – very earliest times. That it be ingrained within them. They are the children of God, they are responsible to Him, and they are only loaned to us for a season. And they are to know the way in which they are to go.
Secondly, notice also the method. Now as far as the method is concerned beloved, here we are dealing with something that is very, very difficult as far as translation is concerned. Here we have it so plainly, "train up a child in the way he should go," and that is not a bad translation of the original, but it can also be translated differently. Those of you who have been brought up in the Dutch language know also that it is different in the Dutch. It is not the sign of an emphasis, but it is an emphasis that is of a little bit different nature, and that is the way it can also be translated. So that you are here dealing with something that is rather complex, but at the same time is also very rich. You have here this kind of a thing that Solomon is really speaking of this, and remember, that we are dealing with the wisest man that ever lived. That we are dealing with the man who is here speaking as it were, with an example of a bottle, with a fine narrow neck. And now you pour fluid in that; not too fast, not too fast, because then it will not go down. But just at the right pace, in order that it will go down through that neck. Now that is the way he pictures it, in the original.
It is this, that you train him according to his ways; not necessarily in the way he should go; but according to his ways. Nothing less. That is the way in which he is to be instructed. He is to be instructed in such a way so that it is going to be the instruction of the child. That it is going to be later on the instruction of youth, and later on then it is going to be the instruction of the full-grown man. And that instruction continues, but that it is always according to their ways. And that a child is to be instructed according to his way. And that not too much; no, but at the right pace. Therefore the apostle also speaks of this, that they are to be fed with milk, and not with strong meat. Of course! There isn't a mother here that would give to her baby a beefsteak. That's impossible! Later on, we would rather have that than milk. But that is the situation.
So that it is according to his way, according to his ability to receive, according to his need; that is the way in which he must be instructed. That's the way he must be trained. And then you see the beautiful picture that unfolds. That we have a child that is given in a home where the mother is to instruct. Perhaps not a teacher by trade, not a teacher by profession, but nevertheless she instructs and is able to instruct because of the fact that that is the kind of instruction that he needs. That is exactly the instruction that that child needs at that time, which any mother is able to give. That you don't need education for that, but there you are able to do it because it comes out of the love of the heart. And the child is instructed, and the child receives that instruction, and he receives it playfully, and he receives it as a child, according to his way.
And then we must also realize that when that child grows up and that he is to get a little bit more. That our youth receive more and that we don't go back again to the initial thing. But then we advance, so that there may also be an advancement in training, in education, in learning. Solomon had that in mind and therefore he says, it is like that bottle, and then where that neck is narrow but you pour it in, and it comes in and it stays there, and there it brings forth the necessary fruit.
Now that is the kind of a picture that he gives in order that we may know the way in which we are to instruct. That we may instruct them according to their way, that we may know the child. There is no one that knows that child like the mother, no one that knows that child like the father. They know him, and so are they able to instruct, so are they able to lead him, so are they able to train. And then have the fear of God.
Now that is the way it must be done in the church. That is the only thing that they have to teach. And that in that church, when they come with other things, I'm sorry, but they're in the wrong pew.
And in this school, there they are also to teach, and they are to teach many other things there, because that is of the nature of the school. But it must be founded upon this, that the fear of the Lord is the principle of wisdom. And that the principle of wisdom is not science, but the principle of wisdom is the fear of God.
Now those are the things that must be recognized, and therefore the method is so necessary. That we recognize that it may be according to his way, and so he is to be instructed in the fear of God. So he is to be instructed as that covenant child, as that child whom He has bound to himself with an everlasting covenant, and has said, that is My child and will remain so throughout life, and that child is Mine, and therefore you are to instruct him according to his real Father, according to God's precepts. You may not adopt another father for him, you may not give communistic leanings to him, you may not give socialistic leanings to him. The fear of God, that is to be the undergirding thing. And that we have to seek in the church, in the school, in the home, everywhere.
Our children are too precious than to give to the wolves of this world. The wolves of this world are going to destroy them in no time at all. And consequently we are to safeguard them, we are to build a hedge round about them, so to speak, so that they may realize that they belong to the living God. And that is one of the first things that they have to know. That they are not ours, but that they belong to Him. That they will also soon be able to say, even though they don't understand these words, yet of the first question and answer of the Catechism, that this is their only comfort, "that with body and soul they are not their own but belong to their faithful Savior." Ah...but that takes instruction, and that takes training in the fear of God. And for that the parents are called to give an account.
That is the methodology, and that is the methodology that has to be followed. And it has to be followed according to their years, according to their age, according to their way. And according to that way, says Solomon, then they will also have the proper result.
So finally, notice the result. And the results beloved, that he speaks of are those that seem very strange to us, and then when he is old, he will not depart from it. And I know of ever so many who have become old and have departed from them, don't you! There are ever so many who have been instructed in the way in which they ought to go and nevertheless they have not stayed that way whatsoever. And yet this is the Word of God and that is the Word that stands, you know, that is the Word that will not lie, that is the Word that is always true. And that says, "and when he is old he will not depart." When he says in the original is this, that you are to teach him according to his way, that is, you are to give him appetite for certain things. That is the way to instruct; every teacher knows that. To whet their appetite. Different ways in doing that, but you are to do that as a good teacher.
And now you are to whet that appetite, that's according to his way, and then when he is old then he will still have appetite, says Solomon; that's what he says in this text. Then he will still have appetite for those things that he learned in his youth, then he will not depart from it. Oh, there are ever so many beloved, that have fallen away, that have fallen by the wayside. And nevertheless let us not overturn the covenant of God, not at all. The covenant of God stands, and that covenant that He has made is this, that He is a God to them and to their seed after them unto a thousand generations. And that His covenant is going to stand amid all tribulations.
And that there are going to be those who fall away; oh, you have them already in Scripture; it starts out with them. You have a Cain that falls away. In the next group it is Esau that falls away. And so you can keep going. In the family of David, there are ever so many that fall away. But nevertheless, the truth of God stands, that My covenant of day and night shall not cease, and My covenant with you shall not cease, and that covenant shall always stand; "And when he is old he will not depart from it," he will still have appetite, and then when he gets old he will not be able to get away from those teachings of his youth. And when he is on his deathbed, then it is going to molest him, then it is not going to leave him alone. That even though he has lived a life that might not be according to the Word of God. Finally, he realizes he has to meet his Maker, and now he still has appetite. Yah, those tastes come back, those things come back to him that he has learned in youth, that he has learned already at his mother's knee. And those things stay, and he will not depart from it. He can't! He would like to many a time, but he is holden as with shame. And therefore, instruct a child; that's the one to instruct.
As a Diogenes, one of the great teachers of the Greeks said, "To teach the old, or to give medicine to the dead, is one and the same thing." That was a pagan that said it. But to teach the old, and to give medicine to the dead; both are useless in his estimation.
Sure, you are to teach a child the way he should go. And that is going to have its effect lifelong. Then he is going to walk that way, and then it seems sometime as though they don't. And how many prayers have ascended in ever so many homes for wayward sons or daughters. Don't look at what you see, but look at what He has said. That is the main thing: look at what He has said. And He said, "When he is old, he will not depart from it." My covenant shall stand. Strange, huh!
Now a Cain falls away, but Abel goes on, that even after his death, still speaks. An Esau falls away, but a Jacob is father of the twelve patriarchs. An Absalom falls away, but David is the man after God's own heart. And so you can go on through that history. My covenant stands, and therefore if they are taught, that is the teaching that is invaluable, and the teaching that lasts, and that will last even unto old age. Can't get away from it. Even in age, and very old age, they will look to it, and find that was the truth. I haven't lived it, but that was the truth. O God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Amen.
We thank Thee, heavenly Father, for the Word in which Thou dost instruct us. That Word of life and that Word of grace. We thank Thee for Thy truth. Grant that it may be applied unto our hearts and lives, that it may show us the way of light and the way of life. We pray heavenly Father, Thy blessing upon us in this coming week. Be with us in all that Thou givest us to do, that it may be done as unto Thee, that we may glorify Thee in all our activity. Keep us from sin and evil, and lead us in the way everlasting. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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